Vertical takeaway drill

Jacob Tilton positions the pathpal approximately 2–3 feet behind the golfer at roughly 75 degrees — angled toward the player — with the alignment stick tip at hand height at address. This placement catches any takeaway that gets too flat or too far inside, as well as any backward weight shift or tilt. The 75-degree setting is Jacob's preferred angle for short game vertical plane work; he notes he would never go below 65 degrees for this drill, as steeper angles provide more precise feedback for the upright motion required.

In the short game takeaway, "outside the hands" means the clubhead stays visible and in front of the body — moving "out and up" rather than rolling flat and behind the trail hip. When the clubhead stays outside the hands, the swing plane remains vertical, the angle of attack stays steep, and the club can deliver a descending blow that creates friction, spin, and controlled launch. When the club gets inside the hands early, it flattens around the body and makes consistent low point control extremely difficult.

When the club gets flat and stuck behind the body on a chip or pitch takeaway, the swing plane flattens, the angle of attack becomes too shallow, and the club struggles to find the bottom of the ball cleanly. Jacob's Trackman data in the video illustrates what the correct vertical plane produces: launch angle of 30 degrees, ball speed of 31 mph, carry of 18–20 yards, and spin rates of 5,500–6,000 rpm. That kind of spin and low-launch control is only possible when the club is delivered steeply from a vertical plane — not a flat, around-the-body backswing.

Jacob notes that while his primary use for this drill is short game, the 65-degree setting could address takeaway issues in more extreme full swing situations as well. However, he specifically recommends the 75-degree angle for short game work and emphasizes that the drill's highest value is in pitch and chip shots — where a vertical plane is most critical and where a flat takeaway causes the most damage to consistency. For full swing takeaway corrections, he suggests staying above 65 degrees as the lower setting.

Based on Jacob's Trackman data demonstrated in the drill, a well-executed short pitch shot with a vertical swing plane should produce a launch angle around 30 degrees, ball speed of roughly 31 mph for an 18–20 yard carry, and spin rates in the 5,500–6,000 rpm range. These numbers reflect true ball-first contact with a descending blow — the kind of strike that creates friction between the face and ball. Golfers with flat takeaways and shallow angles of attack typically see significantly lower spin rates and inconsistent launch angles on similar distance shots.