Golf Swing Drills

The trick in playing the long irons successfully lies in getting used to playing the mid to short irons consistently well. I don't say to avoid hitting the long irons altogether, rather acquaint yourself with the easier to play shorter iron clubs first. They will help you build confidence, and are easier to apply the concept of hitting down on the ball, taking a divot, and learning what it feels like to strike these irons correctly.

Small steps practicing these shots first, then tackle the longer irons, starting with the three iron.

Make sure you are clear about the fundamentals of the swing, starting with the grip, address, stance, and you know where to position the ball correctly in the stance.

To be successful withe the long irons needs practice and a good enough swing to play them solidly. The following drills are how I like to practice them.

1. There are lots of iron clubs in the bag, each having a different length of shaft. Each iron needs to be played from the correct position in the stance. Obviously you need to stand closer to the ball with a 9-iron and further away from the ball with a 3-iron. To help you establish where you should position the ball with each iron club use this drill.

2. Take a 3-iron, 5-iron and a 9-iron and position the 9-iron, with a ball, in the centre of your stance. The 3-iron should be about one and a half inches inside the left heel at address, with the 5-iron positioned midway between the two other clubs, giving you the ideal position at address.

3. These three irons will give you guidance on where you should be playing all the other iron shots from in your stance.

The reason ball position with the iron clubs is so important is because it determines whether the club head will meet the ball at impact, and on the correct angle of approach.

I like to feel I am punching rather than hitting my iron shots, so I take to the practice ground with this objective uppermost in mind.

A useful tip to learn the late release with the irons is to pause the club, wrists fully cocked when at waist height, just as they would be on the downswing.

From this paused position, I then snap the club head through the ball. In effect punching the golf shot. I find this type of swing stands me in good stead for playing all the other iron shots in the bag.

Would you like to know how to hit those crunching iron shots just like the pros hit them? You might be wondering what I mean by crunching iron shots. It means striking the ball with the club shaft angled in front of the player, as you stand facing the golfer. Or, to put it another way, having your hands ahead of the ball at impact. When you strike the ball this way, you are effectively reducing the loft of the club.

Contrast this with reaching the bottom of the swing before the ball so that at impact the club shaft is angled away from the target. When you do this, you are trying to increase the loft in the club. The risk of hitting the shot fat or thin is greatly increased when you do this.

So how do you get the hands into the desired hitting position? The key to this is the position of the right hand at impact. The angle of the wrist of the right hand should be slightly hinged to the right as you look down at your hand position. This means that you will be squeezing the ball against the club face and the result will be a powerful strike of the golf ball.

If you practice the correct hand position of the right wrist at impact enough times, you will find your brain will memorize it for you when you are playing on the course for real.

Now go and hit those crunching iron shots.

Affiliate Disclosure:
It is advisable to assume that any mention of a product or service on this website is made because there exist, unless otherwise
stated, a material connection between the product or service owners and this website and should you make a purchase of a product or
service described here the owner of this website may be compensated. To learn more please Click Here