Inside Takeaway Fix: 4 Training Aids That Attack the Root Cause

Most of the “fix your swing” money in this sport goes to the wrong end of the swing. Slice? Buy an anti-slice aid. Hook? Buy an anti-hook aid. Nobody sells a “fix the first two feet of your backswing” aid, even though that is where both problems usually start.

An inside takeaway means the clubhead whips behind you in the first 18 inches of the swing instead of traveling back along the target line. From that position your body has exactly two options. Either you throw the club over the top to rescue the swing, which gives you a slice or a pull. Or you drop it even further inside and flip your hands through, which gives you a hook or a block. Same fault, opposite symptoms. That is why your slice aid and your hook aid both failed. You were treating the fire, not the arsonist.

The short answer: start with the StraightAway at $59.99, the only tool here built specifically for this fault. But run the 60-second test below first so you know which flavor of inside takeaway you have.

The 60-Second Diagnosis: Do You Have an Inside Takeaway?

Set your phone up down-the-line and film one swing. You do not need a launch monitor.

Test 1: The two-foot line. Put a ball or tee about 15 inches directly behind your ball on the target line. In the first two feet of the backswing your clubhead should track back over that marker. If it immediately dives inside it, toward your trail foot, that is an inside takeaway.

Test 2: The shaft-parallel check. Pause the video at the moment the shaft first reaches parallel to the ground, roughly waist high. From straight down-the-line you should be able to see the clubhead outside or in line with your hands. If the clubhead is hidden behind your hands or body, it has gone inside.

Test 3: The hands-and-clubhead feel. In a correct takeaway your hands move in a touch while the clubhead stays out on the line. David Leadbetter calls it hands in, clubhead out. If you feel your hands and the clubhead both whip inside together, that is the fault.

If you pass all three, you do not have an inside takeaway. Do not buy anything on this list. Go read my swing path guide instead. If you failed one or more, keep reading. One note: an inside takeaway is not the same as a laid-off club at the top. If your club points left of the target at the top of the backswing, that is a laid-off backswing and it needs a different fix.

1. The StraightAway: $59.99 (Best Overall)

The StraightAway is a four-inch, two-ounce plastic track that clips onto any club shaft. It is David Leadbetter’s takeaway trainer, built for this fault and nothing else. You clip it on, make a swing or hit a ball, and the track shows whether your hands and clubhead move on the correct path from the first inch.

What works: it gives you a physical reference for the hands-in, clubhead-out move. When your takeaway stays on the track, the clip stays smooth and quiet. When you roll the club inside, you feel it instantly because the clubhead drags off the track. You can use it for real swings or slow-motion reps in the living room. It works right or left handed and on every club from driver to wedge. It carries 4.6 stars across 478 reviews on Leadbetter’s own site and 4.8 stars across more than 1,500 on Top Shelf Golf.

What does not work: it is a takeaway tool and nothing else. It will not fix your downswing, your release, or your tempo. It is sold on Amazon now as well as direct from leadbetterswingaids.com, where the price is often lower. And the price has crept up, from around $35 when it launched to $59.99 today (list $69.95).

Buy this if you failed test 1 or test 3. It is the most direct fix for a clubhead that whips inside, and 10 minutes of reps a day is enough to retrain the first two feet.

2. Alignment Sticks: $15-$30 (Best Budget and Best Diagnostic)

Two fiberglass rods are the cheapest honest diagnostic in golf. Lay one on your target line and angle a second outside it behind the ball, and you have a fixed reference for where the clubhead is supposed to travel in the takeaway.

What works: they show you the fault in real time with no video. If the clubhead crosses inside the second stick in the first two feet, you see it instantly. Most people with an inside takeaway have no idea how far inside they actually are until a stick shows them.

What does not work: sticks are a mirror, not a brace. They tell you what is wrong but do not physically stop you from doing it. If you have already run the diagnosis and you know you are inside, sticks alone will not change the motor pattern. You still need a feedback tool that fights back.

