x
Skip to main content
Golf Logo
InsideGolf Join Now  / Log In
Learn this crucial ball-striking skill and pure your irons like never before
SHARE
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share by Email
Golf Logo
  • News
    • Latest
      • News
      • Features
      • Shows
      • PGA Tour Schedule
    • Series
      • Tour Confidential
      • Monday Finish
      • Hot Mic
      • Rogers Report
    • Shows
      • The Scoop
      • Subpar
      • Seen & Heard
  • Instruction
    • Game Improvement
      • Driving
      • Approach Shots
      • Bunker Shots
      • Short Game
      • Putting
      • Rules
      • Fitness
    • Series
      • Top 100 Teachers
      • Rules Guy
      • The Etiquetteist
    • Shows
      • Warming Up
      • Play Smart
      • Short Game Chef
      • Pros Teaching Joes
  • Gear
    • Clubs
      • Drivers
      • Irons
      • Hybrids
      • Fairway Woods
      • Wedges
      • Putters
    • Other Gear
      • Balls
      • Shoes
      • Apparel
      • Golf Accessories
    • Series
      • ClubTest
      • Winner’s Bag
    • Shows
      • Fully Equipped
  • Travel & Lifestyle
    • Travel
      • Course Finder
      • Courses
      • Resorts
    • Lifestyle
      • Accessories
      • Celebrities
      • Food
      • Style
      • Betting Advice
    • Shows
      • Super Secrets
      • Destination Golf
  • Shop
    • Shop
      • Clubs
      • Shafts
      • Training Aids
      • Balls
      • Bags
      • Technology
      • Apparel
      • Accessories
      • Our Picks
      • Shop All
    • Collections
      • The GOLF Collection
      • The Birdie Juice Collection
      • The Fully Equipped Collection
      • Shop All
  • Newsletters
    • Sign Up for GOLF’s Newsletters
      • Hot Mic
      • Monday Finish
      • Play Smart
      • Our Picks
      • Top Stories
      • Sign Up for All
  • News
    • Latest News
    • Features
    • Shows
    • PGA Tour Schedule
  • Instruction
    • All Instruction
    • Driving
    • Approach Shots
    • Bunker Shots
    • Short Game
    • Putting
    • Rules
    • Fitness
  • Gear
    • All Gear
    • Drivers
    • Irons
    • Hybrids
    • Fairway Woods
    • Wedges
    • Putters
    • Balls
    • Shoes
    • Apparel
    • Golf Accessories
  • Travel & Lifestyle
    • All Travel
    • All Lifestyle
    • Course Finder
    • Courses
    • Resorts
    • Accessories
    • Celebrities
    • Food
    • Style
    • Betting Advice
  • Series
    • Tour Confidential
    • Monday Finish
    • Hot Mic
    • Rogers Report
    • Rules Guy
    • The Etiquetteist
    • ClubTest
    • Winner’s Bag
  • Shows
    • The Scoop
    • Subpar
    • Seen & Heard
    • Warming Up
    • Play Smart
    • Short Game Chef
    • Pros Teaching Joes
    • Fully Equipped
    • Super Secrets
    • Destination Golf
  • Shop
    • Clubs
    • Shafts
    • Training Aids
    • Balls
    • Bags
    • Technology
    • Apparel
    • Accessories
    • The GOLF Collection
    • The Birdie Juice Collection
    • The Fully Equipped Collection
  • Newsletters
    • Hot Mic
    • Monday Finish
    • Play Smart
    • Top Stories
    • Our Picks
    • Sign Up for All
InsideGolf Join Now  / Log In
InsideGolf

InsideGOLF: +$140 value for $39.99

Join Today
Approach Shots

Learn this crucial ball-striking skill and pure your irons like never before

By: Zephyr Melton
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Follow on Instagram
February 27, 2025
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share by Email
golf balls on the ground with two feet and hand holding sand bottle

Controlling your low point is the key to solid ball striking.

GOLF.com

Welcome to Play Smart, a regular GOLF.com game-improvement column that will help you become a smarter, better golfer.

Hitting a golf ball consistently on the center of the face is hard. That’s no surprise; with so many moving parts in the swing, the margin for error is incredibly small, and any small misstep can be the difference between a pure shot and a terrible one.

When hitting your irons, the interaction between your club and the turf is crucial. To hit the ball pure, you have to make sure you’re compressing the ball properly. And to do this, you have to make sure you have control of your low point.

As a refresher, low point is where you swing arc bottoms out during the swing. This point will be different for every club, but it will always be within a few inches of the ball on either side. If you want to hit consistently pure shots, you’ve got to make sure you low point is in the same spot on each swing.

