Two-Tee Drill to Fix Your Swing Plane | Iron Striking Tip

I spend a lot of time watching launch monitor data and club delivery numbers, and one pattern keeps showing up with recreational players: the club rarely arrives at impact on a consistent plane. Sometimes it's steep, sometimes shallow, and the ball flight is a mystery box every time. The frustrating part? Most golfers know they have a plane issue but have no idea how to feel it, let alone fix it.

That's why I pay attention when a Top 100 Teacher offers a drill that requires zero technology and costs nothing. Dr. Alison Curdt, director of instruction at Wood Ranch Golf Club in Simi Valley, California, recently shared a checkpoint drill using just two tees. It's the kind of thing you can do at the range without any gadgets — and it gives you immediate, visual feedback on whether your takeaway is putting you in position for solid iron contact.

How the Two-Tee Plane Drill Works

Here's the setup: place one tee in the ground about a foot behind your ball. Then take a second tee and stick it into the butt end of your grip so a couple inches are poking out. That's it — no alignment sticks, no training aids, just two tees you probably already have in your pocket.

Now make your backswing and stop when your lead arm is parallel to the ground. Instructors call this position P3, and it's a critical checkpoint for swing plane. At P3, the tee sticking out of your grip should point directly at the tee in the ground behind the ball.

Here's where the feedback gets useful:

If the butt of the grip points outside the tee (the far side, away from your body), your club is too shallow.
If it points inside the tee (the near side, closer to your body), your club is too steep.

When the grip-end tee aims right at the target tee, you're on plane and in position to deliver a solid strike.

Why This Drill Actually Makes Sense

From a technical standpoint, what Dr. Curdt is doing here is giving you an external reference point for something that's notoriously hard to feel. Swing plane is an abstract concept until you have a visual cue that tells you exactly where you are in space. The tee-in-the-grip trick exaggerates the angle of the club's butt end, making it easier to see whether you're steep, shallow, or dialed in.

I've tested plenty of swing trainers that promise to groove your plane — some cost $150 or more. This drill does the same job for free. It's not a replacement for a launch monitor session or a full lesson, but it's an excellent self-check you can run through a dozen times during a warm-up bucket.

A Note on Feel vs. Real

One thing I always remind readers: what you feel in your swing and what's actually happening are often two different things. You might think you're making a perfect takeaway, but if the tee is pointing inside that target, you're steeper than you realize. The drill removes guesswork and lets you calibrate your feel to reality. That's the kind of feedback loop that actually leads to improvement.

When to Use This Drill

I'd recommend working this into your range routine when you're hitting mid-irons — 6, 7, or 8-iron — where plane issues show up most clearly. It's also useful as a diagnostic tool when your ball striking suddenly goes sideways. If you start chunking irons or hitting pulls, run through the two-tee check. You might find your plane has drifted without you noticing.

For players who struggle with coming over the top, this drill can be a wake-up call. A steep P3 often leads to that classic amateur over-the-top move, which produces weak slices and pulled shots. Catch the problem early in the backswing and you've got a chance to shallow out before transition.

Takeaway

Dr. Alison Curdt's two-tee drill is one of those rare practice tools that's genuinely simple, genuinely free, and genuinely effective. If you've been chasing a consistent swing plane without success, this visual checkpoint at P3 might be the missing piece. Stick a tee in your grip, set a target behind the ball, and get honest feedback on your takeaway. It won't fix everything — but it gives you a clear starting point, and that's more than most drills offer.