Being able to flight the ball low is a critical skill in golf. Whether it be navigating tree trouble, or keeping the ball out of the wind, a low ball will always come in handy out on the course.
Achieving that desired low ball flight can be a tricky proposition, though. Pros make changing trajectories look easy, but amateurs know that it’s anything but.
For help with hitting a low, penetrating ball, we sought out the help of some experts. In this episode of How to Hit Every Shot, LPGA pro Angel Yin teamed up with GOLF Top 100 Teacher Nick Clearwater to demonstrate the keys for hitting ball low. Check out the video above or read below for more.
1. Shorten your swing
The reason the ball balloons into the air when hitting upwind is excess spin on the ball. When that extra spin teams up with the wind, it makes the ball shoot straight up into the air and robs it of any distance.
To keep the spin low, Yin suggests swinging a little slower than your normal tempo. Clearwater agrees.
“That’s why shortening your swing is good,” he says. “You’re just not swinging as fast.”
So before you try to power one through the wind, remember, slower is better.
2. Take an extra club (or two)
Because you’re swinging a little slower, the ball will naturally go shorter — even without taking the wind into account. Take one or two clubs more than the actual yardage to combat this.
“Start with one [club more],” Yin says. “You can’t take two if you first don’t take one.”
3. Ball back in stance
Another great way to flight the ball low is to put the ball in the back of your stance. With an iron, this means a ball or two behind the center position in your stance. For longer clubs, it might be a little further up, but make sure it’s behind where you’d normally have it.
“I keep it simple,” Yin says.
4. Shorter swing
The final step in hitting the ball low is shortening your swing. Combined with all the steps listed above, the ball should come out nice and low to penetrate the wind.
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