“Low point is the key to compression,” GOLF Teacher to Watch Christy Longfield says. “We need that low point to be moving down. Hit the ball, compress the ball four or five grooves above, and then that nice divot in the ground.”

In the video below, Longfield shares a great drill you can do to practice managing your low point to hit more consistent shots.

How to practice low-point control

To practice your low-point control, grab the sand container off a cart and pour some out in a line on the ground perpendicular to your stance. Then set up as if there were a ball on the line and make a swing.

“I want you to make your divot [in front] of the sand line,” Longfield says. “I want you to feel as if the leading edge of the club goes down through the sand and makes your divot on the target side.”

Once you make your swing, you’ll be able to easily see where your divot starts in relation to the sand line. If it’s behind the line, you would have chunked the ball because your low point is too far behind the ball. While if the divot starts in front of the line, you know you would’ve thinned it because your low point is too far in front of the ball.

Once you get a sense for where your low point is in your swing with each club, you can work on moving it backward or forward to make sure you are hitting the ball in the right place in your swing arc. If you can do that and get a consistent low point in your swing, you’ll be well on your way to hitting consistently pure shots with your irons.

GOLFTEC Swing Evaluation

Click below to learn more or to book a swing evaluation with GOLFTEC. On sale through March!
Buy Now from www.golftec.com

Latest In Instruction

3 hours ago

2 keys for playing golf at elevation, according to LIV pros

1 day ago

The secret behind Justin Thomas’ crazy clubhead speed

1 day ago

How a simple grip change can fix your bunker shots

1 day ago

This 'hallmark' of elite ball strikers is absent in high handicappers

Zephyr Melton

Golf.com Editor

Zephyr Melton is an assistant editor for GOLF.com where he spends his days blogging, producing and editing. Prior to joining the team at GOLF, he attended the University of Texas followed by stops with the Texas Golf Association, Team USA, the Green Bay Packers and the PGA Tour. He assists on all things instruction and covers amateur and women’s golf. He can be reached at zephyr_melton@golf.com.

  • Author Twitter Account
  • Author Instagram Account

Related Articles

Instruction
abraham ancer swings during liv singapore

2 keys for playing golf at elevation, according to LIV pros

By: Zephyr Melton
Approach Shots
pga tour pro justin thomas hits a tee shot during the 2025 rbc heritage

This 'hallmark' of elite ball strikers is absent in high handicappers

By: Zephyr Melton
Putting
phil mickelson hit putt during 2025 LIV Hong Kong

This 'simple but brilliant' advice will make you a better lag putter

By: Zephyr Melton
Approach Shots
arnold palmer swings golf club

Arnold Palmer shares the secrets to hitting pure shot with long irons

By: Zephyr Melton
Approach Shots
dustin johnson swings wedge during 2025 masters tournament

Perfect your body and club positions to generate ball-first contact

By: Martin Chuck, Top 100 Teacher
Approach Shots
collin morikawa hits an iron during the 2025 masters

2 ways to compress the golf ball and hit more crisp iron shots

By: Zephyr Melton
Instruction
jack nicklaus swings

Jack Nicklaus: How to hit draws and fades with the same swing

By: Zephyr Melton
Approach Shots
debbie doniger coaches GOLF.come editor zephyr melton

When (and how) should you choke down on the golf club?

By: Zephyr Melton
Instruction
bryson dechambeau hits a tee shot on the 12th hole at augusta national

Bryson DeChambeau's range session offers insight into Masters Sunday strategy

By: Zephyr Melton
Sign up for GOLF's Newsletters
Get the latest news, the hottest instruction tips, new product releases, golf media insider reports and more delivered directly to your inbox. Choose your favorites now.
Sign Up
Categories
  • News
  • Instruction
  • Gear
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
Services
  • Masthead
  • GOLF Media Kit
  • GOLF Magazine Customer Service
  • TERMS OF SERVICE
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • Opt-out of Ads/Sharing
  • Your Privacy Choices
Social
  • facebook
  • x
  • instagram
  • youtube
Membership
InsideGOLF Logo
More than $140 Value for JUST $39.99

INCLUDES 12 SRIXON Z-STAR XV GOLF BALLS, 1 YR OF GOLF MAGAZINE, $20 FAIRWAY JOCKEY CREDIT - AND MUCH MORE!

LEARN MORE

© 2025 EB Golf Media LLC. An 8AM Golf Affiliated Brand. All Rights Reserved. All of our market picks are independently selected and curated by the editorial team. If you buy a linked product, GOLF.COM may earn a fee. Pricing may vary.