Flush Your Irons Consistently
One saying we’ve all heard in golf is “Drive for show and putt for dough.” But without solid iron play, those gorgeous drives and holed putts won’t mean much if you keep missing greens with your approach shots.
Hitting solid irons on a consistent basis makes a tremendous difference in what number you ultimately write down onto the scorecard. Think of golf’s greatest golfers, from Ben Hogan and Jack Nicklaus to Tiger Woods and now, Scottie Scheffler, and their iron play is a standout feature in their game.
With that in mind, here are some tips that will help you begin flushing your irons.
- Shift Weight
The pros hit the ball first and then the ground, which creates a divot in front of the ball. How do they do it? It starts with a proper weight transfer. Your weight should shift forward onto your lead foot during the swing, which helps you make impact with the ball before the ground. Think of focusing on getting your weight onto your lead foot at impact. This creates a solid strike and promotes hitting down on the ball. Consider using drills like placing a towel behind the ball to help you focus on proper weight transfer and the clubhead path.
- Swing Inside Out
Your clubhead path should move slightly inside the target line, which helps keep the clubhead square at impact. At the same time, keep the clubhead inside of your hands when coming down on the ball. If you do, you’ll hit fewer “thin” shots and avoid striking the ground first.
- Lean Hands Forward
Leaning your hands forward will create a descending blow onto the golf ball. It will also create a slightly sooner wrist hinge on the backswing that will help with compression.
- Ball Position Matters
Unlike when you hit driver, the best setup with iron shots is to position the ball slightly forward in your stance, which also helps you hit down on the ball.
- Compress the Ball
Have you ever hit an iron shot and thought, “I didn’t even feel the club hit the ball.” That means it was a pure strike, with the ball compressing on the clubface at impact. Try to feel that sensation every time you swing.
- Buttons Over Ball
By reducing the loft of the club at impact, you will be able to compress the golf ball more consistently. So, here’s a swing thought. Align the buttons on your shirt so they’re over the golf ball, which will help get the center of your body over the ball. That’s the first step to crisp contact.
- Watch the Finish
Keep your thoughts simple when the time comes to swing. Straighten your trail arm and make sure to finish so your body is over your left side (for a right-handed golfer), with your right shoulder more forward.
- What to Avoid
Don’t lean back on the downswing and avoid extending your arms and standing up during the swing, as this can disrupt your swing path and clubface alignment.
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