There's a right and wrong way to try to hit the ball low. Scottie Scheffler's coach explains
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To win the British Open, played this week at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland, players must play well in the wind. And to play well in the wind, they must control their trajectory and flight the ball low.
It’s a skill that amateurs need to excel in the wind as well, as a lower-flighted shot is less impacted by the wind. The issue is many players try to hit the ball low the wrong way. That was the thesis behind 1997 Open champion Justin Leonard and his coach Randy Smith’s Golf Digest feature in July 1998, “Go low for control.” (You can read the full story on the Golf Digest Archive, which has every story we’ve published since 1950.)
Twenty-seven years on, the advice holds just as true as it did then, and with Smith being the long-time coach of World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, the tips give key insight into how the best ball-strikers navigate the wind.
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“The low shot is best in a headwind, but it’s also effective in crosswinds,” Leonard and Smith write. “And it’s not just a wind shot; it’s also a distance-control shot. When the hole is in the back of the green or when the green is open in front, hitting a low shot short and letting it roll to the hole can be the best weapon.”
First, Leonard and Smith give three main errors that amateurs have when trying to hit the ball low.
Error 1: Too steep of a swing
“This is the most common way people hit a low shot,” Leonard and Smith write. This still holds true, as many amateurs try to hit the ball low by hitting severely down on the golf ball, which results in a steep downswing. These players shift all their weight to their front foot, deloft the club and then chop down on the ball.
“That puts too much backspin on the ball, which is what makes a shot rise. It can shoot up into the wind,” they write. When trying to keep the ball low, you need to shallow out your downswing to limit backspin, not increase it.
Error 2: Hanging back
Some players understand that you need to keep a shallow approach into the ball to limit backspin and hit the ball low. That’s great, but you can do this the wrong way by hanging back too much in the downswing. “Don’t try to stay shallow by hanging back. This can lead to hitting behind the ball. You’ll hit it low, but it won’t go anywhere,” Leonard and Smith write.
Error 3: Chasing down the target line
You can overdo a shallow downswing. If you try and keep your swing too shallow for too long, you can get into some funky post-impact positions. “The result is chasing the ball down the target line with your club and body. Not only does this throw you off-balance, it keeps the clubface open. In the proper motion, the club works back inside the target line after impact,” they write.
OK, so those are all of the wrong ways to keep it low, how about the right way? Smith taught Leonard how to properly shallow out his downswing to limit backspin and keep the ball low. First, they used a few setup keys.
- Slightly wider stance to promote a shallow swing
- Move the ball a little back in stance to deloft the club
- Grip down
The key during the swing, Leonard says, is to keep the backswing short. “For a regular shot, my shaft goes to parallel at the top. For a low shot, I’m slightly short of parallel. This slows my clubhead speed, so I impart less backspin to the ball,” Leonard says.
Finally, Leonard tries to keep his finish low and around his body, much like Tiger Woods frequently talks about when trying to hit the ball low.
Randy Smith’s two drills to keep it low
1. Place a rope about six feet in front of you and several feet off the ground. Try and keep the ball under the rope. “The only way to do it is with a shallow angle of approach,” Leonard says.
2. Place a tee about 10 inches in front of the ball and just inside the target line. Hit the ball and knock the tee out of the ground with the club after impact. “If I’m successful, my swing was shallow. When I’m doing it well, I can hit the tee with a wedge,” Leonard says.
Be sure to explore the Golf Digest Archive, complete with every story we've published since 1950, right here.
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Is it the British Open or the Open Championship? The name of the final men’s major of the golf season is a subject of continued discussion. The event’s official name, as explained in this op-ed by former R&A chairman Ian Pattinson, is the Open Championship. But since many United States golf fans continue to refer to it as the British Open, and search news around the event accordingly, Golf Digest continues to utilize both names in its coverage.
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