Most golfers practice their swing and ignore their setup. But if your ball position moves an inch between shots — and for most golfers it moves more than that — every swing you make is compensating for a different starting position. You're not building a repeatable swing. You're building a collection of different swings for different setups, and calling it inconsistency.
Janean Murphy fixes this before the swing ever starts.
The drill
Janean Murphy — 2024 LPGA Global Teacher of the Year, LPGA Top 50 Best Teacher (2022–2027), LPGA Midwest Section Teacher of the Year (2022, 2024), Golf Digest Best in State (Missouri, 2026–2027), OP36 Master Top 50 Coach, and Director of Instruction at Meadowbrook Country Club — uses the pathpal's multi-channel design to build a physical setup station that locks in both lead foot position and ball position simultaneously.
The two rods create what Janean calls a "physical box" — a real, tangible reference that the golfer matches their body to rather than approximating from feel or memory.
Setup
- Insert one alignment rod through the pathpal channel that marks the lead foot position
- Insert a second rod through the channel that marks the correct ball position for the iron being hit
- Calibrate once — correctly, with Janean's guidance or your own measurement
- Hit the shot, step back, return to the same physical template every rep
- Adjust the channels when changing clubs
No estimation. No eyeballing. No drift between reps.
Watch the drill
View the full guided drill on pathpal →
Why it works
Setup consistency is a motor learning problem, not a knowledge problem. Most golfers know approximately where the ball should be for each club — the issue is that "approximately" drifts under pressure, during fatigue, and across a long practice session. Physical templates solve drift.
The pathpal station removes the approximation entirely by giving the body a fixed reference to match rather than a mental image to recreate.
The multi-channel design is what makes this possible. A single alignment stick on the ground controls one variable — typically direction or alignment. The pathpal controls two independent spatial variables simultaneously, in fixed angular and positional relationship to each other. That's the difference between a reference and a template.
Janean uses this as a high-repetition station with her students — not for a few focused reps, but as the foundation for entire practice sessions. The physical consistency of the setup gives the swing drills that follow a stable platform to work from, which is why her students see ball-striking improvements that outlast the session itself.
When your setup is the same every rep, your ball-striking stabilizes — not because your swing changed, but because the foundation it's built on stopped moving. Consistency starts before the swing.
Who this is for
- ✓Golfers whose iron contact is inconsistent even when the swing "feels right"
- ✓Players who've worked on swing mechanics without seeing lasting contact improvement
- ✓Anyone who's been told their ball position changes between shots
- ✓Instructors looking for a reliable setup station for high-repetition lesson environments
Try it
Set up the two-rod station for your 7-iron, calibrate the lead foot and ball position channels correctly, and hit 30 shots — stepping fully away between each one and returning to the template. Then move to your 5-iron, adjust the channels, and repeat.
The contact consistency you experience in this session is what's available to you permanently once the setup pattern is internalized.
This drill uses a single pathpal unit with both alignment rods inserted in separate channels simultaneously. The multi-channel design is what allows two spatial variables — lead foot and ball position — to be locked in place with one anchored station. Used by Janean Murphy at Meadowbrook Country Club.
Related drills
Setup is a chain — lead foot, ball position, and posture all connect. These drills address the other links, and together they define a complete pre-swing station with no free-floating variables.
The Constant Ball Position Drill
Also taught by Chris Foley (PGA Master Professional). Uses two pathpal rods as forward and rear boundaries to build a precise ball position slot for a 7-iron. The direct complement to this drill — together they define a complete physical address template. View drill →
The Kneecap Setup Drill
Taught by Brad Pluth (PGA Master Professional). Addresses the third pillar of setup — posture and spine angle — using a simple kneecap touch and the pathpal as a shaft plane reference. Pair it with the lead foot and ball position template for a complete pre-shot station. View drill →
The Brick Wall Impact Drill
Also taught by Janean Murphy. Once setup is repeatable, the natural next question is what the body does during the swing. This drill addresses the sway gap and upper body position at impact — a direct continuation of the same ball-striking chain this setup drill anchors. View drill →
About the instructor
Janean Murphy is the 2024 LPGA Global Teacher of the Year — the first St. Louis-area instructor to win this national honor. She is an LPGA Top 50 Best Teacher (2022–2027), Golf Digest Best in State (Missouri, 2026–2027), Golf Magazine Teachers to Watch (2026), and Director of Instruction at Meadowbrook Country Club.
janeanmurphy.com · @janeanmurphy · Follow pathpal on Instagram
Frequently asked questions
Why does ball position inconsistency hurt iron contact?
Ball position directly determines the low point relationship between the club and the ball. Even a one-inch shift forward or backward changes the angle of attack, the face angle at impact, and the swing plane the body uses to find the ball. When ball position moves between shots, the swing compensates differently each time — and no amount of swing work can fix a problem that originates in the setup.
What makes the pathpal better than a single alignment stick for this drill?
A single alignment stick on the ground controls one variable — typically target line direction. The pathpal's multi-channel design allows two rods to be inserted at precise, fixed positions simultaneously, creating a complete setup template that controls both lead foot position and ball position in a single anchored station. Because the pathpal stays in place between shots, the golfer can step away, reset, and return to the same physical reference without adjusting anything.
Does this drill work for clubs other than irons?
Yes. Ball position moves progressively forward as the club gets longer — from back-center for short irons to inside the lead heel for driver — so the relevant pathpal channels shift with each club. The key is calibrating the station correctly for the specific club being practiced rather than using a generic position. Once set, the template is accurate for every rep with that club, building the consistent pattern for that specific ball position.
How many reps does it take to internalize the setup position?
Janean uses this as a high-repetition station — the research on motor learning suggests that consistent environmental cues speed pattern acquisition significantly. A focused session of 30–50 repetitions with the physical template can meaningfully stabilize setup consistency compared to practicing without a reference. The test is removing the rods and checking whether contact quality holds across the next 10 shots.
How does this drill integrate with Chris Foley's Constant Ball Position Drill?
Janean's drill locks in lead foot position and ball position simultaneously using the pathpal's multi-channel design. Chris Foley's drill uses two rods as forward and rear boundaries to define the precise slot the ball belongs in relative to the lead foot. Together they define the complete address station — foot placement and ball position — leaving only swing mechanics as the remaining source of variability to improve.
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