How to Train an Inside-Out Golf Swing Path

Hitting a powerful, right-to-left draw feels incredible, and it all starts with swinging the club on an inside-out path. Slicing the ball with a steep, outside-in swing is a frustrating cycle, but it’s a fixable one. This article will show you how to diagnose your current swing path and give you a step-by-step framework, including specific drills, to build a new, more powerful inside-out motion.

What is an Inside-Out Swing Path (And Why Is It a Game-Changer)?

First, let’s be clear about what we’re talking about. Your swing path is the direction your clubhead is traveling as it moves through the golf ball. Think of a line on the ground pointing directly at your target - this is your target line.

• An outside-in path (the slicer’s path) means the club approaches the ball from outside the target line and cuts across it, moving inside the line after impact. This path imparts left-to-right sidespin (for right-handers), leading to slices and weak pulls.
• An inside-out path is the opposite. The clubhead approaches the ball from inside the target line, travels through impact, and continues to move outside the target line for a moment before finishing its arc.

Why do you want this path? Because when you combine an inside-out swing path with a clubface that is slightly closed (pointing left) to that path at impact, you produce a powerful draw. This shot shape travels farther than a fade or slice because it has less backspin and more forward-rolling energy upon landing. It’s the foundational DNA of a consistent and potent golf swing.

How to Diagnose Your Current Swing Path

Before you can fix your path, you need to know what you’re working with. Many golfers who slice the ball believe they are already swinging a certain way, but the ball flight tells the real story. Here are a couple of straightforward ways to get an honest look at your swing path.

1. Read Your Divots

Your divots are a swing path diary. After you hit an iron shot from the fairway or a grass tee, take a close look at the patch of turf you removed.

• If your divot is pointing to the left of the target, your swing path was outside-in.
• If your divot is pointing straight at the target, your swing path was neutral or 'straight'.
• If your divot is pointing to the right of the target, you’ve achieved an inside-out path.

Don't be surprised if your slice is accompanied by a divot pointing left. It’s the most common combination in amateur golf.

2. The Towel or Headcover Check

This is a classic feedback drill. Set up to a ball on the driving range as you normally would. Now, place an object like a rolled-up towel or a spare headcover on the ground just outside of your ball, about a clubhead’s width away and slightly ahead of the ball. If you were drawing a line from the heel of your clubhead straight back, the headcover would be on the "outside" of that line. Your goal is simply to hit the golf ball without hitting the headcover. If you swing with an over-the-top, outside-in path, you will likely hit the headcover before the ball. It’s immediate, undeniable feedback.

The Foundations of an Inside-Out Swing

An inside-out swing isn’t about just manipulating your hands and arms. It’s the natural result of a properly sequenced swing that uses your bigger muscles to power the motion. Most outside-in paths happen because the arms and shoulders take over too early in the downswing.

Step 1: The Takeaway Sets the Tone

Your backswing sets up your downswing. A common error is for golfers to quickly lift the club with their hands and arms, getting it too steep and disconnected from the body’s turn. This position almost forces you to throw the club "over the top" to get it back to the ball.

Instead, focus on a one-piece takeaway. This means your hands, arms, and shoulders start the swing back together as a single unit. For the first few feet, the clubhead should feel like it stays outside of your hands. As you complete your backswing, continue to rotate your hips and torso. This rotation is fundamental because it creates the space needed for the club to drop to the inside on the way down.

Step 2: The Magic is in the Transition

The "transition" is that brief moment where your backswing ends and your downswing begins. For slicers, this is typically where the fault happens: the shoulders and arms lunge forward to start the downswing, throwing the club into an outside-in path. To train an inside-out move, you need to flip that sequence.

The downswing should start from the ground up. Here's the feeling:

1. Once you reach the top of your backswing, your very first move should be a slight lateral shift of your hips toward the target. It’s a small bump or press into your lead foot.
2. As your hips do this, your arms and hands should do… nothing. They should feel passive, almost like they are just dropping or falling for a moment. This slight hip action, while the upper body stays back temporarily, is what drops the club into the "slot" - the perfect inside position. You have to fight the instinct to hit at the ball from the top with your hands.

This sequence creates separation between your lower and upper body, shallowing out the club and putting it on a path to approach the ball from the inside.

Step 3: The Feeling Through the Ball

Once the club has dropped into the slot, your job is to rotate your body through the shot. The feeling you want is that you are swinging the clubhead out towards right field (for a right-hander). It can feel strange at first, because your brain might be screaming that the target is straight ahead, not to the right. But trust it. As you swing the club out to the right, your body’s continued rotation will naturally square the clubface at impact and deliver the shallow, powerful strike you're looking for.

The Best Drills to Build Your Inside-Out Path

Understanding the concept is one thing, feeling it is another. These drills are designed to give you the physical feedback you need to ingrain the correct movements.

Drill 1: The Alignment Stick Gate

This drill gives you visual rails for your swing path.

1. Place an alignment stick on the ground on your target line, pointed at your target.
2. Place a second alignment stick inside your target line, pointed slightly to the right of your target. This stick should almost point at your back foot's heel-line. Place a ball between the two sticks.
3. Place a third alignment stick outside of your target line, but further down the target line. Point it parallel to the "inside" stick you just placed.

What you have created is a "gate" that forces your club to approach from the inside stick and exit toward the outside stick. Make slow-motion practice swings first, tracing the desired path. Then start hitting balls at 50% speed, focusing only on swinging through the gate. The ball may start to the right, and that’s okay. Once you can consistently swing through the gate, you can then A little on controlling your clubface to hit the draw.

Drill 2: The "Over-the-Top" Blocker

This is a terrific drill to stop your shoulders from initiating the downswing.

1. Grab an empty range basket or a headcover. Place it on the ground about two feet outside of the ball and two feet closer to you, diagonally outside the ball. For left-handers, reverse this.
2. Set up to your ball as usual.
3. If you swing over the top, your club will swing out and down toward the basket on your downswing. The task is simple: hit the ball without getting anywhere near the basket.

This drill immediately forces you to drop the club to the inside to avoid the obstruction. It's fantastic for retraining your downswing sequence.

Drill 3: The Pump Drill

This drill helps you memorize the feeling of starting the downswing correctly.

1. Take your normal backswing.
2. From the top, initiate the downswing motion by firing your hips and letting the club "drop" down to about waist height. This is the first "pump".
3. Without stopping, swing back to the top of your backswing.
4. Repeat the pump move, dropping the club into the slot again. Then return to the top a second time.
5. After the third pump, continue the motion all the way through and hit the ball.

Doing a few reps of that rehearse-pump motion ingrains the feeling of the hips starting the sequence, which is the cornerstone of the inside-out delivery.

Final Thoughts

Switching from an outside-in to an inside-out path is a significant change, but it's absolutely attainable. The entire change revolves around reprogramming your downswing sequence: lead with your lower body, let the club drop into the slot, and rotate through while feeling like you're swinging out to the right. Consistency comes with repetition, so stick with the drills and trust the process.

Perfecting this type of change is what coaching is all about. If you're struggling to diagnose your path or need drills tailored specifically to your swing, our app is designed to help with exactly that. With Caddie AI, you can get an analysis of your swing to understand the root cause of the slice and receive instant, personalized advice to get your path on the right track, right when you need it on the range. It’s like having a golf coach right in your pocket, ready to simplify your improvement.