Tyler Ferrell is the only person in the world named to Golf Digest's list of Best Young Teachers in America AND its list of Best Golf Fitness Professionals in America.

Understanding Club Height vs Hand Height for Better Downswing

After this video, you'll be able to:

  • Identify the key differences between shallowing and steepening movements during your downswing.
  • Understand how to position your hands and club for optimal impact and control.
  • Recognize the importance of soft arms in achieving the correct shallowing motion.

Learn how the relationship between your club height and hand height affects your downswing. This video explains the concept of shallowing and why it’s crucial for becoming a better ball striker.

Video Transcript
WEBVTT

1
00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.320
This concept video is discussing club height to hand height. So I had a

2
00:00:05.320 --> 00:00:10.800
member question about what angle is shallow enough during the downswing,

3
00:00:10.800 --> 00:00:14.720
basically if you're looking from the down the line view, where should the club

4
00:00:14.720 --> 00:00:14.880
be

5
00:00:14.880 --> 00:00:19.440
during the downswing. And I wanted to take this as an opportunity to discuss

6
00:00:19.440 --> 00:00:25.230
shallowing, which is one of the hallmarks of good ball strikers, Sasha Mack

7
00:00:25.230 --> 00:00:26.120
enzie with

8
00:00:26.120 --> 00:00:32.240
some of his research has showed that in one sample size 39 out of 40 tour pros

9
00:00:32.240 --> 00:00:37.040
had a shallowing movement during transition where basically the center of

10
00:00:37.040 --> 00:00:42.920
mass of the club dropped below the hand path where the majority of amateurs

11
00:00:42.920 --> 00:00:47.480
tend to have more of a steepening movement. So one simple way that you can

12
00:00:47.480 --> 00:00:52.820
look at shallowing is looking at the hand height compared to the club height.

13
00:00:52.820 --> 00:01:01.200
If you shallow the club, then the club, the club head, drops more than the

14
00:01:01.200 --> 00:01:01.580
handle.

15
00:01:01.580 --> 00:01:07.560
If I drop everything down together, then I didn't actually shallow. So I could

16
00:01:07.560 --> 00:01:07.640
be

17
00:01:07.640 --> 00:01:14.280
on a really flat angle like this, drop it down like that, and I wouldn't have

18
00:01:14.280 --> 00:01:18.280
been, I didn't actually shallow the club. Or I could have it on a steep angle

19
00:01:18.280 --> 00:01:18.440
like

20
00:01:18.440 --> 00:01:24.380
this. There, as I come down, the club head is dropping lower than the hands

21
00:01:24.380 --> 00:01:30.360
compared to this camera angle. That would indicate a shallowing movement. So

22
00:01:30.360 --> 00:01:30.540
the

23
00:01:30.540 --> 00:01:35.540
shallowing movement is the key, not necessarily how shallow. There's too many

24
00:01:35.540 --> 00:01:41.020
factors when you look at different clubs, length of arms, power sources, but

25
00:01:41.020 --> 00:01:41.820
you'll

26
00:01:41.820 --> 00:01:45.820
tend to have a easier job squaring the club face down at the bottom and you'll

27
00:01:45.820 --> 00:01:50.960
tend to have an easier job controlling the width of the club if you have some

28
00:01:50.960 --> 00:01:51.080
of

29
00:01:51.080 --> 00:01:56.280
this shallowing movement during transition. In order to shallow it, you've

30
00:01:56.280 --> 00:01:59.790
got to make sure that your arms are nice and soft and that they're working in

31
00:01:59.790 --> 00:01:59.840
the

32
00:01:59.840 --> 00:02:03.260
proper ways. I've got videos on how the left arm as well as the right arm shall

33
00:02:03.260 --> 00:02:03.440
ows,

34
00:02:03.440 --> 00:02:10.000
or you can get the shallowness happening a little bit more from the body, but

35
00:02:10.000 --> 00:02:10.160
the

36
00:02:10.160 --> 00:02:14.630
early shallow movements are typically all forearm, forearm and shoulder I

37
00:02:14.630 --> 00:02:14.760
should

38
00:02:14.760 --> 00:02:20.040
say, all arms. So don't worry about getting some magic reference, but if you

39
00:02:20.040 --> 00:02:24.940
did want to have a ballpark, you know, somewhere where it's pointing around the

40
00:02:24.940 --> 00:02:31.440
golf ball is not a bad area to focus on. If it's pointing straight down at the

41
00:02:31.440 --> 00:02:36.000
ground, that's probably a little too steep. Even if it's shallow to get there,

42
00:02:36.000 --> 00:02:41.360
it might be challenging to control the path and the low point that way.

