How to Improve the Low Point in Golf

Controlling your swing's low point is the single most important skill for crisp, clean contact with your irons. It’s what separates flush, compressed shots from frustrating fats and thins. This article will show you exactly what the low point is, why it governs the quality of your ball striking, and a series of simple, actionable drills you can use to start improving it today.

What is Low Point (And Why is it Everything?)

Simply put, the low point is the lowest an imaginary point in your golf clubs swing arc is to the ground. For solid iron shots, you want this lowest point to happen after the golf ball. Think about it: if the club is still slightly traveling downwards when it makes contact with the ball, it will strike the ball first and then the turf. This is what creates that beautiful, compressed feel and the pro-like divot that starts in front of where the ball was.

So, what happens when it goes wrong?

• Fat Shots: Your low point happens before the ball. Your club hits the ground first, digs in, loses a ton of energy, and sends the ball a fraction of the distance you intended.
• Thin Shots: This is a slightly more complex cousin of the fat shot. Often, the low point is still too early, but the club starts ascending by the time it reaches the ball, catching it on the equator. The result is a low, screaming shot that has no control and often travels too far.

Mastering your ball striking is really a quest to master the location of your low point. It isn’t about some secret move, it's about sequencing your body correctly so the bottom of your a swing happens in the right place, consistently. And the good news is, it’s a trainable skill.

The Foundational Moves for Low Point Control

Getting your low point ahead of the ball isn’t about just "hitting down on it." That kind of thinking often leads to a steep, Chopping action from the upper body. Instead, a proper low point is the natural result of three fundamental movements working together.

1. Weight Shift: Getting onto Your Front Foot

This is the engine of low point control. The location of your body’s center of mass dictates the location of your swing’s arc. In the backswing, you should feel pressure shift toward your trail foot. To move the low point forward in the downswing, you *must* shift this pressure toward your lead foot.

As you start down, the first move should be a smooth shift of your weight forward. Think of it less like an aggressive 'slide' and more like a fluid transfer of pressure from the ball of your back foot to the heel of your lead foot. By the time you reach impact, roughly 70-80% of your weight should be on your front side. Without this forward transfer, it's physically impossible to get your low point consistently ahead of the ball.

A good feeling: Try to feel like your chest "covers" the golf ball through the impact zone. If your chest is still behind the ball at impact, your weight is likely still on your back foot.

2. Body Rotation: Clearing the Way

Your body has to get out of the way to allow the arms and club to swing through freely. If your hips and torso stop turning through the shot, your hands and arms have no choice but to take over, flipping the club head to try to save the shot. This 'flipping' action immediately moves the low point behind the ball, resulting in a scoop.

The correct sequence is to let the weight shift initiate the downswing, and then immediately let your hips and torso start to unwind or ‘open’ toward the target. This creates space and allows your arms to swing down on the correct path with the club head trailing your hands, not passing them too early.

A good feeling: Imagine you have a button on your lead hip. Your goal is to turn that button away from the ball and point it at the target *before* you reach impact.

3. Maintaining Wrist Angles (Lag)

This sounds technical, but it’s a direct consequence of good weight shift and body rotation. When your weight shifts forward and your body rotates open, your hands will naturally lead the club head into the hitting area. The angle you created in your wrists at the top of the swing is maintained longer, meaning the club releases its energy at - and through - the ball, not before it.

This "shaft lean" at impact, where the hands are ahead of the ball with the shaft leaning toward the target, is the visual proof that your low point is in the right place. It’s what allows you to descend into the ball, compress it, and take that nice divot after contact. Trying to force shaft lean with your hands alone never works, it's an outcome of a proper body sequence.

Actionable Drills to Fix Your Low Point

Understanding the theory is great, but now it's time to put it into practice. These drills are designed to take the guesswork out of it and give you the real feelings you need to train a better low point.

Drill #1: The Line Drill

This is the simplest and one of the most effective drills you can do. It provides instant, undeniable feedback on where your low point is.

1. On the driving range, either draw a straight line on the turf with a club or use a can of spray paint/chalk to make a distinct line. If you can't mark the ground, lay a towel flat about six inches behind your golf ball.
2. Place a ball directly on the line.
3. Take your normal setup.
4. Your task is simple: hit the ball, and make a divot that starts on or in front of the line. If you're using a towel, your task is to hit the ball without disturbing the towel.

If your divot starts behind the line, you know your low point was too early. If you clip the towel, you know you scooped it. Focus on the feeling of shifting your weight forward and rotating your chest through the shot to get that divot starting ahead of the line.

Drill #2: The Step-Through Drill

This drill exaggerates the feeling of a proper weight shift and sequence, making it almost impossible to hang back on your trail foot.

1. Set up to the golf ball, but with your feet together.
2. Begin your backswing as you normally would.
3. As you move from the backswing to the downswing, physically step your lead foot toward the target, placing it in its normal stance position.
4. Allow the momentum of this step to pull your body through as you swing down and hit the ball. Continue your body's rotation into a balanced finish position, standing on your lead foot.

The forward step forces your weight and center of mass to move toward the target, automatically shifting the entire a swing arc forward. This helps sync your lower body and upper body and promotes a powerful, sequenced release through the ball.

Drill #3: Split-Hands Swing

This is a great drill for feeling how the body, not crafty wrist action, controls the club face and the bottom of the swing.

1. Take your normal grip on an iron.
2. Now, slide your trail hand (right hand for righties) about four to five inches down the shaft.
3. Make some smooth, half-swings focusing on a simple feeling: keep the butt-end of the club pointed at your belly button as you rotate back and through.
4. After a few practice motions, place a ball and try to hit some gentle shots with this grip.

Because your hands are separated, trying to "flip" the club with your wrists will feel incredibly awkward and powerless. Instead, this drill forces you to use your body's rotation as the engine. To get the club back to the ball, you will have to turn your chest throughimpact, which keeps the club, arms, and body moving as a single, connected unit - a cornerstone of a constant low point.

Final Thoughts

Improving your low point is the path to pure ball striking. It all comes down to a well-sequenced swing where your weight shifts forward, your body rotates open, and your arms deliver the club for a ball-first, turf-second strike. Using simple feedback drills like the Line Drill or exaggeration drills like the Step-Through will help ingrain these feelings much faster than simply banging balls on the range.

Trying to feel this on your own can sometimes feel like chasing a ghost, and it's tough to know if you're really doing it right. In those tricky situations on the course, like when the ball is sitting down in the rough or on a hardpan lie, low point becomes even more critical. With Caddie AI, I can provide that on-the-spot second opinion. You can snap a photo of a troublesome lie, and I can give you instant, simple advice on how you should adjust your setup and swing to manage low point for that specific shot, helping you avoid devastating mistakes.