There are lots of golf swing drills and tests that don’t require expensive training aids. Often, all you need are common objects from around the house.

Using four short fun videos from my Instagram channel, I’ll show you some really easy and useful ways to test your swing positions and actions with nothing more complicated than a towel, can of spray, mirror, and headcover.

Test the Bottom of Your Swing With a Towel

Use this test to see if you can hit the ball but miss the towel.

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A post shared by Erika Larkin (@erikalarkinpga) on Dec 10, 2018 at 5:40am PST

This test will tell you if the bottom of your swing is happening in the right place to make a perfect divot!

If you fail and whack the towel, use this test as a practice drill and start with the ball about 8 inches ( 2 club head widths) in front of the towel. Graduate closer to the towel ( 1 club head width) as you improve! You can even try this without a ball indoors!

Erika’s Pro Tip

Shift your weight early in your downswing, check your ball position is not too far forward, hit down vs up to avoid casting/scooping action! Good luck!!!

Test Your Sweet Spot Contact with Dr. Scholls Spray

Get your Dr. Scholls spray and use it to find your sweet spot for more solid shots!

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A post shared by Erika Larkin (@erikalarkinpga) on Dec 9, 2018 at 5:38am PST

Just spray the club face lightly and if you like, use your finger to draw some crosshairs on the face to identify the middle (sweet spot).

Take a few swings and see the impact marks that the ball leaves on the face!

Erika’s Pro Tip

If your impact pattern is mostly on the toe side, stand closer to the ball or stretch your arms through impact.

If your pattern is heel side, stand farther away and make an effort to close the face more through impact.

If your pattern is high on the face or crown, you’re probably hitting down on the ball too much … move your ball position more forward in your stance.

If your pattern is low on the face raise your tee height! If you have no pattern and it’s scattered around… it’s time for some different drills to give you some control, balance so that you can develop a predictable and pattern around the center of the clubface!

Test Your Head Position Using a Mirror and a Marker

A mirror and a marker are all you need for simple visual feedback to create a feel for where your head moves during your swing.

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A post shared by Erika Larkin (@erikalarkinpga) on Nov 27, 2018 at 6:07am PST

Draw a letter T in the mirror and a circle (or smiley face) in the upper right corner. Line yourself up so your head is in the circle at setup.

I like keeping my head in the circle or smiley face area and close to the top line of the T in the backswing… give it a try!

Erika’s Pro Tip

if your head disappears out of the mirror you’re probably swaying so steady your legs and don’t move laterally. Just turn in place. If your head moves left or up back towards the target you might be standing up or over rotating/ overswinging or you are reverse pivoting and have your weight on the wrong leg at the top of the backswing.

Test Your Swing Using a Headcover

Unsheathe your driver and voila!… you have the perfect training aid to fix a few different swing faults!

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A post shared by Erika Larkin (@erikalarkinpga) on Dec 11, 2018 at 6:26am PST

Erika’s Pro Tip