Alignment sticks are the cheapest training aid in golf and — used properly — one of the most effective. A pair costs less than a dozen premium balls, fits in your bag, and can be used for full swing, short game and putting. The catch is that most club golfers who own them use them for exactly one thing: laying them on the ground and vaguely aiming at something.
That’s a waste of a genuinely useful tool. This post covers the alignment stick drills that actually change how you hit the ball — six of them, from basic aim work through swing path and strike, down to putting and chipping. None of them require a coach, and all of them work at the range or at home in the garden.
Drill one: the basic alignment station
Start with the boring one, because it matters more than you think. Lay one stick along your toe line, parallel to your target line, and a second stick just outside the ball pointing at your target. Most club golfers who “aim at the flag” are actually aimed well right of it, then pull across themselves to compensate — a fault that quietly feeds slices, pulls and inconsistent contact.
Build every range session on this station. Hitting balls from a properly aligned setup for a few weeks recalibrates what “aimed at the target” actually looks like, and a surprising number of ball-striking problems shrink on their own once the aim is honest.
Drill two: the swing path gate
Push a stick into the ground just outside the ball, angled away from you at roughly the same angle as your club shaft at address. To hit the ball without contacting the stick, your club must approach from the inside. This is the single best drill for the over-the-top move that causes most slices — we covered the full fix in why do I slice the golf ball, and this drill is at the heart of it.
Start with half-speed swings. The stick gives you instant, unmissable feedback — there’s no fooling yourself about your path when getting it wrong makes a noise.
Drill three: ball position check
Lay one stick along your target line and a second perpendicular to it, pointing at the ball, forming a T. Ball position drifts — it creeps back with irons and forward with driver, changing strike and start direction without you noticing. Thirty seconds with a T-station at the start of a session catches it. If your strike is inconsistent week to week and you’ve never checked ball position, start here before blaming your swing.
Drill four: the takeaway tunnel
Lay a stick on the ground extending straight back from the ball along your target line. During the takeaway, the clubhead should track just inside that stick — not whipped inside it immediately, not pushed outside it. The first metre of the backswing sets up almost everything that follows, and this drill polices it. It pairs well with the slow-motion work in best golf swing drills for club golfers.
Drill five: the putting gate
Lay two sticks on the carpet or green parallel to each other, just wider than your putter head, forming a channel to the hole or target. Stroke putts without touching either stick. This trains a square face and a consistent path — the two things that decide whether a six-footer goes in. If short putts are your weakness, combine this with the routine in indoor putting practice and the aids in our best putting training aids guide.
Drill six: the chipping landing zone
Lay two sticks on the ground a clubhead-width apart, three or four paces onto your practice green (or lawn), and chip balls so they land between them. Club golfers judge chips by where the ball finishes; good chippers control where it lands. Training the landing spot — not the finish — is the fastest short-game improvement most amateurs can make.
Which alignment sticks should you buy?
Honestly: they’re fibreglass sticks, and the expensive ones are not meaningfully better than the cheap ones. Buy a pair with decent length (around 120cm), a moulded point for pushing into turf, and ideally a third stick, because several of the better drills use two on the ground plus one in it. We’ve rounded up the options — and the multi-function aids that build on the same idea — in our best alignment aids guide.
A simple three-stick routine
- Minutes 1–5: alignment station and ball position T — every session, no exceptions.
- Minutes 5–15: one full-swing drill only — path gate or takeaway tunnel, half speed to full speed.
- Minutes 15–20: putting gate or landing zone, finishing on ten consecutive successes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are alignment sticks actually worth it?
For the money, they’re the best value training aid in golf. No other purchase under fifteen pounds gives you feedback on aim, path, ball position, putting stroke and chipping. The limitation isn’t the tool — it’s whether you use it for more than decoration.
Can I just use old golf shafts or garden canes instead?
Old shafts work fine for ground drills. Garden canes are usually too short and too bendy for anything beyond basic alignment, and neither pushes into turf as cleanly for the path gate. Given how cheap purpose-made sticks are, most golfers are better off buying a pair.
How often should I practise with alignment sticks?
The alignment station belongs in every practice session permanently. The specific drills work best in short, frequent doses — fifteen to twenty minutes, two or three times a week — rather than one marathon session. Little and often is how motor patterns change.
Do alignment stick drills work indoors?
The putting gate, ball position T and slow-motion takeaway work are all ideal indoors. Full-speed path work needs a net and ceiling height — see how to practise your golf swing indoors for the full home setup.