Golf Smart Academy
If you tend to catch the ball on the heel, or worse, fight the occasional shank, one of the biggest challenges is simply knowing where the club is in space as it approaches the ball. Some golfers respond well to a line on the ground or a simple low-point marker. Others need something more physical and three-dimensional. That is where the low point yoga block drill becomes so useful. By placing a soft object just outside the toe of the club, you create immediate feedback for both strike location and club path. It is a simple setup, but it can quickly improve your awareness of where the clubhead is traveling and where it is contacting the ground.
Why Heel Contact and Shanks Happen
A heel strike happens when the ball contacts the part of the clubface closest to the hosel. If that pattern gets extreme, the ball can contact the hosel itself, producing a shank. While golfers often think of this as just a face-contact issue, it is usually tied to a bigger movement pattern: the club is arriving too far out toward the ball, or your low point and swing direction are not well calibrated.
In simple terms, the clubhead is taking up too much space near the ball. If the handle and club move outward through impact, or if the club is cutting across from too far outside, the heel gets exposed first. That is why heel strikes and shanks are so often connected to an outside-in path or poor spatial awareness through the strike.
This matters because solid golf is not just about hitting the ball first. It is about delivering the club so that:
- the center of the face meets the ball,
- the low point occurs in the right place, and
- the path of the club matches the shot you are trying to hit.
If any of those pieces drift, contact quality suffers quickly.
Why a Yoga Block Works Better Than a Line for Some Golfers
Not every golfer learns best from the same type of feedback. A painted line, a tee gate, or a mark on the turf can work well if you already have decent awareness of where the clubhead is. But many players need something more obvious. A yoga block gives you a 3D reference point instead of a flat visual on the ground.
That difference is important. A line tells you where the club should bottom out. A block tells you where the club must not go. For many golfers, avoiding an object is easier than trying to interpret a mark on the turf.
Think of it like parking a car. A painted line on the pavement helps, but a curb or cone gives you a much clearer sense of space. The yoga block does the same thing for your swing. It helps you feel the boundary between a centered strike and a heel-biased one.
Another advantage is that a yoga block is soft. If you clip it, you get feedback without damaging the club or creating the sharp, punishing sensation that can make you tense up. A cardboard box can work too, but a yoga block is usually the cleaner option because it is durable, visible, and forgiving.
How to Set Up the Low Point Yoga Block Drill
The basic setup is straightforward. Place the yoga block just outside the toe of the club at address. The spacing should be tight—about a thumb’s width or even slightly less. You want it close enough that it creates pressure and awareness, but not so close that the drill becomes impossible.
Basic setup guidelines
- Address the ball normally.
- Place the yoga block just outside the toe of the clubhead.
- Leave only a small amount of space between the club and the block.
- Make sure the block is far enough away that a centered strike can still happen cleanly.
From there, begin by making practice swings and brushing the ground without touching the block. Your goal is not perfection. If the club works slightly inward of ideal, that is usually fine. What you are trying to eliminate is the outward motion that sends the heel or hosel into the ball.
The drill gives you a very clear test:
- If your club stays in the proper space, you miss the block and strike the turf normally.
- If your club moves too far outward, you hit the block.
That immediate feedback is what makes the drill so effective.
What the Drill Teaches You About Low Point and Club Delivery
Although this drill is often used as a heel-contact fix, it is really teaching something deeper: how to control the club’s location through the strike. That includes both the position of the clubhead in space and the placement of the low point.
Low point refers to where the club reaches the bottom of its arc. Good ball striking depends on having that bottom of the arc in the right place relative to the ball. But low point is not just a forward-or-back issue. It also has a spatial component. You need to know where the club is bottoming out relative to your body and the ball, not just where it hits the ground.
The yoga block helps you connect those pieces. As you swing, you begin to sense:
- where the clubhead is traveling,
- how close it is to the ball,
- whether the handle and club are moving outward, and
- whether your strike pattern is centered or heel-biased.
That awareness is often missing in golfers who struggle with heel contact. They are not always trying to shank the ball, of course. They simply do not realize how far the club is moving out toward it.
