The post How to move your low point forward: 3 clever drills for better ball striking appeared first on Golf.

The post How to move your low point forward: 3 clever drills for better ball striking appeared first on Golf.

One of the biggest misconceptions in golf is about where the club makes contact with the ball and the ground. Tony Ruggiero, a GOLF Top 100 Teacher, explains that the low point of your swing—or the bottom of your swing arc—actually occurs just in front of the ball, on the target side.

“In order to make the low point happen on the target side of the ball, we want your body and the pressure to be moving towards the target,” Ruggiero says, “You actually want to try to get your center of your body moving towards the target and at the ball or in front of the ball.”

It sounds simple enough, but many amateurs still struggle to get their low point far enough forward. Fortunately, Ruggiero has a few clever drills that can help you practice moving your body and pressure towards the target.

Trail-foot slide drill

Without a ball, place a slider—which you can buy here—under your trail foot and get into your normal set up. Take the club back, and as you make your forward swing, Ruggiero says to think about sliding your trail foot back. 

“[This move] makes all the pressure or weight have to go towards the lead leg,” he says, “and it makes you learn to stay in posture and rotate your trunk over to the [lead] leg.”

If you’re doing it right, you should notice that the club brushes the ground just in front of where the ball would be. 

Impact drill with resistance

For the next drill, you’ll need a light resistance band and something to anchor it to, or a partner to hold it. Loop it around the handle of your club, then step away just enough to take the slack out of the band. From there, move into your impact position and hold it. As you rehearse this position, you should begin to feel a slight amount of resistance from the band.

Ruggiero explains that an optimal impact position should look like your chest rotating over the ball as your hips begin to open and clear out of the way.

Once you’re in a proper impact position, continue turning through the shot. As you rotate, you should feel more resistance from the band—almost like it’s pulling you back. Ruggiero says that feeling will help train you to push off the ground and move through the ball, rather than hanging back. 

Early release drill

This third and final drill, is inspired by players like Annika Sorenstam and David Duval. Best practiced with small, or slow swings, it’s all about the release.  

“In the old days, their [Sorenstam and Duval] eyes would release early down the range, and they’d almost be looking out down the range before they hit the ball,” Ruggiero says.

To practice this drill, make small swings while emulating that early release, training your body to naturally let your eyes, nose, hands and club release all together—pointing at the target. 

“When you learn to do that, you’re learning to move and deliver the club with your body. And that helps you get the low point out in front of the ball,” Ruggiero says. 

Practice these three drills to teach your body how to move toward the target, rotate through impact, and release the club correctly—and you’ll hit crisp iron shots every time.

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The post How to move your low point forward: 3 clever drills for better ball striking appeared first on Golf.

The post Your swing doesn’t start where you think it does — and here’s why that matters appeared first on Golf.

The post Your swing doesn’t start where you think it does — and here’s why that matters appeared first on Golf.

Most golfers never think about where their swing actually begins.

They might focus on a single aspect of their takeaway like their hands, the club or their wrists — but Erika Larkin, a GOLF Top 100 Teacher, says the real motion starts much higher up. And understanding the start of your swing is key to improving your low-point control and becoming a better ball-striker.

“The golf swing is a lot like a pendulum swinging motion,” Larkin says. “If you take a smaller motion, the pendulum is swinging with our arms and the club together really from a point higher in our body than a lot of people visualize.” 

When you start your swing with your chest, Larkin says, everything moves together like one smooth, controlled pendulum. But if you start your swing further down, like with the handle, this can result in a wristy swing that makes it difficult to dial in your swing’s low point.

Create your pendulum

To create this pendulum, you first need to rethink how you approach the swing. Most amateurs picture the club or hands as the center of motion, which often leads to inconsistency. Instead, Larkin says to visualize the club as an extension of your sternum. This simple shift allows your arms, body and club to move together in unison.

Start small, Larkin says. Rather than try to incorporate this new feel into your full swing, begin with a shorter, controlled motion. Remember, the motion should originate from your sternum.

“Think about the extension of the club pointing up toward the mid-section, sternum area of your chest and body, and try to move the pendulum as if it’s swinging from that upper moment,” she says.

Once you feel the pendulum in smaller swings, gradually extend it into longer, full swings.

“As you grow it, it doesn’t really change. It’s still moving from that taller, top point in your body,” Larkin says. “It’s connecting your arms and the club movement, swinging around you from a very stable point.” 

With your pendulum anchored at the sternum, your swing should become smoother, more connected and easier to repeat, which Larkin says will translate to better low-point control. 

Think of it as one long, graceful pendulum: arms and club moving together from the chest, wrists hinging freely, hands relaxed. It’s a subtle shift in how you think about your swing, but one that can immediately improve timing, consistency and power.

Sometimes, swinging smarter really is that simple.

The post Your swing doesn’t start where you think it does — and here’s why that matters appeared first on Golf.