Bottom Out The Golf Swing Arc Correctly (Video) - by Peter Finch
Bottom Out The Golf Swing Arc Correctly (Video) - by Peter Finch

The ability to bottom out the club arc successfully when hitting a shot is not something which is easily done especially to new golfers. This is because golf is a very counter-intuitive sport. When people pick up the club for the first time and they want to try and get the ball up in the air, the most obvious thing to do is to stay on the back foot and try and scoop the ball off the surface up into the sky. It is something which every single golfer goes through. The ability to then start hitting down on the ball, hitting the ball first and then turf is counter-intuitive, because if you hit something down, it shouldn't come back up. But unfortunately golf is a very counter-intuitive game and that is what happens.

So how can you learn to actually bottom the club out, where it needs to go. A great drill to use, very simple drill to use is this towel drill which I have here. All you need to do to set this up is get a ball just at the driving range. You get a nice thin towel. So a normal golf towel should suffice. Don't use something you know which is a 100% Egyptian cotton and as thick as a rug. This won't work. You just need something nice and thin. Place that behind the ball and you're looking to having that about I say to begin with about a grip length behind, about a grip length behind to give you a little bit more of a chance. And you can move it closer as you get more proficient at this drill. Now if you're going to get setup to this shot. If you are also one who does regularly fat ball, you will move into the – move into this impact position. And the club will be bottoming out in its swing arc before you hit the shot, so bottom out around this point. With the towel where it is in that position, you should be coming and avoiding that towel hitting the ball in the turf. But if you are not and you are hitting the towel first, you'll know that the low point in your swing is happening too early, and you're catching the towel first before the ball. It’s a fantastic feedback drill. And as you get more proficient about missing the towel and hitting the ball, you can move it closer and closer and closer. But it is a super, super drill. It is one that works for many golfers when they use it over time. So having it just at grip length back, getting setup and it’s all about missing the towel, and just focusing on hitting the ball first and then the turf, and just trying to improve the consistency of that strike and learning how to bottom out that swing arc after the ball. 2016-10-28

The ability to bottom out the club arc successfully when hitting a shot is not something which is easily done especially to new golfers. This is because golf is a very counter-intuitive sport. When people pick up the club for the first time and they want to try and get the ball up in the air, the most obvious thing to do is to stay on the back foot and try and scoop the ball off the surface up into the sky. It is something which every single golfer goes through. The ability to then start hitting down on the ball, hitting the ball first and then turf is counter-intuitive, because if you hit something down, it shouldn't come back up. But unfortunately golf is a very counter-intuitive game and that is what happens.

So how can you learn to actually bottom the club out, where it needs to go. A great drill to use, very simple drill to use is this towel drill which I have here. All you need to do to set this up is get a ball just at the driving range. You get a nice thin towel. So a normal golf towel should suffice. Don't use something you know which is a 100% Egyptian cotton and as thick as a rug. This won't work. You just need something nice and thin. Place that behind the ball and you're looking to having that about I say to begin with about a grip length behind, about a grip length behind to give you a little bit more of a chance.

And you can move it closer as you get more proficient at this drill. Now if you're going to get setup to this shot. If you are also one who does regularly fat ball, you will move into the – move into this impact position. And the club will be bottoming out in its swing arc before you hit the shot, so bottom out around this point. With the towel where it is in that position, you should be coming and avoiding that towel hitting the ball in the turf. But if you are not and you are hitting the towel first, you'll know that the low point in your swing is happening too early, and you're catching the towel first before the ball. It’s a fantastic feedback drill. And as you get more proficient about missing the towel and hitting the ball, you can move it closer and closer and closer.

But it is a super, super drill. It is one that works for many golfers when they use it over time. So having it just at grip length back, getting setup and it’s all about missing the towel, and just focusing on hitting the ball first and then the turf, and just trying to improve the consistency of that strike and learning how to bottom out that swing arc after the ball.