Move Low Point Forward

Anyone have any good drills for moving low point of swing forward? Or said differently I am constantly get the ground before the ball - even when playing well.

You’re going to hate the answer.

Setup better and swing better.

Bad low point is the result of poor setup and/or poor sequencing in transition.

A drill for moving it forward without improving why it’s not forward enough, will likely make you hit it worse.

Thanks for the honesty Monte. I know my transition to my left side is poor and my hips are not very open at impact.

Do it mentally, divot starts three feet forward of ball.

Kball10, what worked for me was/is a 9-to-3 swing, using the arms AND the shaft as the hour-hand on the clock. I focus on keeping my wrist/arms as straight and firm as possible, not letting the clubhead pass the hands at the finish (3 o'clock). Throttle down the power until your body learns to rotate fast and far enough to support the wrists from releasing/flipping early. This simple drill was a game changer for me and continues to be an integral part of my warm-up routine.

Thanks Joe

Your welcome. I hope this drill has the same effect on your game as it did on mine!

I went from a 6-7 to as low as 2.6 this last season. I'm 73

The key feel that helps me is trail elbow ‘leading’ the shaft (in front of hip/torso and open). To do that I need to have created space (retained spine angle) and had a good transition with arms/shaft. To do that I need to get it back in good shape.

In other words, what Monte said. Seriously.

Probably a real amateur comment ...but...taking a practice swing before hitting will show you where the low point of that swing is. Isn't it about moving the ball forward or backward in your stance in relation to the target?

Moving it significantly will generally require a lot of work on your swing... But I have found I can move it slightly forward and increase impact quality considerably if I look at a spot in front of the ball instead of the ball itself.

What has worked for me in the past has been a hip bump - feel like I'm moving the hips laterally toward the target to start the down swing. In practice they actually rotate but it feels to me like a shift. Just remember to keep your head behind the ball as you do it (secondary spine tilt increases).

More recently I've found that starting the down swing by moving my lead knee over my lead foot does the same thing.

Both moves seem to automatically bring my trail elbow back to my hip which is good.

Get the handle aroundyour body low and left and you wont have to think about low point. Its all in the pivot.

> @uitar9 said:

> Probably a real amateur comment ...but...taking a practice swing before hitting will show you where the low point of that swing is. Isn't it about moving the ball forward or backward in your stance in relation to the target?

Depends on one crucial assumption: That your "real" swing will coincide with your practice swing.

There seems to be some controversy concerning the subject: Some (e.g. Bobby Clampett, Hank Haney) feel that many golfers change their swing when they know they are going to hit the ball "for real". There is a name for it (I forget now, perhaps "ball bound" [edit: "Hit Impulse"]), but the upshot is that some claim it's a ubiquitous problem.

Clampett has actually built a good part of his teaching business on addressing this issue and has measured the "effect" by noting the difference in starting point of a golfer's divot between a practice and real swing. He claims that even pros will exhibit a slight difference between the two.

Others, of course, feel being "ball bound" is simply an excuse for poor technique.

Body rotation plays a big part in getting arms forward. If your pivot stalls it might get very dicey.

Totally agree with Monte. I've tried to artificially move it forward, and the results were inconsistent. Improve your swing, fix the faults, and it will move it forward instead of create more compensations which will mean less consistency and more things to get right.

I've been working on this exact topic lately. I felt like I wasn't compressing my irons especially my wedges. So I started doing what Clampett suggests, I line up to the ball and right before I take the club back I focus on a spot 1-2 inches in front of the ball and stare at that spot throughout the swing. Go to range and try it. I would first start out focusing on a spot right in front of ball (1/4 inch) and see how your contact is. If its fat move that spot up to 1 inch or even 2. This has helped me greatly with my irons the past month so I'm going to continue to use it as a swing thought for the rest of the year or until it stops working. I do believe its moved my low point in front of the ball.

> @dslatt33 said:

> I've been working on this exact topic lately. I felt like I wasn't compressing my irons especially my wedges. So I started doing what Clampett suggests, I line up to the ball and right before I take the club back I focus on a spot 1-2 inches in front of the ball and stare at that spot throughout the swing. Go to range and try it. I would first start out focusing on a spot right in front of ball (1/4 inch) and see how your contact is. If its fat move that spot up to 1 inch or even 2. This has helped me greatly with my irons the past month so I'm going to continue to use it as a swing thought for the rest of the year or until it stops working. I do believe its moved my low point in front of the ball.

This is exactly what I do and it’s helped tremendously.

I think there are a number of ways to "get you" to continue to rotate. I know Michael Breed (and an instructor of mine) suggested putting the ball up by the lead toe to force you to move your body (i.e. rotate). Breed also uses the thought "park the club in the garage". MDLT used something like "take the club from here (top of the backswing) to there (end of the downswing) in one motion", to say nothing of his and Shawn Clement's and others' admonition to "swing through to the target".

The basic idea being to get your body and mind to realize that "the swing doesn't end at the ball". Otherwise your lead hand stops and the trail hand takes over, burying the club in the dirt. I will stipulate that all I'm doing is addressing the symptom, but I have had the most (the word is being used in its finest relative sense here) success trying to keep the back of my lead hand going through the ball and up to my shoulder.

> @Golfjack said:

> Totally agree with Monte. I've tried to artificially move it forward, and the results were inconsistent. Improve your swing, fix the faults, and it will move it forward instead of create more compensations which will mean less consistency and more things to get right.

I don’t disagree with this, the challenge is I am not sure of the faults I need to address.

This recent video from Eric Cogorno really helped me rotate and get open at impact better, meanwhile moving the low point forward, at least during the one range session I've had since viewing it:

Thanks

> @Kball10 said:

> > @Golfjack said:

> > Totally agree with Monte. I've tried to artificially move it forward, and the results were inconsistent. Improve your swing, fix the faults, and it will move it forward instead of create more compensations which will mean less consistency and more things to get right.

>

> I don’t disagree with this, the challenge is I am not sure of the faults I need to address.

>

>

I think common faults for hitting it behind is casting, hanging back, not rotating with the body. The common pro style (of course you don't really need to be all the way open like some real flexible guys) makes it a lot easier to hit more forward. There are so many things to have to change, it's not just one thing. But you will notice it getting better, and easier for you to do what you want to do. One big thing for me that has helps is not to early extend and throw the club by the body rising up. When you maintain the sidebend through impact, you can straighten your left leg and sling the club out that way. Right elbow tucked in closer to front of body. It's dangerous to just chase some positions though, so better to get a good coach to tell you how to integrate it to movements or the golf swing in general.