Shallowing refers to the action of bringing your golf club to a more horizontal position during the downswing. You usually start your hit with a relatively high upswing, and in order to hit the ball with more precision, force, and accuracy, you need to decrease the angle between the club and the ground.
Here’s how to shallow the club:
- Don’t cup your lead wrist.
- Push your trail arm under the club and toward your body.
- Imagine there’s a wall behind you.
- Use training aids to practice.
When properly executed, shallowing the club can help you hit the ball farther, consistently, and with more power. In this article, I’ll go over some helpful technique cues you can use the next time you practice in order to grasp the proper shallowing technique. I’ll also explain the benefits of shallowing the club and how to use these tricks to better your golf game.
1. Don’t Cup Your Lead Wrist
A common mistake that people make that prevents them from shallowing their golf club is cupping the lead wrist. Quite often, people will deeply cup their lead wrist and bring not only their arms but the club as well, into a very awkward position that’s not conducive to proper shallowing.
Here’s a YouTube video on how to shallow the golf club in the downswing:
This position can also change the entire mechanics of the movement. Since it makes your downswing very steep, it may also force you to move your pelvis forward and stand up straight. This, in turn, leads to you engaging the club face more than is necessary.
This kind of technique jeopardizes your stability and, thus, the strength and accuracy of your shots.
What you need to do is bow your lead wrist instead of cupping it. This strengthens the club face and helps bring your body into the correct position. Most importantly, it will move your club closer to the shallow position you’re looking for.
Bowing your lead wrist will also help you engage the rotary power of your hips and legs, which will enable you to use the maximum power you can produce during the downswing.
This is a simple tweak, but it takes time until you get used to this position. You’ll need to start slowly and carefully. First, practice by going through the movement in slow motion and then transition to the actual movement.
2. Push Your Trail Arm Under the Club and Toward Your Body
Another common mistake that makes players unable to shallow their clubs properly is leaving the trail arm high and on top of the club. Instead of this, you should aim to tuck it in under your club and close to your body. Doing so will automatically make the club shallower and bring you closer to the correct position.
As you’re moving your club downward, think about getting your trail arm elbow closer to your other elbow and your upper arm tighter to your body. If you watch closely, you’ll see pretty much all professional players do this, and you’ll see that it dramatically improves their technique.
This movement is also not easy as it requires a decent range of motion to find the correct position. Some players cannot do it at first, which means you might need to be a bit patient until you get it right. Your patience will pay off eventually, and you should also be careful, so you don’t hurt yourself while playing.
You can start practicing by holding the club in your trail arm and swinging it backward while keeping your other arm under it and drawing it in. This will help you feel what it’s supposed to be like. Once you get the feeling, try to swing as you normally would, but slowly, and work your way to your full speed.
3. Imagine There’s a Wall Behind You
This cue will help you move your club using the proper motion. Imagine there’s a wall behind you and try to drag your club downward across it. If you manage to pull this off successfully, you will easily get into the correct shallow position with your club.
You can even practice this with an actual wall. Stand some two or three feet away from it and slowly swing your club just to see how it feels when you drag it across the wall. Of course, do this in slow motion since you probably don’t want to damage your wall and club.
It may be advisable to use an old or battered club for this, just in case. You don’t want to risk damaging a new, usable club. Use something that you can easily get rid of.
4. Use Training Aids To Practice
There are some training aids that are designed specifically to help you train your swing. Some of these can be used to focus on your shallowing. These are:
- Alignment sticks
- The Chiliwacker
- Magnetic alignment sticks
You can use alignment sticks by putting them outside and behind the line of your shaft and trying hard not to hit them. If you’re hitting them, you’re not shallowing enough, so you need to adjust your position.
The Chiliwacker has two foam arms between which your club has to pass. You can set them up for the correct shallow position and swing, trying not to hit them.
Magnetic alignment sticks attach to your clubface and indicate the direction where your club is pointing at impact. You can use this to analyze your swing and see what adjustments you need to make.
Benefits of Shallowing the Club
By shallowing the club, you’ll be able to make consistent contact at impact. This allows for more predictable shots with predictable outcomes, which in turn, means more control over your game.
Shallowing also enables you to recruit more power from your lower body since it relies on your ability to successfully utilize your hips and legs. This often translates to stronger and longer shots without sacrificing precision.
Conclusion
Shallowing the club in golf is one of the essential techniques every player has to master, or at least try their best to master. Even though the mechanics of shallowing the club are relatively simple, it can get quite tricky to master this movement and turn it into your second nature.
However, nailing the technique will mean that you’ll be able to generate more power, get consistent hits, and hit the ball farther. As long as you stay mindful of your body movement and position, you’ll likely be able to implement these techniques and significantly improve your golf.