Coach's Sticky Tape Drill Fixes Fat and Thin Golf Shots

Many high-handicap golfers hit fat and thin shots because they fixate on the ball itself and try to keep their head dead still through impact, according to Top 50 coach and PGA professional Russell Covey. That focus, he says, obscures a more important fact: the swing's low point should come after the ball, not at it.

What is the sticky tape drill?

Covey has his students place three pieces of tape on the range, sticky side down, using a mat rather than turf. One piece goes behind an imaginary ball, a second sits four inches in front of it, and a third is set to the side to mark a rehearsal swing. Instead of looking at the ball, the golfer is told to look at the piece of tape four inches ahead and try to strike that one instead.

Covey says students are often stunned to see tape marks on the clubhead after finishing the swing, since it confirms the club bottomed out well past where the ball would have sat. The goal, he says, is to feel roughly 75 percent of the body weight on the lead side with the hands and handle leading the clubhead through impact.

Is there a version for slicers?

Golfers working on a persistent slice can adjust the drill by placing the front piece of tape slightly to the right of the ball's line instead of straight ahead. Aiming the strike at that spot, Covey says, can help nudge an out-to-in swing path back toward neutral.

Covey, who was named a PGA Specialist Coach and Specialist Professional in 2021, has coached players to titles at the Spanish, French, Dutch, Scottish and English Amateur Championships as well as the St Andrews Links Trophy.