How to Use Golf Alignment Sticks for Your Driver

A golf alignment stick fixes the mistake sitting behind most wayward drives, and that mistake is aim. Most players set up where they think the target is, which is usually a few yards off to one side, then swing along a path that matches the bad aim. Two sticks on the ground sort that out. You lay one along the ball-to-target line and a second one parallel to your feet, then you check that the driver face points down the first stick before you swing. This guide covers the driver setup, three range drills you can run with two sticks, the mistakes that waste them, and the sticks worth buying in the UK for under £40.

What alignment sticks do for your driver

A stick on the ground does one job well. It replaces your sense of aim with something you can see. When you stand behind the ball, your eyes sit off to one side of the target line, so your idea of straight is skewed by your own position. Lay a stick down the line and that skew disappears, because you now have a physical edge to set your feet and the club face against.

The second job is swing path. Two sticks laid a club head apart make a narrow gate, and the club has to travel through it on the way to the ball. If the club clips the outside stick, your path is cutting across the ball. If it misses to the inside, you are swinging out to the right, which is a fine thing to feel on purpose and a poor habit to fall into by accident.

Why the face matters most: launch monitor data used by Titleist shows the clubface decides about 85% of the starting direction of a driver shot, with the swing path accounting for the rest. An academic study in Proceedings measured the same thing across drivers, irons and wedges and found the ball starts between 61% and 83% toward the face angle. The practical read is simple. If your drives start well left or right of target, the face is the first thing to check, and a stick down the target line is how you check it at address.

The driver setup, step by step

Work through these in order. It takes about two minutes the first time and twenty seconds once you know it.

Step 1: set the target stick. Pick a real target, such as a marker post or a distant tree, rather than a vague patch of fairway. Lay the first stick on the ground so it runs from the ball toward that target. This stick is the line the face has to point down.

Step 2: set the stance stick. Lay the second stick parallel to the first, sitting just outside the ball. Stand with your toes a hand's width from it, so your feet run along the same line. If the two sticks form a wedge rather than a parallel pair, your feet are open or closed to the target and you have just found a fault you cannot feel.

Step 3: put the ball forward. A driver wants the ball off the inside of the lead heel, with your spine tilted a little away from the target so the club can catch the ball on the way up. If you have been fighting a low, spinning drive, this is often where it starts. Our guide to beginner drivers covers loft and shaft choice once the setup is right.

Step 4: check the face. Stand to the ball, grip the club, and look at where the leading edge of the driver points. It should sit square to the target stick. A grip that has drifted, or a regripped club with the logo twisted, will show up here immediately. If the face looks square but the ball keeps starting right, the grip is worth a look, and our regripping guide explains how alignment marks on the shaft are set.

Step 5: step back and re-check. Hit three balls, then walk behind the ball and look down the two sticks again. Feet drift. The whole point of the sticks is that they tell you when they have, which your eyes cannot do on their own.

Three driver drills with two sticks

The aim and face check

Set the two sticks as above. Hit ten drives without a ball, then ten with one, checking the face against the target stick before every swing. This is the drill to run when your drives are starting off line. Pair it with our guide to compressing the ball, which explains why a downward strike does not apply to the driver.

The path gate

Put one stick down as the target line and a second one parallel to it, about a club head apart. Stand between them and swing the driver through the gap. The club should pass through without clipping either stick. Move the gap tighter as you improve. This is the drill that builds a repeatable path, and it is the one to use when the driver is curving more than you want.

The ball position and low point drill

Lay one stick across your stance line, roughly under the ball. The driver should bottom out just behind that line and catch the ball on the way up. If the club bottoms out in front of it, you are hitting down on the driver and losing distance. Our club distance chart gives you realistic yardages to aim at once the strike is clean.

Mistakes that waste a good set of sticks

Laying only the stance stick. One stick tells you where your feet point and nothing about where the face points. The face is the part that decides the starting line, so the target stick is the one that matters.

Aiming at nothing in particular. A stick laid toward a random part of the range gives you a random target. Pick a post, a flag or a tree, so the line means something.

Setting them and forgetting them. The sticks only work if you look down the line every few balls. Ten swings without a check and you are back to guesswork.

Swinging at the sticks instead of past them. The gate is a reference, not a target. Trying to miss the sticks on purpose builds a contrived move. Swing normally and let the sticks report what happened.

If you practise on a mat at home, the same sticks work, and our home practice guide covers the mat and net gear that pairs with them.

What to look for when you buy

Alignment sticks are one of the few golf buys where the cheap option is close to the best. Four things separate the sets.

Length. Most sit around 48 inches, or 1.2 metres. Anything much shorter will not stretch past the ball when it sits on the target line, so keep to the standard length.

Fixed against collapsible. A fixed rod lies flatter and is harder to bend. A collapsible one folds to about half its length and fits a bag pocket, which matters if you travel light. The joint on a cheap collapsible stick is the part that fails first, so buy one with a metal collar rather than all plastic.

Colour. Bright colours are easier to see against a range mat and in long grass. Black reads better against a pale mat. This matters less than it sounds, but a stick you lose is a stick you do not use.

Tips. Metal tips grip a hard mat. Plastic tips are kinder to a wooden floor if you practise indoors.

A two-pack runs from about £8 for a folding pair to £30 for a branded set with a tube. If you are unsure of your aim, buy the cheap pair first, because the tool does the same job at every price. If you want a companion aid for path and plane, there are swing trainers and impact balls that sit alongside the sticks, and our golf bag guide covers carrying the extra kit.

Where this fits in the rest of your bag

Alignment sticks sort out aim, and everything else in the bag is a set of smaller decisions built on top of that. These pages pair with this one.

• How many wedges a beginner should carry, for the scoring end of the set.
• Best irons for high handicappers, if the long irons are the problem rather than the driver.
• The easiest rangefinders to use, for when you want a number as well as a line.
• How to play golf in the rain, because UK practice sessions get wet.
• How to clean your clubs, so the faces stay sharp after all that range time.
• Do expensive putters make a difference, the same price against skill question.
• How long golf gloves last, since a tired glove shifts the face around.
• Best golf shoes, for a stable base to swing from.

Quick picks

• Longridge Tour Rodz Alignment Sticks, Orange - £9.99
• NEAGLE 5-Pack Collapsible Alignment Sticks - £8.39
• CHAMPKEY 3-Pack Collapsible Alignment Sticks, 46 inch - £9.99
• NBBENG Foldable 2-Pack Alignment Sticks - £7.99
• flintronic Collapsible Alignment Sticks, 2 Pack - £9.99
• PROSKILLZ 2-Pack Collapsible Alignment Sticks - £12.99
• Longridge Tour Rodz Alignment Sticks, Black - £12.95
• PGA TOUR Pro Sticks - £19.99
• Titleist Alignment Golf Sticks, Set of 2 - £30.00
• HH-GOLF Alignment Rods with Lie Angle Gauge - £7.99
• VINSPIRE TRS Slider Golf Swing Trainer - £11.99
• Golf Swing Trainer Smart Ball, Impact Ball - £9.99

The sticks in more detail

Prices below are the live Amazon UK figures at the time of writing. Every set is a pair unless the listing says otherwise.

Frequently asked questions

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Priya Kaur

Priya covers rangefinders, shoes and training aids for WeekendGolfer, focusing on what helps a weekend golfer rather than tour-level gear.

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Last reviewed: October 4, 2026 · Evidence-based content · Contains affiliate links