What Is the Low Point in a Golf Swing?

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.

What is the Low Point in a Golf Swing?

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 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.

• For consistent iron shots: You want the low point to happen after the golf ball. The club strikes the ball on a descending angle, compresses it, and then takes a divot out of the turf just ahead of where the ball was. This is "ball-first" contact, and it's what creates that flushed feel and professional trajectory.
• For powerful drives: You want the low point to occur at or just behind the ball. With the ball teed up, this allows the club to strike the ball on a slight upswing, launching it high with low spin for maximum distance.

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 upswing with 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.

The Physics of Low Point Control

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 of 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 All-Important Weight Shift

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 initiate 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.

Maintaining Your Posture

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.

How Low Point Differs for Irons and Drivers

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.

The Iron Swing: Hitting Down to Make the Ball Go Up

As we’ve 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.

• Ball Position: Play the ball near the center of your stance for shorter irons (8-PW) and move it slightly forward, perhaps one or two balls-widths, a bit farther forward for middle or long irons. This presets your entire swing to want to hit down. This central position is before your swing arc, which is to say your swing is on its way down. This places it just behind the eventual low point of your swing.
• Weight & Setup: Your weight should be close to 50/50 at address. The focus is on a decisive shift forward in the downswing. Your sternum should feel like it gets "on top" of the ball at impact.
• The Result: The club compresses the ball into the turf followed by a divot, which is shallow and rectangular, beginning at the point or line on the ground where the ball had been positioned. This downward blow imparts spin and creates a controlled, high flight.

The Driver Swing: Hitting Up for Max Distance

The driver is the only club you want to ‘hit up on.’ This maximizes launch angle and minimizes spin - the recipe for distance. You want to meet the ball as it's nearly at the top of its swing trajectory. Here, your low point should be behind the ball, not at or in front.

• Ball Position: The ball is teed high and positioned off the inside of your lead heel. This places it well forward in your stance, where the club will naturally be on an ascent at impact.
• Weight & Setup: Your stance should be wider. Your spine should be tilted slightly away from the target. This setup naturally moves the low point more behind it, setting up for a more upward strike.
• The Result: The club’s low point happens a couple of inches back, and the clubhead then strikes the ball as it is beginning its rise. The strike is sweet, with a clean hit on the ball while on the tee, without a divot.

Drills to Master Your Low Point Control

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.

1. The Line Drill

This is the gold standard for low point training. On the driving range, either draw a straight line with some athlete’s foot spray, a piece of chalk, or simply place an alignment rod. The goal is simple: make a swing with all of your divot starting at the line and happening entirely on the target side. It forces you to have your weight forward to accomplish this task.

Step-by-Step:

1. Place a series of balls directly on the line.
2. Set up to the first ball as you normally would. Your goal is simple: strike the ball, then the line.
3. After your shot, analyze your divot. If it started behind the line, your low point is too far back. If it started at the line or just past it in the target direction, you are now controlling your low point well. Start with half shots and work up gradually to full swings. This drill provides immediate visual feedback for the divot.

2. The Towel Drill (or Headcover Drill)

This drill quickly helps break habits of 'scooping' or an 'early release.' It builds fear into your subconscious of hitting the towel, encouraging you to drive 'down and through' the shot.

Step-by-Step:

1. Place a golf towel (or a driver headcover) on the ground about 4-6 inches behind your golf ball.
2. Your goal is to hit the ball without disturbing the towel. To do this, you must shift your weight forward and allow your hips to rotate so that your club attacks the ball on a descending angle, missing the towel completely, making clean contact. This will also punish you if you steepen a bit too early and come inside-out too early.

3. The Step-Through Drill

Popularized by many great players, this drill teaches you the 'flow feeling' of continuous movement and motion toward the target so the hips and shoulders are more in sync with the arms. That promotes dynamic balance through the swing, which helps move your low point forward.

Step-by-Step:

1. Set up as if playing a mid-iron shot at around half to three-quarters pace.
2. Take your backswing as normal, but immediately following contact with the ball, let your trail foot come off the ground and step toward the target, much like a pitcher throwing a baseball.
3. Holding your finish for a few seconds is important for this exercise to really show you what balanced finishes should feel like when your weight is far forward. You should be in complete control with all your balance on the lead foot.

Final Thoughts

Controlling the low point in your swing is the key 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.