You don't need a driving range membership or a five-figure simulator to get better at golf. Some of the most useful practice can happen right at home in the living room, in the garage, or out in the backyard.
Putting, chipping, setup, tempo, balance, and ball-striking can all be worked on with minimal space and equipment. The key is choosing drills with a clear purpose and practicing them consistently.
Below are 14 simple golf drills you can do at home, organized by skill, along with quick practice routines and a basic gear guide. Even if you have just a few feet of floor space, there are plenty of ways to keep improving without having to leave the house.
Putting Drills
Putting is the easiest skill to sharpen indoors, and it's where most rounds are won or lost. These four drills work on a putting mat or a low-pile carpet, no green required.
Learn More: 10 Tips To Dramatically Improve Your Putting Skills →
1. Putting Gate Drill
Focus: Start line and putter-face control
Set two tees, coins, or small household objects a short distance apart, just wider than your putter head to create a "gate" a few inches in front of the ball. Practice rolling putts through the gate without clipping either side.
- Start with a wide gate and narrow it as your accuracy improves.
- Don’t change gate width until you can consistently make the putt at your current width.
Putting is all about consistency and control, and this drill helps build that foundation.
2. Straight-Line Putting Drill
Focus: Alignment and stroke direction
Lay down a straight target line using painter's tape, a piece of string, or use the guide on a putting mat. Your only job is to start the ball rolling directly down that line.
- Begin at short distances and gradually move back.
- Focus on starting direction, not power and distance.
Want to add a simple tempo check? Balance a coin on top of your putter as you swing; a smooth, on-line stroke will keep it in place, while a jerky one will knock it off.
3. Putting Distance-Control Drill
Focus: Pace and lag putting
Mark out target zones at different distances using tape, coins, towels, or household objects. Instead of aiming for a single target, try to stop the ball inside each zone.
- Work from larger zones down to smaller ones as your feel improves.
- Change up your distance from the zones you create to build your feel for a wider variety of scenarios.
Pace is what saves you from three-putts, and it's one of the easiest things to build on a short indoor surface.
4. Putting Pressure Ladder
Focus: Consistency under pressure
This drill is a great way to combine the drills outlined above, or practice putts with a putting matt or basic target. Pick several putts or drills that are increasingly difficult. You have to make one before you can advance to the next, and a miss sends you back to the start.
- Adding consequences makes repetitive practice feel focused and game-like.
- Beginners can shorten the ladder; experienced players can stretch it out and add a longer finishing putt.
Chipping Drills
A sharp short game is the quickest way to shave strokes, and you can build one in the backyard or indoors with foam balls. Use a wedge and go easy on the swing.
5. Towel Landing-Zone Drill
Focus: Landing spot and distance control
Place a folded towel a few feet away as your target. Instead of aiming at a hole, practice landing your chips directly on the towel.
- Use foam or practice balls indoors where appropriate.
- Shrink the towel or move it back to raise the difficulty.
- Track your makes out of a set number of attempts.
Learning to control where the ball lands is what separates a good chip from a guess. If you're still sorting out the basics, here's how to practice your chipping.
6. Household Target Chipping Drill
Focus: Accuracy
Grab a chipping net, laundry basket, bucket, cardboard box, or any safe target. Hit sets of 5-10 balls and count how many land in the target.
- Practice from a few distances or angles if you have the room.
- Foam balls keep this safe indoors.
- Specialized equipment is nice, but optional.
Repeating this a few times a week helps improve your short game faster than you'd expect.
7. One-Club Distance-Control Drill
Focus: Feel and swing-length control
Pick one wedge and use it to hit a few predetermined distances. Keep the club the same and change your swing length instead of swinging harder.
- Set short, medium, and long target zones.
- Keep your tempo consistent — no adding speed.
- Track how often your shots finish in each zone.
This is how you build predictable short-game distances, so you're not guessing when you're standing over a real pitch.
Golf Swing Drills You Can Practice at Home
You can do real work on your full swing at home, most of it without even hitting a ball. These seven drills build a repeatable motion you can trust on the course.
8. Mirror Setup Drill
Focus: Address position and consistency
Stand in front of a full-length mirror or set up your phone camera and check your setup. A good swing starts with a good address position.
- Review stance width, posture, ball position, shoulder alignment, and grip.
- Step in and out of your address position until it's repeatable.
- Focus on consistency, not full swings.
If your grip needs work, use these checkpoints alongside our full guide on how to grip a golf club, and use the mirror to check your posture and alignment too.
9. Slow-Motion Swing Drill
Focus: Swing positions and body awareness
Make very slow practice swings with no ball, pausing at the key positions: takeaway, top of the backswing, impact, and finish.