Buy these first if you are not sure you have the fault at all. A $15 set of sticks plus the 60-second video test is the cheapest way to confirm before spending $60 on the StraightAway. A no-name set runs $15 to $20; SuperStroke’s version runs about $30.

3. theHANGER: $79.95 (Best for the Wrist-Roll Flavor)

theHANGER clamps onto your club and keeps your lead wrist flat from the takeaway through impact. It is marketed for clubface control, but it does something specific for inside takeaway: many players who suck the club inside do it by rolling the lead wrist and forearm open in the first foot of the swing. theHANGER blocks that roll.

What works: it physically prevents the wrist from turning the clubhead inside. A flat lead wrist at the top means the clubhead stays on plane instead of dropping behind you. Watson Golf makes it in the USA, and it holds 4.0 stars with over 1,000 Amazon reviews and Prime shipping.

What does not work: it is not a takeaway tool first. If your inside takeaway comes from your shoulders spinning or your arms pulling the club inside, theHANGER does nothing for you, because your wrists were never the problem. It also only works on one club at a time, so you have to move it if you want to practice with a different iron.

Buy this if your inside takeaway comes with a rolling left wrist, meaning you feel your knuckles turning down in the first foot. If the wrist is the culprit, this is the fix. If it is your arms or shoulders, skip to the PlaneMate.

4. ProSENDR PlaneMate: $119.99 (Best for the Downswing Habit)

The PlaneMate is the fix for what the inside takeaway causes. Once you have sucked the club inside, your body has to come over the top to get back to the ball, and that is where the slice and the pull live. The PlaneMate’s resistance band keeps your trail arm connected and forces you to shallow instead of throwing the club outside.

What works: it gives instant physical feedback when you come over the top. The band goes slack or tugs you wrong, and you feel it on the very next swing. You can hit real balls with it on. Rory McIlroy used a version of it, and the rebranded ProSENDR model has sold over 30,000 units. I ran a full 30-day PlaneMate test and my path moved from 6 degrees out-to-in to 2 degrees in-to-out.

What does not work: it is the priciest tool here, and it does not fix the takeaway itself. Pair it with the StraightAway or sticks, or you will rebuild the same inside takeaway every session. GolfWRX users also report tennis elbow if you overdo the resistance-band protocol.

Buy this after you have started fixing the takeaway, if you still come over the top out of habit. It is the second purchase, not the first.

What I Would Actually Buy

Not sure if you have the fault: alignment sticks, $15. Run the three tests. If you pass, you just saved yourself $60.

Confirmed inside takeaway, want the direct fix: the StraightAway, $59.99. It is the only tool here built for this exact fault, and 10 minutes of reps a day is enough.

Inside takeaway plus a rolling wrist: the StraightAway ($59.99) plus theHANGER ($79.95). Total about $140. One kills the clubhead whipping inside, the other kills the wrist roll that causes it.

Inside takeaway plus a stuck over-the-top move: the StraightAway ($59.99) plus the PlaneMate ($119.99). Total about $180. Fix the cause and the habit together.

If you remember one thing, remember this: the fault you keep paying to fix probably started two feet into your backswing, not at impact. Fix the takeaway first, and half your slice and hook aids become unnecessary.

I spent two years buying downswing fixes before I finally filmed my own takeaway and watched the clubhead disappear behind me at waist height. A $15 set of sticks showed me in five minutes what two years of aids had missed. Do not make my mistake.

Where to Buy

• The StraightAway: $79 at Amazon (also $59.99 direct at leadbetterswingaids.com)
• SuperStroke Alignment Sticks: $30 at Amazon
• theHANGER (Watson Golf): $79.95 at Amazon
• ProSENDR PlaneMate: $119.99 at Amazon (also $149.99 at prosendrgolf.com)

Prices verified September 2026. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.