How the Drill Can Also Fix an Outside-In Path
One of the best features of this drill is that it can also act as a path trainer. If you have an outside-in swing and are unaware of it, the yoga block can expose that pattern quickly.
In the standard version of the drill, the block sits just outside the toe line. But if your path is too steep and too far left through impact, you may need to adjust the block slightly so it also gives you feedback on your approach into the ball.
Here is the idea: if the club is approaching from too far outside, it may avoid the block at address but still move across the ball in a way that pushes the heel outward into impact. By positioning the block so its edge gives you a visual reference for your approach, you create a barrier that encourages the club to work more from the inside.
What you should feel
- The club approaches the ball without moving out toward the block.
- The swing feels less like a cut across the ball and more like it is traveling through the strike.
- The center of the face becomes easier to return to the ball.
In that sense, the yoga block does double duty. It is not only helping you avoid heel contact. It is also helping you organize the shape of your downswing.
Why This Matters for Practical Improvement
Many golfers try to fix heel strikes with vague thoughts like “stay closer,” “stand farther away,” or “keep your head down.” Those ideas usually do not solve the real issue because they do not give you precise feedback. The yoga block does.
That precision matters because impact happens fast. You cannot reliably correct a heel strike by guessing. You need a training environment that tells you, in real time, whether the club is in the correct space.
When you practice with the block, you start to calibrate:
- distance from the ball,
- clubhead location through impact,
- ground contact, and
- path direction.
Once those improve, the results are practical and noticeable. You tend to see:
- fewer heel strikes,
- fewer shanks,
- more centered contact,
- better compression, and
- more predictable ball flight.
That is why this is more than a novelty drill. It is a way to train impact conditions directly.
How to Progress from Practice Swings to Real Shots
Start with slow rehearsal swings. Your first goal is simply to brush the ground without touching the block. This removes the pressure of hitting a ball and lets you focus on where the club is moving.
Once you can do that consistently, begin hitting short shots with the same setup. Keep the block close enough that it still challenges you. If the spacing is too generous, you lose the value of the drill. If it is too tight, you may become overly cautious. Find the middle ground where you can succeed with a good motion but still get punished for the wrong one.
A simple progression
- Make slow practice swings and miss the block.
- Brush the turf in the correct spot without changing your posture or backing away.
- Hit short shots while keeping the same awareness.
- Gradually lengthen the swing as long as contact stays centered.
- Remove the block occasionally and test whether the improved strike carries over.
This progression helps you turn the drill from an awareness exercise into a playable skill.
Using the Drill Indoors, on Mats, and at the Range
Another reason this drill is so useful is that it works well in environments where other low-point drills are harder to use. If you practice on mats, you often cannot draw lines or make obvious turf marks. A yoga block solves that problem immediately.
You can keep one in your golf bag and use it almost anywhere. At the range, on a mat, or even in a home practice space, it gives you the same three-dimensional feedback. That portability makes it easier to build consistency, because your drill does not depend on perfect turf conditions or a specific setup.
For golfers who struggle with contact but practice mostly on mats, this can be especially valuable. Mats often hide poor strikes by making the ground interaction less obvious. The yoga block restores that missing feedback by showing whether the club is moving into the correct space.
How to Apply This Understanding to Your Practice
If heel strikes or shanks are part of your pattern, use the yoga block as a way to sharpen your awareness rather than just as a punishment tool. The goal is not to swing nervously and avoid the object. The goal is to learn where the club should travel so that centered contact becomes natural.
When you practice, focus on these priorities:
- Set the block just outside the toe with very little extra room.
- Begin with rehearsal swings to learn the space.
- Notice whether the club is moving outward into the block or staying centered.
- If you tend to cut across the ball, use the block to help you feel a more inside approach.
- Gradually blend the drill into full shots without losing the quality of contact.
Over time, you should start to feel that the club is no longer crowding the ball through impact. The strike becomes more centered, the low point becomes more predictable, and the fear of the heel or hosel showing up begins to fade. That is the real value of the low point yoga block drill: it gives you a simple, repeatable way to train the space where solid contact actually lives.
