Should I be shallowing the golf club? That is a question that several readers have recently asked, so as a result, this post will focus on how to shallow golf swing.
To execute a shallow golf swing, keep your spine straight, the shaft shallow, and the clubface square. Then, rotate through the shot. This can help you produce a solid strike, superior accuracy, and distance.
Before I coach you through how to shallow your golf swing, let me explain what a shallow golf swing is.
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What Is A Shallow Golf Swing?
The team at Meandmygolf in the video below explains that this swing results in a shallow shaft angle on your downswing. In other words, instead of casting your club with your arms along a steep path, you use the momentum of your hip rotation to help your club follow a gradual plane to the ball on your downswing.
That approach, if executed effectively, enables you to strike the ball cleaner and optimize your distance and accuracy.
How To Shallow Golf Swing
Although shallowing your golf swing offers considerable benefits, golf coach Jonathan Kim-Moss mentions that your body, arms, and wrists need to gel. Otherwise, it can produce catastrophic results.
The most common errors resulting from this swing setup are snap-hooks and pushed shots. Here are the steps to help you learn how to shallow the club with that in mind.
1) Soften Your Right Arm
Golf.com’s Zephyr Melton shares the advice of Top 100 coach Jonathan Yarwood that right-handed amateurs stiffen their right arm excessively. That means that your right arm is forced away from your body on the backswing, causing your left arm to raise your chest.
Yarwood further states that softening your right arm leads to increased flex on the backswing. As a result, you can place the club in a better position and allow your rotation to guide your clubhead along a gradual path to the ball.
The stiffer your right arm is, the more chance you have of producing a steeper attack angle, which puts you at risk of chunking your shot.
2) Move Hands Inwards
Instead of taking your clubhead straight back or away from your body, Kim-Moss suggests taking it in and around your body. He says that this motion will help you produce a shallower downswing.
3) Maximum Hip Rotation
The rotation of your hips is central to a successful shallow golf swing. As I explained in this article, it helps you generate optimal power during your backswing and downswing. But, it also guides you through the shot.
Without sufficient hip rotation, you will not allow yourself to drop your club into a shallow position at the top of the downswing.
That means it is more difficult for you to correct the swing plane, and you will either produce a steep angle of attack. Or you will be unable to get your hands or clubface in the correct position for impact.
4) Shallow The Shaft
If you cannot get your shaft into a shallow position at the top of your downswing, you will find it challenging to correct it. When you reach that point in your swing, you want your clubhead to be behind your back and not over your head.
The rotation of your hips will help you drop the clubhead down to a desirable position before being guided to the ball.
5) Trail Side Tilt
Kim-Moss further advises that as you commence your downswing, tilt your trail leg towards your front leg. Not only does this initiate a powerful leg drive that leads to optimal distance. It also enables you to get your clubhead into the correct position at impact.
To learn about weight shift in detail and how to transition from your backswing to your downswing. Check out our post with more tips on how to shift your weight.
Shallowing Golf Swing Drills
Half Swing Drill
Golf coach Clay Ballard suggests that employing the half swing drill into your training schedule can help you shallow your swing. That is because it allows you to understand where your club needs to be. And the rotation required to get your clubface square at impact.
Ballard recommends that when you reach the halfway point of your backswing, stop and lower the club slightly, making it parallel to the ground. Pause in this position, and then rotate your hips through the shot. All while working on squaring your clubface at impact.
Wall Drill
Kim-Moss and Meandmygolf provide two variations of the wall drill that are effective in helping you shallow your golf swing.
Meandmygolf, recommend setting up with you back to a wall that is no further than 2 feet away. The point of their drill is to ensure your club does not touch the wall on your backswing and downswing. You achieve this by combining your hip rotation, soft right arm, and moving your hands inwards.
During Kim-Moss’s drill, he positions his head against the wall and holds an alignment stick against his chest and shoulder blades. During the drill. He works on his backswing, rotation, and follow-through. At no point does he touch the wall.
