Shallow Golf Swing:
Keep your chest from spinning open as your weight shifts to your lead side. What you want is to feel as if your chest is facing away from the target. When correctly executed, you will get the feeling of the ball dropping shallow or to the inside. Coming over the top is the opposite of what you want to do in the swing. If you watch any high-level golfer, they rarely make this error, instead properly shallowing the shaft on the downswing.
Executing this technique will let your shaft angle improve naturally. It is important to work on a takeaway that is less on the inside so that the club is steeper at the top of the swing. These simple yet effective TuhooMall Magnetic Alignment Sticks will attach to your clubface and, with a few slow swings, identify where your club is pointing at impact. Many of these aids are fantastic, offering real-time feedback on the success of your attempts to shallow the club. Even a player with a swing as remarkably unique as Matthew Wolff ‘ who takes the club practically straight up in the air ‘ shallows the club monumentally in the downswing.
A shallow golf swing is a type of swing where the clubhead travels on a low, flat arc during the downswing. This results in less power and distance than a more vertical or steep swing path. The clubhead will travel along the ground for longer before reaching impact with the ball, resulting in less loft on shots and a lower trajectory. To achieve this type of swing, players should focus on keeping their arms close to their body throughout the entire movement while maintaining good posture and balance. Additionally, they should keep their wrists firm and avoid any extra movement that could cause an overly steep angle of attack at impact. But distance is not the only aspect that improves with shallowing the golf club.
This alone should help your plane and it also helps with transition and a powerful downswing. Here are several drills to help you feel the correct move in your swing so you can develop a more shallow swing. One of the best examples of a well known player with a shallow swing is Sergio Garcia. He creates an incredible amount of lag and has been one of the most consistent ball strikers over the past 20 years. A couple of terms you’ve likely heard from swing coaches or broadcasters (or your buddy who gives unsolicited swing advice on the range) are steep and shallow.
Regardless, an inconsistent golf swing can make for a frustrating day on the course and take the fun out of the game. How you start the downswing determines how the ball reacts off the clubface. If you don’t have the right angle of attack with your irons, you will continue to be inconsistent with your approach shots. His teaching has become so popular that he is redefining the vernacular and swing models that are used by other coaches. In particular he is renowned for his ability to teach golfers to shallow the club correctly on the downswing.
Liam Drake, an avid golfer and seasoned outdoor enthusiast, brings his passion for the greens to his golfing blog. With years of experience swinging clubs and exploring courses around the world, Liam shares his insights, tips, and personal stories to inspire and guide fellow golf lovers. Instead, make sure the club is outside the shaft during the first part of your takeaway. This will help you feel like a loop in your swing where you take it outside, then drop it back inside on the downswing. Reducing the effect of the dominant side is the secret to learning how to shallow out your golf swing. Alignment sticks are available for purchase online, your local golf warehouse, or maybe even at a course near you.
Video analysis allows you to see the exact positions and movements of your body throughout the swing, giving you a clear picture of what you’re doing right and what needs work. To avoid casting the club, it is important to focus on maintaining lag in the downswing. Lag refers to the angle between the clubshaft and your lead arm during the downswing.
The hips should lead the movement, followed by the torso, and then the arms. The one-piece takeaway is a fundamental backswing technique that can help golfers achieve proper club positioning and facilitate the process of shallowing the golf club. To execute the one-piece takeaway, start by addressing the ball with a relaxed grip and a balanced stance. As you initiate the backswing, focus on keeping your hands, arms, and shoulders connected, moving together as one unit. The proper grip should be comfortable and secure, allowing you to control the clubface through impact. To achieve this, start by placing your left hand on the handle of the club with your thumb pointing down towards the ground.
When your swing path is more consistent, you have a higher chance of reproducing your desired shot shape time and time again. This consistency can be particularly beneficial when faced with challenging shots or when under pressure during a round. During your lessons, the instructor will guide you through various drills and exercises designed to improve your shallow technique. They will provide real-time feedback on your swing and help you make the necessary adjustments. Additionally, they may introduce training aids or tools that can further enhance your understanding and execution of the super fast reply. Pay close attention to the positions of your hands, arms, and body during the swing.
Use this shallow downswing drill with a tee first before hitting a shot. With the alignment stick positioned the way it is, you don’t want to accidentally hit it and injure yourself. By putting one behind the ball, one in front, and one into the ground, you can create a path to help your golf swing get shallow.
If you make the incorrect shift, the water bottle will hit you in the head so make sure to swing very slow and deliberate. You really want to feel the shallow swing in slow-motion before going to the range. This drill will make sure that your low point is at or ahead of the ball. If the club hits the device, it provides instant feedback that your attack angle is not correct.
Shallowing the club will also help with driving distance and most likely accuracy for every golfer as well. In the video above, the coaches talk about the importance of active starting the downswing with the lower body. If you start the downswing with your upper body, as so many golfers do, you will have a steep swing that isn’t consistent.
Head over to our post on the best golf training aids for more devices and gadgets that can help you improve your contact and consistency. Try to hit the tee to improve your low point and make sure it’s more ahead of the ball. First, let’s focus on what should happen learn more here to begin the downswing and shallow the club. Shallowing the golf club means that you get the club to flatten out more horizontally on the downswing. You can easily accomplish this drill with the help of your golf club and a wall.
He manages the Hot Mic, GOLF’s media vertical, and utilizes his on-camera experience across the brand’s platforms. Prior to joining GOLF, James graduated from Syracuse University, during which time he was a caddie scholarship recipient (and astute looper) on Long Island, where he is from. It’s also an unnatural feeling for many, especially for slicers of the ball, so can be a hard habit to break.