To hit a golf ball with a powerfully crisp, 'pro-like' compression, it all comes down to managing one simple spot: the low point of your golf swing. This single concept is the difference between frustrating thin shots and sky-high fat shots versus pure, penetrating ball flight. This guide will walk you through exactly what the low point is, why it's the foundation of great ball striking, and provide actionable drills to help you gain complete control over it.
Imagine your clubhead tracing a large circle around your body as you swing. The low point is simply the very bottom of that circle - the lowest altitude the clubhead reaches before it starts traveling upward again. It’s the bottom of your a swing arc. While this sounds incredibly simple, understanding and controlling its location is without a doubt the secret to consistent ball striking.
Why does it matter so much? Because where this low point occurs, relative to the golf ball, dictates the quality of your contact.
The vast majority of amateurs struggle with inconsistent contact because their low point is out of position. They try to "help" the ball into the air by shifting their weight back and scooping with their hands. This moves the low point *behind* the ball, causing them to either hit the ground first (a fat shot) or catch the ball on the upswingwith the leading edge (a thin shot). Sound familiar?
Great ball striking isn’t about lifting or scooping. It’s about controlling your swing arc so the bottom occurs in the right place, every time.
So, if you’re not supposed to manually control the low point with your hands, what does control it? The answer lies in your body’s movement. The low point of your swing is determined by the lowest point in your body's motion, which for all practical purposes is your upper body's center gravity - or, to keep it simple, your sternum (the center of your chest).
Think about it like a giant pendulum. Your body is the fixed pivot at the top, and the club is the weight swinging at the bottom. The bottom of the swing arc will always naturally hang directly below that pivot point. Therefore, to move the low point of the swing, you have to move the center of your body.
The number one factor that moves your low point is weight shift - or more accurately, pressure shift. At the top of your backswing, about 60-70% of your pressure should be loaded onto your trail foot. As you initiated the downswing, your very first move should be to shift the pressure towards your lead foot.
By the time you get to impact with an iron, you should have 80-90% of your pressure on your lead foot. This forward shift of your body's center mass physically moves the bottom of your swing arc forward. When your sternum has moved in front of the ball at impact, the low point follows suit, all but guaranteeing you’ll hit the ball first and then the turf.
Players who hit it fat and thin do a poor job of this. They either hang back on their trail foot or their hips slide too much instead of rotating, leaving their weight behind. The result? The low point stays back with them, and they hit the ground behind the ball.
While weight shift controls the forward-and-back position of the low point, your posture controls its vertical position (how high or low it is). If you stand up out of your posture in the downswing (often called "early extension"), you raise the entire swing arc, leading to thin shots or even a complete whiff. If you dip down too much, you lower the arc, leading to digging, heavy, fat shots.
The goal is to maintain the spine angle and knee flex you established at address all the way through impact. This keeps the low point at a consistent depth, allowing your proper weight shift to dictate its position relative to the ball cleanly.
One of the biggest hurdles for golfers is understanding that the objective for low point changes depending on the club in your hand. What creates a perfect strike with an iron is the exact opposite of what you want with a driver.
As we’ve have pointed out, with an iron, the goal is "ball-then-turf." This requires an angle of attack that is traveling downwards as it strikes the ball.
The driver is the only club you are trying to want to ‘hit “up on.’ This maximizes launch angle and minimizes spin - the recipe for distance. you wnat to meet the ball as its at topr nearly at topof swings uptragectoryorup-trajectory.. Here, your low point should be *behind* the ba, not at or in front.
Understanding the concept is one thing, feeling it is another. Here are a few outstanding drills that will help you gain command of your low point.
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Controlling the low point in your swing is the code to unlocking consistent ball striking, taking beautiful divots with your irons, and hitting powerful, ascending drives. It's about letting go of the impulse to "lift" the ball and instead trusting that a proper weight shift and body rotation will position the bottom of your swing perfectly for a pure strike.
We know that translating swing concepts into real-world feel on the course can be challenging. That's why we've designed our coaching to give you instant clarity. When you’re faced with a tough lie, you can send a picture of your ball's position to Caddie AI and get immediate, intelligent advice on the best shot to play - a decision that often hinges on adjusting your low point. While you're practicing, you can ask for specific drills or explanations about your contact issues, getting the kind of simple, personalized feedback that helps you dial in your swing and play with unwavering confidence.
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