The purpose of these drills is to help you identify if you are moving offline at any point during your swing.
Read also: Simple Strike Sequence
What Training Aids Can You Use To Learn How To Shallow Out Golf Swing?
Tour Striker Plane Mate
The Tour Strike Plane mate features a resistance band design that forces you to control your takeaway and backswing while encouraging optimal rotation. Fit the band around your waist and clip the connection to the bottom of your shaft.
The reduced freedom of movement requires you to rely on your rotation to guide the clubhead, preventing your hands from taking over.
Overall, this simple design is an ideal tool for low to high handicappers to employ if you desire to shallow your swing.
Hosita Golf Swing Trainer
The Hosita Golf Swing Trainer contains a super flexible fiberglass shaft with a dust-proof rubber grip and weighted head. That helps you produce a smooth rhythm, strength, and balance during your swing.
Although this training aid does not purely focus on shallowing your golf club, it helps you achieve synergy between your arms, hands, shoulders, and hips.
The only downside of this product is that it does not connect to your golf club, preventing you from simulating the weight, flex, and loft of a standard golf club.
In summary, every golfer can extract value from the Hosita Golf Swing trainer. It helps you to synchronize your body, arms, and hands. Plus, it is the formula to make you successfully shallow your swing. And improve your ball striking.
FAQs
What Happens If Golf Swing Is Too Shallow?
If your golf swing is too shallow and you can’t transfer the weight of your trail leg to the front, you risk connecting the ball with your weight trailing the clubhead. That position causes you to leave your clubface open at impact, resulting in a slice or a push.
Furthermore, if your body is closed through the swing and you release your hands at impact, you will end up with a snap-hook.
Should You Stand Tall In The Golf Swing?
Not at all. While the ideal posture for this swing is a straight spine, you should not stand up on the ball at impact. Standing tall and not rotating your hips may lead to an open clubface or hitting behind the ball.
Who Has The Smoothest Swing In Golf?
Senior Tour players Ernie Els and Mark McNulty and LPGA Pro Maria Fassi enjoy some of the smoothest swings in the game. But it is difficult to determine the player with the smoothest swing in golf, as the opinions vary.
Representing us amateurs, double amputee Jordan Thomas shows off his smooth swing in an interview with Golf.com.
Despite all these incredible swings, Steve Elkington, for many, including myself, possesses the smoothest swing in golf.
How Do The Pros Shallow The Club?
The pros follow the same process I have listed above to shallow their club. They soften their right arm, move their hands inwards, and induce maximum rotation to shallow the shaft and square the face up at impact.
Final Thoughts
Learning how to shallow a golf swing is a complicated process that requires refining your current posture, backswing, downswing, and rotation.
If you can master shallowing your golf club, you will strike the ball consistently well. But, you need to ensure that your hands, arms, and body are synchronized to produce a square face at impact.
A shallow golf swing promotes optimal power at impact, which leads to consistent distance and accuracy compared to a steep angle of attack. Those serious about developing this swing plane should take a closer look at the Tour Striker Plane Mate training aid.
However, if you are only interested in expanding your knowledge on the mechanics of a swing, follow the below links to more related articles on Golf Span.
Matt has played golf since he was 4 years old and has written over 150 articles at GolfSpan since 2021. Matt specializes in product reviews using his postgraduate degree in Sports Marketing from Johan Cruyff Institute. Matt has a handicap index of 10.8 and currently plays weekly at Pilar Golf Course near his home in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He also loves his Callaway Odyssey Exo Rossie putter and likes a pepper steak pie with curry gravy at the turn. You can connect with him on LinkedIn.
- Best score: 70
- Favorite club: Callaway Odyssey Exo Rossie
- Favorite ball: Srixon Q-Star Tour
- Favorite food at the turn: Pepper steak pie with curry gravy
