If you've ever walked off the course frustrated because your ball keeps starting left, then right, then nowhere near where you aimed — your swing path is the culprit. Pushes and pulls aren't a mystery. They're a path problem. And the fix is simpler than you think.
Meet the Runway Drill.
See the full setup on the Runway Drill page, or watch Grayson break it down on video:
Watch the Runway Drill on YouTube →
What is the Runway Drill?
Top instructor Grayson Zacker, PGA — Director of Instruction at the Jim McLean Golf Schools and a Golf Digest "Best Young Teacher in America" — uses this drill with students at the Biltmore Hotel in Miami, and now he's breaking it down with pathpal.
Using the pathpal training aid, Grayson slides two alignment sticks through pathpal's built-in alignment tunnels to create a narrow gate on either side of the clubhead — a "runway." The goal is simple: swing the club straight through the gate without touching either stick.
What the feedback tells you
- Hit the inner stick — your club is coming too far from the inside
- Hit the outer stick — you're swinging over the top
- Clean pass — that's a neutral path, and that's where consistency lives
Grayson Zacker demonstrates the Runway Drill setup and feedback. View on YouTube →
How to set it up
Slide two alignment sticks through pathpal's ground alignment tunnels to create a narrow channel on each side of the clubhead. The tunnels space the sticks at exactly the right distance apart to let a correct swing pass through cleanly. Take repeated practice swings, working to keep the club from contacting either stick. The spacing makes the feedback immediate and unmistakable.
Most amateur golfers never feel what a straight path actually is — they guess at it. The runway removes the guesswork.
The physical constraint of the two sticks trains your brain and body simultaneously, building the feel of a correct path that carries over to your actual ball-striking. This is why elite instructors like Grayson trust drills with immediate, tactile feedback over abstract swing thoughts.
Three path outcomes. Instant diagnosis.
Too inside-out
The club catches the inner stick. Your path is coming too far from the inside — a push or a low hook is the typical ball flight result.
Over the top
The club catches the outer stick. An outside-in path through the gate — the same fault that produces pulls, slices, and weak contact.
Neutral path
A clean pass through both sticks. The club is traveling straight at the target through impact — and that's where consistency lives.
Who this is for
- ✓ Golfers who consistently push or pull shots and can't pinpoint which path fault is responsible
- ✓ Players who struggle with off-center contact caused by path drift through the impact zone
- ✓ Anyone who relies on swing thoughts to manage path and wants a physical reference instead
- ✓ Golfers looking for a fast, low-setup drill that works at the range or indoors
Try it
Slide the alignment sticks through the pathpal tunnels, take your normal setup, and make 15 practice swings at half speed — focusing only on landing the club cleanly between the two sticks. Then hit 15 shots at 75% effort maintaining the same centered path feel. Once clean passes become automatic, remove the pathpal and hit five more shots — pay attention to how the neutral path feel transfers to the actual ball flight.
- Slide two alignment sticks through the pathpal tunnels to form the runway gate
- Make 15 practice swings at half speed — focus on landing the club between both sticks
- Note which stick you catch and what it tells you about your path direction
- Hit 15 shots at 75% effort maintaining the centered path feel
- Remove the pathpal — hit 5 shots and observe the ball flight change
Related drills
The Runway Drill trains a neutral path at impact. These three drills extend that work — fixing a specific path direction, centering your strike, and diagnosing the path fault that's driving your miss:
If the Runway's outer stick is what you keep catching, Eric Barlow's exit barrier drill isolates the outside-in fault directly — placing the pathpal in the exit zone to force the club right.
Also by Grayson Zacker. Once path is neutral, fat and thin contact can still persist from a shallow angle of attack. The behind-the-ball pathpal placement catches the shallow approach and trains a steeper strike.
Chris Foley's staggered two-rod gate shifts path in whichever direction you need — in-to-out or out-to-in — by simply swapping rod positions. The natural next step when the Runway identifies your path bias.
About Grayson Zacker
Frequently asked questions
How do I set up the Runway Drill with pathpal?
Slide two alignment sticks through pathpal's ground alignment tunnels to create a narrow channel — or "runway" — on each side of the clubhead at the impact zone. The tunnels space the sticks at exactly the right distance to let a correct swing pass through cleanly. Take repeated practice swings working to keep the club from contacting either stick — the spacing makes feedback immediate and unmistakable.
What causes pushes and pulls in golf?
Pushes and pulls are almost always a path problem. A push happens when the club travels too far inside-out through impact — the ball starts right and stays right. A pull happens when the club travels outside-in — the ball starts left and stays left. Both misses can feel like solid swings because the face is roughly square to the path. The Runway Drill makes path a pass/fail test on every rep rather than something you have to deduce from ball flight after the fact.
What is a neutral swing path in golf?
A neutral swing path means the clubhead is traveling straight down the target line through impact — not cutting across it inside-out or outside-in. Path is the primary driver of where the ball starts, so a neutral path gives you the most control over ball flight. The Runway Drill uses the two alignment sticks to make a straight-line gate, so you can feel and see a neutral path in real time rather than guessing at it.
Can off-center contact be caused by swing path?
Yes — path drift through the impact zone shifts the effective contact point on the face. A path that's too far inside-out tends to produce toe strikes as the clubhead leads the hands and swings away from the body. An outside-in path tends to produce heel or hosel contact as the club cuts across. Correcting path with the Runway Drill can improve centered contact directly, without any changes to grip or setup.
Can I use the Runway Drill indoors?
Yes — the pathpal sits flat on any surface and the alignment tunnels work just as well on a mat or carpet as on grass. The drill functions with practice swings alone, no ball flight required, making it one of the most useful indoor swing path tools available. Grayson uses this drill at an indoor teaching facility, so the setup is specifically designed to work in that environment.
Ready to stop guessing and start grooving a repeatable path?
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