How it Works: Breaking Down the Golf Towel Drill

There are nearly as many golf drills as there are golfers. If something is wrong with your game – and let’s face it, something is always wrong – you can seek out a drill to help you get on track.

The towel drill is one of the most popular ways to correct a faulty swing, and this article is going to break down what it is, what it does, and how you can put it to use. 

The Concept of Connection

At its heart, this is a drill about staying connected in the golf swing. So, before we talk about the golf towel drill and how you can use it, we need to talk about staying connected and why that matters. 

Connection in the golf swing refers to all the various pieces of your swing working together properly.

Your arms, torso, and lower body need to be in sync if you are going to find consistent ball striking success. This is easier said than done, of course, which is why golfers use drills like this one to get back on track. 

When you stay connected, everything moves through the ball at the right time, and you’ll find it surprisingly easy to hit your targets. When that connection gets away from you, however, the ball is likely to go anywhere, and you’ll struggle just to keep it on the grass. 

Golf Towel Drill Basics

Part of what makes this drill so popular is its simplicity. You can learn how to use this drill in just a matter of moments, and you don’t need any specialized equipment to use it (just a golf towel and a club).

If you’d like to try the drill for yourself, you don’t even need to be at the practice range, although you can certainly use it there, as well. The drill works as followsL

1. Choose a club to use for the drill.

You can pretty much use any club in your bag (other than the putter), but we’d recommend starting with a middle iron. Also, you will need a golf towel.

The only important point here is to find one that is an appropriate size – if the towel is too small it won’t stretch from arm to arm, and if it is too big it might get in the way of your swing. You might need to test a few of your towels before you find one that is a good fit. 

2. Put the towel in place under your arms.

To prepare for the drill, take your normal stance and get ready to make a practice swing. Before making that swing, take the towel and run it across your chest and under both armpits.

Image via TheSandTrap.com

You should be trapping the towel under your armpits, so it is suspended without needing to hold it up with either hand. Once the towel is in place and you are in a comfortable stance, you’ll be ready to make the swing. 

3. Start swinging

The goal during this drill is to make a full practice swing without allowing the towel to fall to the ground.

To do that, you’ll need to keep your arms down and connected to your torso from start to finish. If you allow your arms to move up and away from your body at the top of the swing – which is a common error among players who struggle with a slice – the towel will quickly drop away.

It’s this instant feedback that has made the towel drill so popular for so long.

You don’t have to go back to watch video or ask a friend if you let your arms got away from your body. The towel will tell the story, so you get immediate feedback on your performance. 

This is an easy drill to incorporate into your typical practice session. In fact, it works great as a warmup – go through a few repetitions of the towel drill before you get into a bucket of balls at the range. You’ll be simultaneously warming up your muscles while also building good habits.

Also, if you feel your technique getting sloppy in the middle of a range session, stop and do a few reps with a towel under your arms. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Who Should Use the Towel Drill?

Given the popularity of this drill, you won’t be surprised to learn that it’s appropriate for nearly every golfer.

Staying connected is a fundamental that every player could stand to work on from time to time, so don’t hesitate to put this drill in your arsenal.

With that said, players dealing with the following mistakes may find this drill to be particularly beneficial:

The Slice

We mentioned this above, and it is one of the main reasons to turn to the towel drill for help. If you are regularly hitting a slice, it’s likely that your arms are leaving your torso – perhaps very early in the backswing.

Regular repetitions with the towel drill may not completely solve your slice, but they should help you get a feel for how your arms and torso should work together to keep the club in a good spot. 

Poor Shoulder Turn

Some golfers get lazy with their shoulder turn and just let the arms do all the work instead. That’s a bad plan, and it’s one that the towel drill can help eliminate.

If you are trying to hold the towel in place, you won’t be able to use your arms alone to make a backswing – so you’ll have to focus on proper shoulder rotation instead. 

Lackluster Lower Body Rotation

When you get to the top of your backswing with your arms and torso connected, you’ll realize that you need movement from some other part of your body to create speed. That “part” is your lower body, and it needs to lead the way by turning aggressively toward the target.

You will no longer be making an arms-only swing, and your lower body rotation may unlock previously untapped power. 

The main takeaway from this article is simple – go try the towel drill for yourself.

Considering how many people it has worked for over the years, and how much it has to offer your swing, you might as well see what it can do.

Here’s to better ball striking thanks to the towel drill!