Hitting it Low Consistently

Becoming a low-ball hitter is a great way to improve your accuracy. Not just being able to hit knock downs into the wind, but having a consistently low trajectory to your shots. Ben Hogan was a low-ball hitter in his day. Hal Sutton is a low-ball hitter today. They also happen to be a couple of the premiere ball strikers in the history of golf.

With the golf courses being set up the way they are today, it seems that most amateurs try to hit the ball higher and softer. That is not a bad thing, because you will oftentimes be faced with shots over hazards and other obstacles. However, it could benefit average players if they would learn to incorporate the low shot into their game.

It's amazing how low many PGA Tour players hit the ball. It kind of startles you at first, because on TV it seems as though the pros are hitting the ball high. But if you watch Justin Leonard, Nick Faldo, or any of the other really accurate players, you'll see that's anything but the case.

So what does it take to hit it low?

The way to hit it low is to develop more of a U-shaped swing, as opposed to a V-shaped swing. This will create a more shallow approach into the ball. Thus, you will essentially just be hitting the ball as high as the loft of the club allows.

A great way to develop this U-shape swing is to feel that you "Straighten your right arm from the top of your swing."

Place the ball a little farther back than usual. From the top, feel the immediate straightening of your right arm. Don't throw it out and over the top, just straighten it out while maintaining your wrist angle as much as possible. A great "feel" to help you achieve this is to imagine you are an archer taking an arrow out of your backpack. You have to completely straighten your arm out in order to remove the arrow. It's kind of an exaggerated move, but it gives you the correct sensation.