8. Double Alignment Stick Drill

AWG Lesson Library · Rotation & Sequencing

Double Alignment Stick Drill — Shoulder–Hip Separation Blueprint

Using two alignment sticks, this drill gives you a clear visual for how the upper body and lower body should move in the backswing and downswing. You’ll learn to create real shoulder–hip separation going back, then get the shoulders back behind the hips through impact instead of spinning out.

Thoracic Turn Kinematic Sequence Body Positions

› What this drill helps fix Issues

No real separation between shoulders and hips.
Upper body spinning out over the top.
Weak coil with everything turning together.
Inconsistent body positions at the top and into impact.

› Positions & feels to look for Backswing / Downswing

Upper stick (shoulders) turning to ~90°, lower stick (hips) around ~40–45°.
On the way down, upper stick getting back behind the lower stick, not past it.
If the top stick passes in front or never meets the bottom stick, you know you’re off.
Clear awareness of how much the chest should move vs. the waist.

Setup & Reps

Two-Stick Rotation Check

1 Set the sticks: Place one alignment stick across your shoulders and one through your front belt loops so both sticks point roughly at the target at address.
2 Backswing checkpoint: Turn to the top so the shoulder stick rotates well past the hip stick (around 90° vs ~40°). Chest goes farther than the waist.
3 Downswing checkpoint: Start down and feel the shoulder stick get back behind the hip stick. If it shoots in front or never meets it, the sequence is off.

Use this without a ball first. Once the visual makes sense, blend the same shoulder–hip relationship into your normal swings for more coil, more power, and a cleaner sequence.

8. Double Alignment Stick Drill

Double Alignment Stick Drill — Shoulder–Hip Separation Blueprint

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