43
00:02:41.360 --> 00:02:48.200
Conversely, if it's completely horizontal, it might be hard to control the low

44
00:02:48.200 --> 00:02:51.450
point, you might struggle with more thins and tops. So somewhere around the

45
00:02:51.450 --> 00:02:51.620
golf

46
00:02:51.620 --> 00:02:55.500
ball, but really the most important thing is that the club height or the club

47
00:02:55.500 --> 00:02:55.800
head

48
00:02:55.800 --> 00:02:59.760
is dropping more than your hands. That's a good indicator that you're

49
00:02:59.760 --> 00:03:05.600
shallowing and making one of the key hallmarks to a solid tour swing. Okay, so

50
00:03:05.600 --> 00:03:05.720
I'll

51
00:03:05.720 --> 00:03:11.240
try to exaggerate. There, the hands are staying a little bit higher as the club

52
00:03:11.240 --> 00:03:22.720
comes down. Should give me good shallow turf contact. Not too bad. It's the

53
00:03:22.720 --> 00:03:22.840
touch

54
00:03:22.840 --> 00:03:33.320
behind it, but 20, 30 feet. Try one more. It's pretty good in shallow. I'll

55
00:03:33.320 --> 00:03:33.720
just give

56
00:03:33.720 --> 00:03:41.160
a little bit more left tilt. And there we go.

Have questions?

Ask Mulligan for help
Related topics
This video hasn't been assigned to any topics yet. Browse all topics in the sidebar.
Tyler Ferrell is the only person in the world named to Golf Digest's list of Best Young Teachers in America AND its list of Best Golf Fitness Professionals in America.

Understanding Club Height vs Hand Height for Better Downswing

After this video, you'll be able to:

  • Identify the key differences between shallowing and steepening movements during your downswing.
  • Understand how to position your hands and club for optimal impact and control.
  • Recognize the importance of soft arms in achieving the correct shallowing motion.

Learn how the relationship between your club height and hand height affects your downswing. This video explains the concept of shallowing and why it’s crucial for becoming a better ball striker.

Video Transcript
WEBVTT

1
00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.320
This concept video is discussing club height to hand height. So I had a

2
00:00:05.320 --> 00:00:10.800
member question about what angle is shallow enough during the downswing,

3
00:00:10.800 --> 00:00:14.720
basically if you're looking from the down the line view, where should the club

4
00:00:14.720 --> 00:00:14.880
be

5
00:00:14.880 --> 00:00:19.440
during the downswing. And I wanted to take this as an opportunity to discuss

6
00:00:19.440 --> 00:00:25.230
shallowing, which is one of the hallmarks of good ball strikers, Sasha Mack

7
00:00:25.230 --> 00:00:26.120
enzie with

8
00:00:26.120 --> 00:00:32.240
some of his research has showed that in one sample size 39 out of 40 tour pros

9
00:00:32.240 --> 00:00:37.040
had a shallowing movement during transition where basically the center of

10
00:00:37.040 --> 00:00:42.920
mass of the club dropped below the hand path where the majority of amateurs

11
00:00:42.920 --> 00:00:47.480
tend to have more of a steepening movement. So one simple way that you can

12
00:00:47.480 --> 00:00:52.820
look at shallowing is looking at the hand height compared to the club height.

13
00:00:52.820 --> 00:01:01.200
If you shallow the club, then the club, the club head, drops more than the

14
00:01:01.200 --> 00:01:01.580
handle.

