Tips and drills to Hit Long Irons

Thursday, December 19, 2013

When it was not common to use hybrid clubs, every golfer was carrying long irons. Nowadays, most golfers replace long irons with hybbrids. I recommend using hybrids. But you can control the ball better with your long irons if you can hit them well.

 

How to Hit it

Long irons have longer shafts. But the less loft on the club will make it harder to hit. To hit with your long irons, you need to sweep the ball off the turf. If you hit it with a steep angle of approach into impact, you will deloft your long irons and lose distance.

 

These are few keys to making solid contact using long irons.

1. Face angle

2. Angle of approach into impact

3. Swing path

4. Hitting it on the sweet spot

 

Notice that I didn't mention swing speed. You don't need to faster swing speed for solid contact. Most average golfers start to swing harder with long irons, and that's the reason why they can't hit it solid.

 

Face Angle

Face angle has a lot to do with solid contact as well. If the face is open at impact, you can't hit it solid. So you need to have the clubface pointing at the target or slightly left of target at impact. When you swing your long iron, try to feel like your clubface is pointing as well left of target at impact. Because of the centrifugal force, you should exaggerate things a bit.

 

Swing Path

For solid contact you need to swing from the inside the target line. One of the keys to swinging from the inside is to lower your right shoulder at address. Your spine should be tilted slightly to the right as you lower your right shouler. When your right shoulder is high at address, you tend to drop your right shoulder coming into impact causing the clubface to open. The ball will slice so players start to swing the left to compensate. This is how players start coming over the top. They are just trying hard to stop the ball from going right. But this won't solve the root of the problem. It actually makes things worse.

 

Reference: http://www.golfsamurai.net/fault-fix/tips-to-hit-long-irons.htm

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Tiger Woods' Drill to Hit Long Irons

Most average players don't hit long irons well. If that's the case, you can use hybrid clubs. I think hybrid clubs are very easy to hit it long and high. But when you ask for more control on ball flight, you might want to read the following tips and drills that I will show you.

 

Ball Position

Tiger Woods said he would position the ball 2 inches inside of his left heel for long irons. I'm not saying this is the correct position for every golfer, but lots of players tend to place the ball too far forward in order to hit it up in the air. But when you start to position your ball too far left, you will start hitting it fat. You might hit lots of pull shots and slice as well. So be careful not to pull the ball too far left.

 

Don't Treat it Differently

I see lots of players start to swing harder when they grab long irons. Their swing is different from the one they make with their middle irons such as 7-iron or 6-iron.

 

Why do they start swinging harder?

Well, they think they have to hit it harder to get more distance or get the ball airborne. It 's ironic because that's why they are having hard time with irons. You don't really have to change your swing. In fact, swing like your 7 iron, and you will do much better with long irons. But I want you to remember that the shots with long irons won't go as high as 7-iron. Lots of players star swinging harder or trying to lift the ball in the air after they see their low ball flight. But shots with long irons are supposed to fly lower than your middle irons. You just have to trust the loft and swing like 7-iron. It goes low, that's fine as long as you are hitting it solid. If you want to hit it higher, you can either hit a fade or use hybrids.

 

The Drill used by Tiger Woods

When Tiger Woods practices his long irons, he starts by trying to catch the ball in the middle of the clubface. So he doesn't swing hard at all because swinging harder will only make it difficult to hit it on the sweet spot.

 

For practice, Tiger Woods sometimes hits his long irons to the target that's 100 yards away. He swings at half speed and concentrate on hitting in on the sweet spot with this drill. You will have to slow down for this drill, but don't forget to shift your weight during the swing.

 

Reference: http://www.golfsamurai.net/fault-fix/tiger-drill-long-iron.htm

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How to Hit a Wedge Shot with more Control

There are 2 types of mistake you can make with a wedge shot.

1. Trying to scoop the ball or flipping your wrists at impact

2. Hitting down on the ball with a steep angle of approach

 

High handicappers tend to scoop the ball in an effort to get the ball airborne. On the other hand, good players tend to hit down on the ball with a descending blow.

 

With a wedge, you need to control more than distance. So the key points to hitting a wedge are:

1. Don't take overly long backswing or follow through

2. Hit it with 60 or 70% of your power

 

Tiger Woods said he tries to make the same size divot with every iron. In general, golfers think that they should hit down on the ball with a wedge to get more backspin on the ball. But Tiger wants to take a shallow divot instead of a deep divot. You can control your wedge shots much easier if you come into the ball with a shallow angle of approach rather than steep angle of approach into impact. Distance control will become so much easier if you take shallow divot with your wedge or short irons as well.

 

Put Your Ball in the Center of Stance

Golfers who try to scoop the ball tend to place the ball more toward front foot. On the other hand, players who tend to hit down on the ball tend to place the ball more toward back foot. If you put the ball toward front foot with a wedge shot, you will add loft at impact and lose distance. If you put it more toward back foot, you will deloft the club and hit it too far. To take shallow divot with your wedge, position the ball in the center of your stance. Depending on the type of your swing, you might want to move the ball little to the right or left to fit your swing.

