Welcome to Play Smart, a regular GOLF.com game-improvement column that will help you play smarter, better golf.
There’s a lot of jargon you have to understand if you want to become a true golf nerd. Spin axis. Swing weight. Across the line. In the slot. Re-centering. To the uninitiated, these terms likely mean very little. But once you get into the weeds of this silly game, it all starts to make sense.
One such term in this vast golf lexicon is low point, or where your swing arc bottoms out during the swing. The desired low point is going to change based on the club and shot type, but it’ll always be within several inches of the ball on either side.
When hitting shots around the green, controlling the low point is essential. If you want to nip a shot just right, you’ve got precisely to control your low point. If it’s an inch too far forward or back, you’re either going to skull it across the green or chunk it right in front of you.
Luckily, there’s an easy trick you can use to manage your low point with precision around the greens. Check it out below.
How to control the low point
To get a feel for the low point, put your feet together and start making some practice chipping motions. Move your weight forward and back and make note of where the clubhead is striking the turf when you do this.
Soon enough, you should notice a trend emerging. Most of the time, your swing will bottom out directly in line with your head and sternum.
“As I move my head [around], it starts changing that bottom,” instructor Carly Schneider says. “To me, that’s a really great drill and a way to find that low point.”
If you’re struggling with making solid contact on these little chips and pitches, take note of where your head and sternum are lined up. If they are not in line with the ball, it will make it difficult to consistently bottom out your swing arc in the right place.
Once you get everything lined up correctly, though, it’s much easier to find a consistent low point and make proper contact around the greens.
