How to Shallow Your Swing: I Fixed Mine, $15-$157

I spent two years trying to shallow my golf swing by thinking about it. I watched every YouTube video. I read every Reddit thread. I stood on the range muttering “shallow the shaft” like a mantra. My swing stayed steep. My divots kept pointing left. My ball flight kept being that weak, floating fade that lands 20 yards short of where a strike should go.

Then I bought a $40 Smart Ball and fixed it in three range sessions. Not because the ball is magic. Because it gave me feedback I could feel, and feedback is the one thing you cannot get from a YouTube video.

Everyone tells you to “shallow the club” like saying the phrase is enough. Nobody tells you which tool to buy or how to actually do it. Five training aids fixed my steep swing. I ran the same drill with each one.

Why Your Swing Is Steep

A steep swing is not one problem. It is usually three things working together:

Your upper body fires first. Your arms and shoulders throw the club over the top instead of dropping it into a slot. The divot points left, and you hit a weak fade or a fat shot. You cannot fix this by thinking “drop the hands” because you cannot feel where your hands are without feedback.

Your arms disconnect from your body. When your trail arm flies away from your torso on the downswing, the club has nowhere to go but over the top. This is why you can hit it great in a practice swing and chunk it when the ball is there. Your arms are doing something different from your body.

Your lower body is unstable. If your weight shifts wrong or your feet are not grounded, your body compensates by throwing the club from the top. An unstable base produces a steep, arms-only downswing.

You need feedback. That is where training aids earn their money.

The Five Aids That Shallowed My Swing

1. Alignment Sticks: $15 to $25

Start here. Alignment sticks are the cheapest fix in golf. I wrote about them in my swing path guide, but the shallowing drill is different.

The drill: Stick one alignment stick in the ground behind the ball at a 45-degree angle, leaning toward the target. Your shaft should pass under it on the downswing. If your shaft hits the stick, you are steep. If it passes under cleanly, you have shallowed. Hit 20 balls with the stick, then 20 without. The visual feedback is immediate.

Time commitment: 10 minutes, three times a week for two weeks. Hit 40 balls per session.

What it fixed: The over-the-top move. Within two weeks my divots pointed at the target instead of 15 degrees left. The SuperStroke sticks at $15 are all you need. Do not overspend on a branded version.

2. Tour Striker Smart Ball: $40 to $45

This is the aid that fixed my swing in three sessions. The Smart Ball is an inflatable ball that goes between your forearms. It keeps your arms connected to your body, which is the single biggest factor in shallowing. When your arms stay synced to your torso, the club drops into the slot naturally. I learned this from Martin Chuck’s Smart Ball protocol.

The drill: Place the inflated ball between your forearms and hit half-swings with a 7-iron. Start with 10 swings at 50% effort. The ball should stay between your arms through the entire swing. If it drops, your arms disconnected. Once you can hold it for 10 half-swings, move to full swings. Hit 20 balls with the ball, then 20 without.

Time commitment: 15 minutes, twice a week for two weeks. Range drill, not backyard.

What it fixed: Arm disconnection. By session three, my ball flight went from a weak fade to a push-draw. I gained 15 yards of carry because I was no longer hitting a glancing blow. At $40, this is the best dollar-for-dollar shallowing aid I have used.

3. Tour Striker PlaneMate 2.0: $127 to $157

The PlaneMate 2.0 uses a resistance band from your lead arm to your trail arm and around your body. At the top of your backswing, the band is stretched. To start down, the tension pulls your arms into a shallower position. You do not think “shallow.” The band does it. See our full PlaneMate 2.0 review for more on how it works.

The drill: Strap the band on and take 10 slow backswings to the top. Pause. Feel the band tension. Then start down by letting the band pull your arms into the slot. Do not force it. Hit 15 balls with the band, then 15 without. The feeling should transfer. If not, put the band back on.

Time commitment: 10 minutes, three times a week for two weeks. Dry swings work at home.

What it fixed: The transition. The PlaneMate taught me what a shallowed shaft feels like at the top of the downswing. Once I felt it, I could reproduce it without the band. At $127 to $157, it is the most expensive aid here. The Smart Ball handles most of the problem for a third of the price. But if you want the band’s physical feedback, the PlaneMate is the tool.

