Chipping consistency comes down to keeping the clubhead traveling on a clean, neutral plane where the bounce of the wedge can glide through the turf. When the club sucks inside on the takeaway or whips around your body after impact, contact breaks down fast.
Golf Digest Best Young Teacher Cody Carter uses both halves of the pathpal set at 50-degree and 45-degree angles in an 'X' pattern to build a complete backswing and follow-through plane corridor for your wedge game.
See the full step-by-step station on the "X" Plane Drill for chipping page, or watch Cody demonstrate the setup below.
The drill
Cody Carter (Director of Player Development at Druid Hills Golf Club; 2018-2026: Golf Digest Best Young Teachers in America, 2022, 2024-2025: Golf Magazine Top Teachers to Watch, 2024-2025: Golf Digest Best Teachers in State) uses the pathpal training system to give golfers immediate physical and visual feedback on every repetition.
This drill uses the pathpal to create an "X" shaped guide, helping golfers achieve a more vertical swing plane and prevent the club from getting too far inside or releasing too much around the body with wedges.
Setup
- Prepare pathpal: Take both pieces of your pathpal
- Form the "X": Set one piece at a 50-degree angle and the other at a 45-degree angle. Arrange them on the ground in front of you to form an "X" pattern.
- Position the "X": Place the "X" on the ground so that it's in front of your golf ball, aligning with your target line. The specific placement can be adjusted slightly, but the goal is for the "X" to guide your club's path.
- Adjust for Clubhead Clearance: Ensure the sticks are positioned so that your clubhead can swing through the "X" without hitting either stick if your swing plane is correct. You can move the sticks slightly closer or further away to fine-tune this.
How to run the drill
- Assume Address: Set up to your golf ball with your wedge, taking your normal address position, with the pathpal "X" in front of you.
- Monitor Backswing: As you take your club back, focus on keeping the clubhead in front of the alignment sticks, especially the one preventing an overly inside takeaway. This promotes a more vertical swing plane.
- Control Follow-Through: On the downswing and follow-through, continue to keep the clubhead in front of the sticks. This helps prevent "flipping" the club around your body and encourages a more "down the target line" motion.
- Swing Smoothly: Make practice swings and then hit balls, concentrating on maintaining the desired path guided by the "X." Your aim is to swing without contacting either stick, ensuring your club stays on plane.
- Identify Issues: If you hit the inside stick, your backswing is too far inside. If you hit the outside stick on the follow-through, you might be releasing the club too much around your body. Adjust your swing based on this feedback.
Hitting the rear rod tells you your takeaway rolled too far inside; hitting the front rod on the follow-through tells you the club is whipping left and flipping around your body.
Watch the drill
View the full guided drill on pathpal →
Why it works
Most short-game drills only police half of the stroke. A golfer might fix an inside takeaway only to pull-hook the chip by wrapping the clubhead low and left around their hips after contact.
The X-Station guides both ends of the wedge arc: in front of your hands going back, and down the target line coming through.
By splitting the pathpal into its two halves and setting one rod at 50 degrees and the other at 45 degrees in an 'X' formation along the target line, Cody Carter creates a 3D plane channel. Your wedge stays in front of your chest going back and exits cleanly down the line.
Who this is for
- ✓Golfers who whip the wedge inside on the takeaway and struggle with fat chips
- ✓Players who flip or wrap the clubhead low around their body on the follow-through
- ✓Anyone looking for a complete two-way plane station for greenside wedges
- ✓Golfers who want more consistent spin and launch windows around the green
Try it
Split your pathpal into two halves, set one rod at 50 degrees and the other at 45 degrees to form an 'X' along your target line, and run controlled greenside chips.
- Split the pathpal, set the two rods at 50 degrees and 45 degrees in an X pattern along the target line
- Make 10 slow rehearsal swings keeping the wedge head in front of both rods going back and through
- Hit 15 chip shots without touching either rod, noting which rod gives feedback if your path drifts
- Pull the ball two inches clear of the station and hit 5 chips to test the plane on an unconstrained lie
This drill uses the pathpal magnetic 14-angle training station and alignment sticks. Shop pathpal, pair it with The Arrow padded alignment sticks, or explore the Complete Training System with Free U.S. Shipping.
Related drills
If this drill matches what you are working on, these three guided drills build on the exact same movement pattern:
Vertical Backswing Drill
Taught by Shawn Koch. Develop a Steeper Takeaway and Prevent a Flat Swing. View drill →
Vertical Swing Plane
Taught by Cody Carter. Optimize Attack Angle and Spin for Crisp Wedge Shots. View drill →
About Cody Carter
Frequently asked questions
What angles do I use on the pathpal to build the 'X' Plane Drill?
Cody Carter sets one pathpal half at the 50-degree slot and the other half at the 45-degree slot, arranging them along the target line so the two alignment rods cross in an 'X' shape.
What does it mean if my club hits the back stick on the takeaway?
Contacting the back stick means your takeaway is rolling or sucking too far inside behind your hands rather than working up the vertical wedge plane.
What does it mean if my club hits the front stick on the follow-through?
Hitting the front stick after impact indicates you are releasing or wrapping the clubhead too far left around your body instead of extending down the target line.
How does a more vertical wedge plane reduce fat chip shots?
Keeping the clubhead in front of your hands prevents the club from dropping too shallow behind the ball, allowing the bounce of the sole to strike the turf at the ball rather than behind it.
Do I need two separate pathpals to build the X-Station?
No. Every single pathpal splits magnetically into two independent halves, each with its own full set of 14 angled rod slots.
Ready to stop guessing and build a repeatable swing?
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