Improve Low Point Control with Tall Chest Wipe Drill

The tall chest wipe drill helps you control low point by teaching the arms to move correctly through impact. If you tend to hit shots fat or thin, there is a good chance the bottom of your swing is staying too far behind the ball. For many golfers, that happens because they try to create the “wipe” motion with too much body tilt instead of letting the trail arm and elbow work more gradually across the chest. This drill gives you a cleaner way to move the club forward through the strike so you can make more solid contact.

How the Drill Works

The key idea behind the wipe is that your arms, especially the trail arm, work across your body through the hitting area. That motion helps move the club’s low point farther forward, which is essential for crisp ball-first contact.

The problem is that many golfers fake this motion with excess side bend. From the outside, it can look like the trail elbow is getting more in front of the body, but in reality the elbow is still stuck more on the side of the rib cage. The body is simply tilting to create the appearance of the right shape.

In this drill, you keep your chest tall and your rib cage more level while the arms do the work. Rather than dropping into more side bend, you feel the trail elbow move gradually across the front of your torso in the direction of the target. That is the true wipe motion.

When you do it correctly, the club bottoms out farther forward. When you do it incorrectly, the club tends to strike the ground too early, with the low point staying behind the ball.

Step-by-Step

Set up normally with a short iron and make a relaxed address. You do not need a full swing for this drill. Start with small motion shots.
Feel your chest stay tall through the downswing and into the follow-through. You want to avoid adding extra side bend as you approach impact.
Focus on the trail elbow moving gradually across your chest. Think of it traveling along the front of your rib cage rather than staying pinned on the side of your body.
Make slow 9-to-3 swings. Swing back to about hip height and through to about hip height. Keep the motion smooth and let the arms provide the wipe.
Watch where the club bottoms out. If the turf contact is still behind the ball, you are likely using body tilt instead of true arm motion across the chest.
Gradually lengthen the swing to a three-quarter motion once you can consistently move the low point forward with the smaller swing.
Maintain a smooth tempo. A slow, gradual motion is better than an aggressive wipe. Think more along the lines of a soft, flowing release than a sudden shove across your body.

What You Should Feel

This drill should create a very specific set of sensations. If you know what to look for, it becomes much easier to tell whether you are doing it correctly.

Your rib cage stays tall and steady instead of crunching hard into side bend.
The trail elbow works in front of you, gradually moving across the torso rather than staying trapped against your side.
The wipe feels smooth, not abrupt or violent.
The bottom of the swing moves forward, allowing you to strike the ball before the turf.
Solid contact feels easier at lower effort. You should not need extra tension or a hard hit to square the club up.

A useful checkpoint is this: if you can make smooth, controlled swings and still hit the ball solidly, the wipe is probably coming from the arms working correctly across the body. If you only make decent contact when you add speed or tension, the elbow may still be too stuck on the side and the body may be doing too much of the work.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Using too much side bend to create the look of the wipe instead of the actual motion.
Keeping the trail elbow pinned against the side of the rib cage rather than letting it move across the chest.
Making the wipe too aggressively instead of allowing it to happen gradually and smoothly.
Practicing only at full speed before you can control the low point in shorter swings.
Ignoring turf contact. The location of the divot or where the club brushes the ground tells you whether the drill is working.
Confusing appearance with function. Just because the body looks tilted a certain way does not mean the arms are actually moving properly.

How This Fits Your Swing

This drill is not just about one follow-through feel. It connects directly to how your body and arms organize impact. Good low point control depends on the club continuing forward with the handle, arms, and body working together. If the trail arm stays too stuck on the side and the body has to tilt excessively to compensate, the strike becomes inconsistent.

By learning to keep the chest taller and let the arms wipe more correctly across the body, you improve the geometry of the strike. That helps you:

Move the low point forward
Reduce fat and thin shots
Improve compression
Make solid contact without forcing it

It also gives you a more reliable release pattern. A proper wipe should not require extra effort to square the face. When the elbow and arms are moving correctly, the club can match up naturally through impact. That is why this drill is especially useful if your contact gets worse when you try to make smoother swings. Often, that is a sign you have been relying on tension and compensation instead of a sound movement pattern.

Work on this drill with short, smooth swings first. Once you can keep the chest tall, move the trail elbow gradually across the torso, and shift the low point forward, you can begin blending the same pattern into your full swing.