How to Make the Golf Ball Go Higher

Hitting a towering iron shot that lands softly on the green is one of the most satisfying feelings in golf, but for many players, it feels just out of reach. If your shots fly low and run hot, you're not alone, and the solution is surprisingly counterintuitive. This guide will walk you through the fundamental changes in your setup and swing that will help you launch the ball higher, using the club's design to your an dvantage instead of fighting against it.

Understanding Why Your Ball Flies Low

Before we can fix a low ball flight, it's helpful to understand what causes it. The height of a golf shot is primarily determined by two things: the loft of the clubface at impact and the speed at which the club is swinging. Most amateur golfers who struggle with low shots believe they need to "help" or "lift" the ball into the air. This instinct leads to a scooping motion with the hands and wrists, where the player tries to get under the ball to flick it upward.

Here’s the problem: that scooping motion actually does the opposite of what you want. When you scoop, you add loft to the club before impact and often strike the ball on the upswing. This typically results in thin shots that scream across the ground or, if you catch the ground first, heavy shots that go nowhere. The club head is no longer compressing the ball, it's just glancing off of it.

The secret is to trust the club. Your irons are engineered with a specific amount of loft for a reason. A 7-iron is built to launch the ball like a 7-iron. Your job isn't to create the loft yourself - it's to deliver the club in a way that lets its built-in loft do the work. And to do that, you need to hit down on the golf ball.

The Setup: Your Foundation for a Higher Launch

A high ball flight begins before you even start your swing. Your setup programs the kind of swing you're going to make, and a few small adjustments here can make all the difference. As any good coach will tell you, a consistent setup creates a consistent swing.

Correct Ball Position

Ball position is arguably the most important setup factor for trajectory. If the ball is too far back in your stance, you will naturally hit down on it too steeply, de-lofting the clubface and producing a low, punch-like shot. Conversely, putting it too far forward can lead to thin contact.

• Short & Mid-Irons (8i, 9i, PW): For your more lofted clubs, the ideal ball position is right in the middle of your stance. If you drew a line from the ball, it would be aligned with the buttons on your shirt or your chest.
• Longer Irons (7i, 6i, 5i): As the clubs get longer and have less loft, you can move the ball position slightly forward of center - perhaps about one ball-width toward your lead foot.
• Driver: The driver is the only club you want to hit on the upswing, so the ball should be positioned much further forward, off the inside of your lead heel.

For now, let's grab a 9-iron and place the ball directly in the center of your stance. This simple change gives your body the time and space it needs to deliver the club correctly.

Stance Width and Posture

Your stance needs to provide a stable base to allow your body to rotate powerfully. A stance that is roughly shoulder-width apart is perfect for iron play. If your feet are too close together, you'll struggle with balance and won't be able to turn your hips properly. If they're too wide, you'll restrict your hip turn, robbing yourself of a full rotation. The key is to feel both stable and athletic.

Your posture should be athletic as well. Bend forward from your hips, not your waist, and stick your bottom out slightly. Let your arms hang down naturally from your shoulders. A common mistake is not leaning over enough, which restricts your arm swing and ability to rotate. Don't be self-conscious about sticking your rear out, it puts you in a powerful, balanced position, just like every good golfer you see.

Forget “Lifting” the Ball: Hit Down to Go Up

The single biggest mental hurdle to overcome is the idea that you need to lift the ball. You have a bag full of clubs designed to do that for you. Trying to scoop the ball into the air is a compensation, and it’s making the game much harder than it needs to be. The real goal is to strike the golf ball first, and then the turf.

This "ball-then-turf" contact compresses the golf ball against the clubface, and it's this compression that allows the club's loft to launch the ball high into the air with spin. To achieve this, The sequence of your downswing is everything.

The All-Important Weight Shift

Once you’ve made a good rotational backswing, the very first move to start the downswing should be a slight shift of pressure toward your front foot. Think of it as your lead hip moving laterally towards the target. This small move is often referred to as "bumping the hip."

This shift accomplishes two critical things:

1. It moves the low point of yourswing arc forward. By moving the bottom of your a swing to be in a pront of the ball, you guarantee that you'll strike the ball on a ddescendingpath.
2. It makes space for your body to rUnwind.nwind in a powerful sequence - hips first, then torso, then arms.
3. Rotation is Your Engine
4. Once you’ve made that slight lateral shift, it's time to turn. Many golfers try to generate power with their arms, throwing the club at the ball from the top. But your real power source is the rotation of your body. As the provided context says, your body is your engine! Let your hips and torso unwind aggressively toward the target. Your arms and the club should feel like they are just along for the ride.
5. This rotational movement keeps the club on the correct path and allows it to naturally come from the inside, delivering a flush strike. When you lead with your body's rotation, you maintain the angles in your wrists for longer (this is often called "lag"), delivering massive speed precisely at the bottom of the swing where it counts.
6. The Follow-Through: Proof of a Job Well Done
7. A powerful, balanced finish isn't just for looks - it's the result of a correctly sequenced downswing. If you follow the steps above, a good finish will happen almost automatically. As you swing through impact, keep rotating your body all the way until your chest and hips are facing the target.
8. In a great finish position, almost a all of your weight - around 90% - will be on your lead foot. Your back foot will have come up onto its toe, with the heel pointing toward the sky. Your arms will have extended fully toward the target a pafterimpact before folding naturally around your head. This shows you didn't hold anything back, you committed to the shot and rotated completely. Aim to hold this balanced finish until your ball lands.
9. Simple Drills for a Higher ball flight
10. Theory is great, but you need to get the right feelings. Here are two simple drills to help you train that downward strike.
11. 1. The Towel Drill
12. This is a classic for a reason. Lay a small towel on the ground about 6-8 inches behind your golf ball. Your goal is simple: hit the ball without hitting the towel. If you have any tendency to scoop or hang back on your back foot, you will hit the towel first. This drill gives you instant feedback and forces you to shift your a weight forward to create that ball-first a contact.
13. 2. The Front-Tee Drill
14. Place your ball on the ground as normal. Now, push a tee into the ground about two inches in front of the ball. The objective is to swing in a way that you hit the ball cleanly and then clip the tee out of the ground after impact. This drill gives you a clear visual for where the low point of your swing needs to be - in front of the ball, not behind it.
15. Final Thoughts
16. Achieving a higher, softer-landing ball flight comes down to trusting your equipment and making a descending blow on the ball. By perfecting your setup, shifting your weight forward, and letting your body's rotation power the swing, you’ll unlock the height and control you've been looking for.
17. While mastering these fundamentals is the best path to improvement, we all find ourselves in tricky situations or have swing questions we can't answer alone. This is exactly why we built Caddie AI. Our app gives you an on-demand golf coach in your pocket, ready to analyze a tough lie from a photo or give you a simple strategy for the hole you're about to play, taking the guesswork out so you can swing with confidence.