15
00:01:01.580 --> 00:01:07.560
If I drop everything down together, then I didn't actually shallow. So I could

16
00:01:07.560 --> 00:01:07.640
be

17
00:01:07.640 --> 00:01:14.280
on a really flat angle like this, drop it down like that, and I wouldn't have

18
00:01:14.280 --> 00:01:18.280
been, I didn't actually shallow the club. Or I could have it on a steep angle

19
00:01:18.280 --> 00:01:18.440
like

20
00:01:18.440 --> 00:01:24.380
this. There, as I come down, the club head is dropping lower than the hands

21
00:01:24.380 --> 00:01:30.360
compared to this camera angle. That would indicate a shallowing movement. So

22
00:01:30.360 --> 00:01:30.540
the

23
00:01:30.540 --> 00:01:35.540
shallowing movement is the key, not necessarily how shallow. There's too many

24
00:01:35.540 --> 00:01:41.020
factors when you look at different clubs, length of arms, power sources, but

25
00:01:41.020 --> 00:01:41.820
you'll

26
00:01:41.820 --> 00:01:45.820
tend to have a easier job squaring the club face down at the bottom and you'll

27
00:01:45.820 --> 00:01:50.960
tend to have an easier job controlling the width of the club if you have some

28
00:01:50.960 --> 00:01:51.080
of

29
00:01:51.080 --> 00:01:56.280
this shallowing movement during transition. In order to shallow it, you've

30
00:01:56.280 --> 00:01:59.790
got to make sure that your arms are nice and soft and that they're working in

31
00:01:59.790 --> 00:01:59.840
the

32
00:01:59.840 --> 00:02:03.260
proper ways. I've got videos on how the left arm as well as the right arm shall

33
00:02:03.260 --> 00:02:03.440
ows,

34
00:02:03.440 --> 00:02:10.000
or you can get the shallowness happening a little bit more from the body, but

35
00:02:10.000 --> 00:02:10.160
the

36
00:02:10.160 --> 00:02:14.630
early shallow movements are typically all forearm, forearm and shoulder I

37
00:02:14.630 --> 00:02:14.760
should

38
00:02:14.760 --> 00:02:20.040
say, all arms. So don't worry about getting some magic reference, but if you

39
00:02:20.040 --> 00:02:24.940
did want to have a ballpark, you know, somewhere where it's pointing around the

40
00:02:24.940 --> 00:02:31.440
golf ball is not a bad area to focus on. If it's pointing straight down at the

41
00:02:31.440 --> 00:02:36.000
ground, that's probably a little too steep. Even if it's shallow to get there,

42
00:02:36.000 --> 00:02:41.360
it might be challenging to control the path and the low point that way.

43
00:02:41.360 --> 00:02:48.200
Conversely, if it's completely horizontal, it might be hard to control the low

44
00:02:48.200 --> 00:02:51.450
point, you might struggle with more thins and tops. So somewhere around the

45
00:02:51.450 --> 00:02:51.620
golf

46
00:02:51.620 --> 00:02:55.500
ball, but really the most important thing is that the club height or the club

47
00:02:55.500 --> 00:02:55.800
head

48
00:02:55.800 --> 00:02:59.760
is dropping more than your hands. That's a good indicator that you're

49
00:02:59.760 --> 00:03:05.600
shallowing and making one of the key hallmarks to a solid tour swing. Okay, so

50
00:03:05.600 --> 00:03:05.720
I'll

51
00:03:05.720 --> 00:03:11.240
try to exaggerate. There, the hands are staying a little bit higher as the club

52
00:03:11.240 --> 00:03:22.720
comes down. Should give me good shallow turf contact. Not too bad. It's the

53
00:03:22.720 --> 00:03:22.840
touch

54
00:03:22.840 --> 00:03:33.320
behind it, but 20, 30 feet. Try one more. It's pretty good in shallow. I'll

55
00:03:33.320 --> 00:03:33.720
just give

56
00:03:33.720 --> 00:03:41.160
a little bit more left tilt. And there we go.

Have questions about this video?

Ask Mulligan for personalized guidance on technique, drills, or how to apply what you've learned.

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