- Use a mirror or phone video for feedback.
- Focus on balance, sequencing, and control, not speed.
- Start with partial swings before building to full-motion rehearsals.
Slowing everything down makes it easy to feel where your swing actually is versus where you think it is.
10. Feet-Together Balance Drill
Focus: Balance and tempo
Make short practice swings with your feet together or close together. A narrow base exposes any excess movement fast.
- Start with half swings and gradually add range of motion.
- Keep your balance through the finish.
- Add foam balls or a net if you have the space.
11. Towel Connection Drill
Focus: Arm and body connection
Tuck a towel under both arms and make slow half swings, keeping the towel in place the whole time.
- The towel encourages your arms and torso to move together.
- Start with no ball.
- Progress to short shots into a net if it's safe to do so.
12. Low-Point Control Drill
Focus: Ball-first contact
Place a towel or another flat object a few inches behind the ball and hit shots off a mat while avoiding the towel.
- Clipping the towel first usually means your club is reaching the ground too early.
- Adjust the towel distance based on your skill level.
- Use a net or a safe outdoor setup.
Ball-first contact is the difference between crisp iron shots and chunks.
13. Clubface Contact Drill
Focus: Centered strike
Use impact tape, strike stickers, or foot spray to see exactly where you're hitting the face. Hit a small group of shots and read the pattern.
- Look for heel, toe, high, low, or centered contact.
- Work on tightening the pattern rather than just hitting more balls.
- Repeat it now and then to measure progress.
Center-face contact is where distance and consistency come from, more than swing speed for most players.
14. Swing Tempo Drill
Focus: Rhythm and consistency
Use a simple count or verbal cue to lock in a repeatable tempo. Practice it without a ball first, then add shots.
- Keep your backswing and downswing rhythm consistent.
- Don't turn it into a speed exercise.
- Record a few swings to compare your rhythm over time.
Build a Simple At-Home Golf Practice Routine
You don't need marathon sessions to improve. A short, focused routine a few times a week beats one long grind. Here are two easy templates.
15-Minute Practice Routine
- 5 minutes: Putting accuracy or distance control
- 5 minutes: Swing mechanics or tempo
- 5 minutes: Chipping or short-game control
30-Minute Practice Routine
- 10 minutes: Putting
- 10 minutes: Swing mechanics
- 10 minutes: Short game
Choose drills based on your current weaknesses instead of trying to run every drill in one sitting. Track your scores or success rates so you can see progress, and rotate your drills every so often to keep practice sharp.
How to Make At-Home Golf Practice More Effective
A few simple habits make home practice count for a lot more:
- Keep sessions short and focused.
- Work on one specific skill at a time.
- Set a measurable goal for each drill.
- Track your scores, makes, or strike patterns.
- Increase the difficulty once a drill gets easy.
- Video yourself from time to time to check your mechanics.
- Test your improvements later at the range or on the course.
- Prioritize quality reps over hitting a big pile of balls.
Home is also a great place to work on the mental side of your game and to build strength and flexibility with golf fitness exercises — both pay off on the course.
What Equipment Do You Need to Practice Golf at Home?
Here's the good news: most of the drills above need almost nothing. Start simple and add gear only if you want to.
Basic Setup
- A golf club
- Golf balls or foam practice balls
- Low pile carpet or rug
- A towel
- Coins or tape
- A mirror
Optional Practice Equipment
- Putting practice mat
- Alignment sticks
- Chipping net
- Hitting mat
- Practice net
- Impact tape or strike stickers
Advanced Setup
- Launch monitor
- Golf simulator
A simulator or launch monitor is fun if you live somewhere winter shuts golf down for months, and it can measure things like launch angle and spin. If you go that route, check out our guide to effectively training on a golf simulator. But be clear on this: almost every drill in this guide needs none of it.
As for where to set up, an indoor space like a basement, garage, or spare room gives you year-round practice regardless of weather. A backyard, patio, or garden gives you more room to make full swings safely — just keep the weather and your surroundings in mind.
Practice at Home, Take It to the Course
At-home practice is at its best when you use it to build repeatable fundamentals and sharpen specific skills. The goal isn't to live in your garage — it's to carry those reps to the range and the course.
Stay consistent and deliberate. A little focused practice a few times a week will do more for your game than the occasional long session.
And when you do take it to the course, the gear in your hands matters. Forgiving golf clubs help take the sting out of a mis-hit, so the good habits you built at home show up in your scores. Stix builds clean, forgiving clubs that feel great to practice with and even better to play — simple to buy, easy to play.
