My Sticky Tape Drill Is A Ball Striking Saviour For High-Handicappers

If you are reading this, the chances are you can relate to the maddening frustration of inconsistent ball striking on the golf course.

Improving your ball striking is crucial to cutting your handicap, but how can you achieve that as a high-handicap golfer or total beginner to the game?

Heading to the driving range without a plan is not going to solve anything, so perhaps it's time to think a little outside the box.

Well, Top 50 Coach and PGA Pro Russell Covey has come up with an interesting drill that could provide the results you are after... and all you need is some sticky tape.

Sticky Tape Drill

Russell Covey

Location: Bath GC

Russell has an incredible CV with his students having notched up wins in the Spanish, French, Dutch, Scottish and English Amateur Championships and St Andrews Links Trophy. In 2021, he was named PGA Specialist Coach and Specialist Professional.

If you're new to golf, or perhaps even an intermediate golfer who's struggling with their strike, take this exercise to the range (it needs to be off a mat).

Stick one piece of tape behind the ball, one 4ins in front and another just to the side for a rehearsal swing (all sticky side down).

This drill will help you understand that the low point comes after the ball. Start by lining up your club as shown here (behind the imaginary ball).

At this point, I'll say to my students, “I just want you to hit the piece of tape.”

I'll then get a few puzzled looks. Although it doesn't always take place immediately, we get this happening (image below), which is great.

“What were you looking at?” I ask. More puzzled looks. “The tape,” they say, looking at me as if I were stupid!

Then, I ask them to repeat the drill.

“Rest your club on the piece of tape behind the ball, but I want you to look at the piece of tape that's 4ins in front of the ball,” I say.

When they see the tape on the bottom of the clubhead after they've finished their swing, there is genuine shock.

So many golfers focus on keeping their head still and zone in on the ball, which can lead to fat and thin strikes.

For me, this drill provides one of the biggest eureka moments that most people will ever experience in the game – this bottoming out of the club after the golf ball, and the feeling of being 75% into your lead side with the handle leading.

Slice Variation

For those of you with a persistent slice, place the piece of tape after the ball, slightly off to the right.

This might help you to redirect your swing path to something more neutral.