John Daly Shared This Drill 20 Years Ago—It’s Still One Of His Best

John Daly is one of the most recognizable names in golf, for a variety of reasons. Whether it’s his grip-it-and-rip-it approach, his larger-than-life personality or his two major championship wins, Daly has left a mark on the game that few can match.

But behind all of that power was a short game that doesn’t get enough credit. One of Daly’s best drills isn’t about distance at all. It’s about learning to make clean contact around the greens and then carrying that over to the full swing. It’s a simple yet effective drill that any golfer can try.

The Drill: One-armed chipping for clean contact

John Daly’s go-to short game drill involves hitting chip shots with only his lead arm (left arm for a right-handed golfer).

Daly says this drill not only improves contact but also helps isolate your swing faults. When you’re using only one hand, you can easily identify which hand is causing the issues in your game. If you make solid contact, you’re moving the club correctly. If not, the issues in the swing become obvious.

Step-by-step: How to do the John Daly one-armed chipping drill

Grab your wedge
Use a 52-, 54-, 56- or 60-degree wedge, whatever you’re most comfortable with. Daly demonstrated with his 52 and said it’s the club he uses to warm up and before teeing off. Set up normally
Take your regular chipping stance: narrow feet, ball in the center, slight forward shaft lean. Take your trail hand off the club
For right-handed golfers, remove your right hand. You’ll be swinging only with your left. Make a smooth chipping motion
Swing the club back and through using just your lead arm. Let the clubhead fall naturally onto the ball. Focus on solid contact and follow-through
If you hit it clean, that’s confirmation you’re on the right track. If you stub or blade it, something in your takeaway or body motion is off. Hit 10–20 balls before a round
Daly says he always starts his warm-up with this drill before hitting full shots. It locks in his rhythm and helps sync up his swing.

Why this drill still works

Daly credits the drill with helping him maintain proper takeaway mechanics. If you can get your takeaway started the right way, the rest of the swing can fall into place a bit.

According to him, 90 percent of poor shots from amateurs come from a bad backswing, either too far inside or outside. This one-handed drill requires you to stay on plane, use your body correctly and avoid excessive hand manipulation.

You can even take the one-handed drill to the putting green to see if it improves your putting stroke and helps you develop better control.

Final thoughts

John Daly might be known for his power but this simple chipping drill is a reminder that great ball striking starts with the basics. This is a really easy one to try out on the range today.

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