Train a Draw Path Using an Impact Bag Drill

This drill teaches you how to create a more in-to-out club path using an impact bag as an external reference. If you tend to slice the ball, wipe across it, or struggle to start the ball to the right before it curves back, this is a useful way to train a draw pattern without obsessing over rolling your hands through impact. The real goal is not excessive face rotation. It is learning how the clubface and club path work together so the face is slightly closed relative to the path while the club travels more out to the right through the strike.

How the Drill Works

Most golfers who try to hit a draw make the same mistake: they think a draw comes from aggressively flipping or rotating the clubface through impact. That is usually not what creates the ball flight you want. A draw comes from the relationship between the face angle and the swing path. The face needs to be a little closed to the path, but the path itself must also be moving more to the right of the target for a right-handed golfer.

The impact bag gives you a physical obstacle to swing toward. Instead of imagining the club exiting left with a lot of hand roll, you place the bag just outside the ball and slightly forward, then rehearse sending the clubhead outward into the bag. That outward motion exaggerates the feeling of a draw path.

The key is where the club is traveling after impact. You want to feel as if the clubface is already organized and the clubhead is moving through space more to the right, rather than slashing across the ball and trying to save it with hand action. This drill helps you match up:

A rightward path through impact
A face that is already slightly closed to that path
Less manipulative rotation through the release

That combination is especially helpful if your normal pattern is a slice or a weak push-slice. By exaggerating the club’s exit direction in a short, controlled motion, you train a motion that often turns into a slight draw once speed is added.

Step-by-Step

Set the impact bag just outside the ball. For a right-handed golfer, place the bag slightly outside the target line and a bit forward of the ball, roughly opposite your lead foot. You want it positioned so the club can travel out toward it after impact.
Use a short swing first. Start with a waist-high to waist-high motion, often called a 9-to-3 swing. This keeps the drill manageable and helps you focus on the delivery instead of trying to create speed.
Rehearse the delivery position. Bring the club down into a solid pre-impact position with your hands leading and the club approaching from the inside. Be careful not to let your arms get trapped too far behind you. You still want a functional delivery position, not a stuck one.
Organize the face early. Feel as if the clubface is already slightly closed relative to the path before impact. This is important. You are not trying to leave the face wide open and then rapidly flip it shut. You want the face to be stable and prepared before the strike.
Send the toe of the club outward into the bag. As you swing through, feel the clubhead travel out toward the bag. A useful image is that the toe is extending into the bag while the clubface remains organized. This creates the exaggerated in-to-out motion you are trying to train.
Make slow-motion rehearsals. Before hitting balls, make several very slow swings where you trace the club through impact and into the bag. This helps your brain understand the new exit pattern without rushing.
Hit soft shots while keeping the same feel. Once the rehearsal feels clear, hit short shots at reduced speed. Keep the same intention: the face is stable, and the club is moving outward through impact rather than cutting left.
Gradually add body rotation and speed. As you turn through better, you may actually miss the bag more often than you expect. That is normal. The drill exaggerates the feel, but when your pivot improves, the club can still move on a draw-producing path without crashing into the bag.

What You Should Feel

This drill works best when you pay attention to the right sensations. The exact look of the swing matters less than the motion you are training through the strike.

The club exits more to the right

The biggest feel should be that the clubhead is traveling more out toward right field, not immediately pulling across your body. For many slicers, this will feel extremely exaggerated at first. That is fine. The exaggeration is often what is needed to create a neutral or slightly draw-biased path in a real swing.

The face feels “set” earlier

You should feel that the clubface is not being rescued at the last second. Instead, it is already in a usable position as the club approaches the ball. That usually means less frantic hand action through impact.

There is less roll through the strike

Many golfers think a draw requires a lot of forearm rotation. In this drill, the better sensation is that the face and path are matched up earlier, so you do not need a dramatic flip or rollover. The release is more stable and directed outward.

Your arms are in front of you, not trapped behind you

This is an important checkpoint. An in-to-out path does not mean your arms should get stuck behind your torso. You still want the club delivered from a strong, functional position with your body turning through.

The bag gives you a target for the swing, not a bracing position

You are not using the impact bag to freeze yourself at impact or to pose a static position. You are using it as a directional reference. The bag tells your brain where the club should be moving after the strike.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Trying to draw the ball by flipping the hands. A draw is not just face rotation. If you only roll the club over, you may hit hooks, pull-hooks, or inconsistent contact.
Letting the arms get stuck too far behind you. If the club approaches from too far underneath, you can create blocks, hooks, or poor contact. Keep the delivery organized.
Using too much speed too soon. This drill is most effective in slow motion and with short swings first. If you rush into full speed, you will likely fall back into your old pattern.
Aiming the clubface open and trying to save it late. The face should feel relatively stable and slightly closed to the path early enough that you are not making a last-second correction.
Pulling the handle left through impact. That move often steepens the path and sends the club across the ball, which is a common slice pattern.
Thinking the bag must always be struck hard. The point is not to smash the bag. It is to give yourself a directional checkpoint for the clubhead’s exit.
Using this drill if you already hook the ball. If your normal miss is a hook or an overly inside-out path, this drill may exaggerate the wrong pattern.

How This Fits Your Swing

This drill is best for golfers whose stock pattern is too far left with the path, especially players who slice, pull-slice, or hit weak shots that curve away from them. It helps you train a different geometry through impact: the club traveling more to the right with a face that is not excessively open to that path.

In the bigger picture, this is a ball-flight drill. It is not just about mechanics in isolation. If your shots curve left to right, one of the most common causes is that the path is too far left relative to where the face is pointing. This drill gives you a practical way to shift that pattern.

It also fits well with golfers who need to improve clubface control. A lot of players overdo the idea of “releasing” the club. They believe they must add more hand action to square the face. In reality, a better player often organizes the face earlier and then turns through with a more predictable release. That is exactly what this drill can help you feel.

From a swing-shape standpoint, this is useful if you are trying to adjust your stock shot from a fade or slice toward a straighter ball flight or a slight draw. The drill exaggerates the path enough that, when blended into a normal motion, the result is often a modest right-to-left curve rather than a dramatic hook.

It can also help with certain push patterns. Some golfers push the ball because the path is too far right and the face is even farther open. For those players, the drill can still be helpful if the emphasis is on matching the face to the path better, not just sending the club farther out. The important distinction is that the face must be controlled, not left hanging open.

As you blend this into your full swing, remember the larger lesson: draws come from face-to-path relationship, not from frantic hand rotation. The impact bag simply gives you a clear, external way to train that relationship. Use it to exaggerate the club’s outward travel, keep the face more organized, and build a release that produces a stronger, more reliable ball flight.