The Runway Drill

Improve Your Center Contact and Swing Path

Sticks: 2
Config: Together
Focus: Full Swing

Drill Objective

This drill uses the pathpal and two alignment sticks to create a "runway," providing a visual guide and immediate feedback to help you hit the center of the club face and straighten your swing path

Set-Up

  1. Set up the pathpal training aid with two alignment sticks to create a "runway" for your golf club
  2. The sticks should be positioned to allow the club to swing through the middle of the "runway"
  3. The width of the runway can be adjusted to make the drill easier or more challenging

Instructions

  1. Take practice swings, aiming to land the club in the center of the sticks
  2. If you hit the inner stick, it means your swing is too much from the inside
  3. If you hit the outer stick, it indicates that your swing is too much from the outside
  4. Continue practicing until you can consistently swing through the center of the "runway," which will help you improve your swing path and contact

Benefits

Improved Club Path
Consistent chipping
Improves contact
Reduce Toe Misses
Reduce Heel Misses
Grayson Zacker
Grayson Zacker
Director of Instruction, Lead Master Instructor
Jim McLean Golf SChool
  • 2015, 2024: SFPGA Southern Chapter Teacher of the Year
  • 5: Times recognized as Golf Digest Best Young Teachers in America
  • Top 40: Top 40 Instructor under the age of 40

Specific Drill Reviews

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Efrim Moore
Efrim Moore Assistant Coach, Moorehouse College

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Jacob Tilton
Jacob Tilton Director of Instruction, Ansley Golf Club

""The reason I like [the pathpal] is because it's super versatile""

Cody Carter
Cody Carter Head of Player Development, Druid Hills Golf Club

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Drill FAQ

Questions About This Drill

Get clear answers on setup, swing feel, common mistakes, and how to get the most out of this PathPal drill.

Off-center contact usually means your swing path is drifting either too far inside-out or outside-in through the impact zone. The Runway Drill creates a physical gate using pathpal's alignment stick tunnels, giving you instant feedback — if you hit the inner stick, you're coming too much from the inside; hit the outer stick, and you're swinging too far over the top. Doing repetitions through this gate trains your body to find the center of the face consistently.

A neutral swing path means the clubhead is traveling straight down the target line through impact, rather than cutting across it inside-out or outside-in. This matters because path is the #1 driver of where your ball starts and how it curves. The Runway Drill uses two alignment sticks slid through pathpal to make a straight-line gate, so you can feel and see a neutral path in real time.

Slide two alignment sticks through pathpal's ground alignment tunnels to create a narrow channel — or "runway" — on each side of the clubhead. The sticks sit at the perfect 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.

Pushes and pulls are almost always a path problem — your club is either traveling too far inside-out (push) or outside-in (pull) through impact. The Runway Drill forces you to swing the club straight down the gate, eliminating the path error that causes both misses. Grayson Zacker, Director of Instruction at the Jim McLean Golf Schools, uses this drill specifically to get players' paths on track.

Grayson Zacker is a Class-A PGA Professional, Director of Instruction for the Jim McLean Golf Schools at the Biltmore Hotel Miami, a Golf Digest "Best Young Teacher in America," and a two-time SFPGA Southern Chapter Teacher of the Year. He uses pathpal because its alignment stick tunnels create instant, repeatable feedback setups — like the Runway Drill — that would otherwise require extensive range time to build from scratch.

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Full Video Transcript

Open the transcript to review the complete drill walkthrough in text form.

This is called the Runway Drill, and it's a very simple drill to work on your center contact and your swing path.

Setup:

I'm using the pathpal training aid, which has a great feature that lets you slide alignment sticks underneath it.

The spacing creates the perfect distance to form a little "runway" for you to try to land the golf club on.

How It Works:

Take a series of practice swings, working to land the club right down the center of those two sticks.

This gets your swing path going straight.

The Feedback:

Too much from the inside? You'll catch the inner stick.

Too much from the outside? You'll catch the outer stick.

If you're struggling with center contact, you'll get feedback right away. It's a great drill to improve your swing path and sharpen your contact.

Transcript lightly edited for clarity.