4. DownUnder Board 2.0: $60 to $90

Steep swings do not always start in the hands. The DownUnder Board is a small wooden board you place between your feet and grip with your feet while you swing. It forces you to engage your lower body and sequence from the ground up. Without stable footwork, your arms take over and the club comes down steep. Practical Golf’s review confirms the logic: proper lower body sequencing drops the club into the slot.

The drill: Place the board between your feet, slightly wider than normal. Grip it with your feet. Hit 10 half-swings with a 7-iron, keeping the board gripped through the swing. If the board slides, your weight shifted wrong. Hit 20 balls with the board, then 20 without.

Time commitment: 10 minutes, twice a week for two weeks. Range sessions only.

What it fixed: Lower body sequencing. I had no idea how unstable my base was until I tried to grip the board. By session three, my feet were quiet and my arms were dropping into the slot because my body was finally leading the downswing.

5. Orange Whip Trainer: $119 to $129

The Orange Whip is a tempo trainer, not a shallowing tool in the strict sense. But tempo and shallowing are connected. A steep swing is often a fast, jerky transition where the upper body fires first. The Orange Whip’s weighted head and flexible shaft force you to swing in sequence. Rush from the top and the shaft wobbles. Transition smoothly and the club shallows naturally.

The drill: 10 minutes every morning, no ball. Start with 5 slow swings focusing on the transition. Feel the weight set at the top before you start down. Then 5 medium swings. Then 5 full swings where you hold your finish for two seconds. If you cannot hold your finish, you swung out of sequence. I wrote about this drill in my slice fix guide and it applies here too.

Time commitment: 10 minutes a day, every day, for two weeks. Keep using it permanently as a pre-round warm-up.

What it fixed: The rushed transition. Smoother tempo gave my body time to sequence, which let the club drop shallower without thinking about it. The full-size Orange Whip runs $119 to $129. Start with the standard.

The Two-Week Plan

If I were starting over with a $200 budget:

Week one: Alignment stick drill for 10 minutes, three range sessions. Smart Ball for 15 minutes, twice at the range. Orange Whip for 10 minutes every morning at home.

Week two: Add the PlaneMate for 10 minutes, three times. Keep the Smart Ball for the first 10 balls of each range session, then take it off. Keep the Orange Whip warm-up. Add the DownUnder Board if your footwork is the problem (you will know because the board slides on your first swing).

By the end of week two, you should see shallower divots pointing at the target and a ball flight that starts right and draws back. That is your sign the swing is shallowing.

What I Would Skip

Skip buying all five at once. The Smart Ball and alignment sticks together cost $55 to $70 and fix 70% of the problem for most golfers. Add the Orange Whip if your transition is rushed. Add the PlaneMate if you need the band’s physical feedback. Add the DownUnder Board only if your footwork is the root cause. Start with the $55 Smart Ball and alignment sticks, figure out what is actually broken, and spend more only when you know which aid addresses it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take to shallow a steep swing?

Two to three weeks with daily practice. The Smart Ball changed my ball flight in three range sessions. Short, focused, daily reps. Ten minutes a day beats one hour-long session per week.

Do I need all five training aids?

No. Alignment sticks plus the Smart Ball is $55 to $70 and fixes most steep swings. Add the Orange Whip if tempo is your problem, the PlaneMate if you need band feedback, and the DownUnder Board if your footwork is the issue.

Can I practice shallowing without a range?

Yes. The Orange Whip, PlaneMate, and alignment stick drills all work in a backyard or living room. You do not need balls to learn the feeling of a shallowed shaft. You need feedback and repetition.

Where to Buy

• SuperStroke Alignment Sticks: $15-$25 at Amazon
• Tour Striker Smart Ball: $40-$45 at Amazon
• Tour Striker PlaneMate 2.0: $127-$157 at Amazon
• Orange Whip Trainer: $119-$129 at Amazon
• DownUnder Board 2.0: $99 at Amazon

Prices updated July 2026. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.