What Do You Fill a Golf Impact Bag With?

Got a new golf impact bag and now you’re staring at it, wondering what on earth you’re supposed to stuff inside? It’s a common question, and getting it right is the first step to making this simple training aid one of the most effective tools in your arsenal. This guide will walk you through exactly what to use for filler, what to avoid at all costs, and how to use the bag properly to start engraving the feeling of a perfect impact into your golf swing.

What is a Golf Impact Bag Anyway?

Before we start stuffing, let’s quickly touch on why this tool works. A golf impact bag is not about smashing something for power. Its real purpose is to give you physical feedback at the most critical moment of your swing: impact. A proper strike isn't just about the club meeting the ball, it’s a dynamic sequence.

An impact bag helps you train the correct feelings of:

• A forward-leaning shaft at impact, which is essential for compressing the golf ball.
• A flat lead wrist (for a right-handed golfer, the left wrist), preventing the dreaded "scoop" or "flip."
• Body rotation powering the swing, not just the arms. Your hips and chest should be opening up toward the target as you strike the bag.

When you strike the bag correctly, you can hold the position and "freeze" the feeling of a powerful, tour-quality impact. Filling it correctly ensures you can do this safely and effectively without damaging your gear or yourself.

The Best (and Easiest) Things to Fill Your Bag With

Let's get right to it. You don't need to buy special filler. The best materials are probably already in your linen closet or laundry room. The absolute best things to fill a golf impact bag with are old towels, rags, or bedsheets.

Here’s why these work so well:

• Absorbency: They are excellent at absorbing the energy of the club without creating a painful, jarring stop.
• Firmness: When packed tightly, they create a dense, firm surface that provides the necessary resistance to stop your swing.
• Safety: Soft fabrics won't damage the face of your expensive golf clubs.
• Accessibility: Most of us have old towels, t-shirts, or blankets that are perfect for the job.

How to Pack Your Impact Bag the Right Way

Don’t just loosely throw a few towels in there. Properly packing the bag is the key to getting the right feel. An under-filled bag will be too soft to provide useful feedback, while a poorly packed one will have hard and soft spots.

A Step-by-Step Guide:

1. Gather Your Materials: Collect a good pile of old bath towels, hand towels, rags, sweatshirts, t-shirts, or even an old duvet or pillow. A mix is perfectly fine.
2. Start with a Base: Take one or two large towels and stuff them into the bottom of the bag. Push them down firmly to create a solid base.
3. Roll and Pack: For the remaining filler, roll each item (towels, t-shirts, etc.) into a tight log before placing it in the bag. This prevents empty air pockets and creates a more uniformly dense surface.
4. Work Outward: Place the tight rolls vertically around the inside perimeter of the bag first, then fill the center. Continually push down with your fist to compress the material as much as possible.
5. Fill It Up: Keep packing until you can barely close the zipper. The bag should feel very firm to the touch, with only a slight bit of "give" when you push hard on it. If it feels squishy, you need more filler.

After a few practice sessions, the contents might settle and compress. Don't be afraid to unzip it and stuff a few more rags or an old t-shirt in to keep it firm.

Warning: Never Fill Your Impact Bag With These Materials

This is just as important as knowing what to use. Using the wrong filler can lead to a broken club, a busted impact bag, or even a serious injury to your wrists, elbows, or back.

Under no circumstances should you ever use:

• Sand or Soil: This is a surprisingly common mistake. Sand is incredibly heavy and dense. It basically turns your impact bag into a concrete block. Striking it at speed can easily damage your club’s shaft or face, and the shock could injure your wrists and arms. It also puts immense stress on the bag's seams, almost guaranteeing it will burst.
• Water: Filling the bag with water (or anything liquid) is a recipe for a soggy, heavy mess that will likely leak and offers no practical impact feedback.
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• Wood Chips or Sawdust: While they might seem like a good filler, small, hard pieces of wood can be abrasive and could scratch or dent your clubface over time. Larger pieces are a clear danger.
• Packing Peanuts or Styrofoam: These are too light and provide almost no resistance. Your club will go right through them, and you won't get any of the intended feedback.
• Rocks, Gravel, or Debris: This one should be obvious, but it's worth stating. You will destroy your golf club and could seriously hurt yourself.

The rule is simple: if you wouldn't feel comfortable hitting it with your hand, don’t fill your bag with it.

How to Use Your Impact Bag Like a Pro

Now that your bag is perfectly filled, the real work begins. Remember, this is a tool for practicing positions and feelings, not for all-out speed training.

Follow these steps for a productive practice session:

1. Start with Slow, Controlled Swings

Don’t take a full, aggressive swing at it on your first try. Start with slow, deliberate, waist-high to waist-high swings. Get a feel for how the bag responds to the impact.

2. Focus on Body Rotation

As you swing, the main thought should be to turn your body through the impact zone. Think of your hips and chest rotating toward the target. Your arms should feel like they are coming along for the ride. When you make contact with the bag, your belly button should be pointing at, or even slightly left of, the bag (for a an RH golfer).

If you're using just your arms, you'll feel a jarring sensation. If you're using your body's rotation, the impact will feel much more solid and absorbed - a powerful "thud" instead of a painful "thwack."

3. Freeze and Check Your Impact Position

This is the money-maker. After the club hits the bag, hold your finish position for three seconds. Now, look down. What do you see?

• Hands Ahead of the Ball: The shaft of the club should be leaning forward, toward the target. Your hands should be well ahead of the clubhead.
• Flat Lead Wrist: Look at your lead wrist (left wrist for righties). Is it flat? Or is it “cupped” or bent backward? The bag forces you to maintain that flat wrist, a trademark of great ball-strikers.
• Weight Forward: Check your balance. Your weight should have shifted onto your lead foot. You should be able to lift your back heel off the ground comfortably.
• Hips Open: Your hips shouldn't be square to the bag, they should be rotated open towards your target.

By freezing this position, you are training your brain and body to understand what true impact feels like. Repeat this process over and over. Slow, deliberate swings, a focus on body rotation, and holding that finish. It won’t be long before this feeling starts to translate to your full swing on the course.

Final Thoughts

A golf impact bag is a brilliantly simple device that can create profound improvements in your ball striking. The key is to fill it properly with soft, firm materials like old towels or clothes, and to use it with a focus on repeatable body mechanics, not brute force.

Building good habits with a training aid is fantastic, but sometimes you run into a roadblock and wish you could get an instant clarification. When you’re training and can’t quite grasp a concept, or you’re on the course and unsure of the right play, we built Caddie AI to be that on-demand golf expert in your pocket. You can ask for drills, clarify swing thoughts, or even snap a photo of a tricky lie to get immediate, expert advice on how to handle it.