The Start-Line Gate
Why this drill
Every shot's story is written in its first ten yards. A gate of two alignment sticks planted a few paces downrange tells the truth about your start line — the variable that separates a playable curve from a lost ball.
Setup
Two alignment sticks planted vertically five paces down your target line, a flag-width apart (on mats, two range baskets work). A mid iron and fifteen balls.
The drill
Ten balls through the gate with your stock shot — count clean passes; seven of ten is tour-grade start control. Then move the gate a stick-width right of the target line and hit five draws that start through the gate and curve back to the flag. The gate makes the invisible visible: most slicers discover their ball starts left, not right, and the fix reorders itself accordingly.
One thought to take with you
The face sends it, the path bends it — the gate grades the face.