 

Reference: http://www.golfsamurai.net/fault-fix/how-to-hit-wedge.htm

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How to Hit it Solid with Short Irons

The common mistakes when hitting shorts irons are:

1. Wrong ball position

2. Trying to lift the ball in the air

3. Incorrect swing plane

 

If you can fix those problems, you will soon start to hit it solid. It's really fun to watch the ball going real high in the air and stop quickly on the green.

 

Ball Position

Beginners tend to place the ball well left of center with short iron because they are trying to help the ball in the air. But if you put it too far forward, you will start hitting it fat, thin, pull shots or slice. The correct ball position is different from person to person. But start by placing it in the center of your stance. This will make it easier to catch the ball with a descending blow for solid contact.

 

Trust Your Loft

Trying to lift the ball in the air is the worst thing you can do with a short iron. When you see tour players, none of them are doing so unless they are hitting special type of shots. You are going to trust the loft to get the ball airborne and swing with a slight descending blow. There are two factors which will get the ball airbore. They are the loft on the club and the amount of backspin you put on the ball. To get more backspin, you need to hit the ball and the the turf with a slight descending blow.

 

Reference: http://www.golfsamurai.net/fault-fix/hitting-solid-wedge-shot.htm

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5 Ways to Put more Backspin with a Wedge

Let's talk about how to put more backspin on the ball. But before we start, I would like to mention that too much backspin can cause problems. It's hard to control the amount of backspin in golf. But the proper amount of backspin will help your game for sure.

 

Here are 5 ways to put more backspin on the ball.

 

1. Quality of Impact

The quality of impact is important if you want to put more backspin. You will have to hit it solid to create spin. It's also important to hit the ball and then turn with a wedge with a descending blow. When you hit it with a descending blow, you will put more backspin. I will explain why this puts more spin later on.

 

2. Clubhead Speed

In general, the more clubhead speed, the more backspin you put on the ball. But you don't need swing speed like tour pros to put more spin on the ball. If the clubhead speed just after impact is faster than the speed just before impact, you will put more spin. In other words, you need to accelerate your clubhead through impact to put more backspin.

 

3. Angle of Approach into Impact

You need to hit it with a descending blow to put more spin. When you do that, you will push the ball against the grass at impact for a fraction of a second. This creates lots of backspin on the ball. Also, when you are hitting from the grass, you may catch the grass between the clubface and the ball and reduce the amount of backspin. To avoid this to happen, you want to make sure you hit the ball with a descending blow.

 

4. Ball Position

You also have to pay attention to your ball position when hitting a wedge. Dave Pelz said you should position the ball 2 ball length right of center for a wedge. I usually place the ball in the center of stance. But this may not be correct position for every golfer. You should start with a ball in the center of your stance and experiment from there.

 

5. Hands Position

To hit it with a descending blow, your hands must be ahead of the ball at impact. If the hands are back, it's the sign that you are trying to lift the ball up. But this won't putt much spin at all. At address, your hands should be toward inside of your left thigh. At impact, try to return your  hands to where they were at address.

 

Reference: http://www.golfsamurai.net/fault-fix/to-add-more-backspin.htm

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Controlling Distance with Short Irons

There are 3 ways to control distance with your shots irons or wedgers.

1. Change the length of backswing

2. Slow down your swing

3. Grip down on the club

 

I'm not here to discuss which one is correct for you. You should choose the method that feels comfortable to you. I use all three methods depending on the situation. But if you ask me which method is the easiest for average players, I would say the last option will be the easiest.

 

By gripping down on the club, you will automatically lose some distance. So you don't have to control your swing at all. Just grip down on the club an inch or two inches and take a full swing. You have to see how far it goes if you grip down an inch or two. One of the PGA Tour pro said if he grips down 2 inches, he will it 90% of regular shot.

 

Reference: http://www.golfsamurai.net/fault-fix/controlling-distance-short-irons.htm

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The Cause and Cure for the Shank

The shank is considered to be one of the worst shots to hit in golf. Once you hit the shank, you will tend to hit it again.

 

What's Causing Shanks

Because the shot will go straight to the right, players might think they hit it on the toe. But that's really a rare case. Players usually hit it off the hosel of the clubhead causing the ball to go right. When players noticed that they are hitting off the neck of the clubhead, they will stand further away from the ball to avoid shanks. But this will make things even worse.

 

The real problem is the swing path that is outside in. In other words, players who cut across the ball tend to hit shanks once in a while. So unless you fix your swing path, you can't cure your shanks forever.

 

How to fix it

By swinging from outside in or coming over the top, your body will move little closer to the ball on the downswing causing the ball to hit off the hosel. So if you come over the top, you probably hit lots of shot toward the heel of the clubface with every club. I can give you lots of drills and tips to fix shanks, but I think you need to fix the root of the problem if you want to cure your shanks completely.

 

Here is how you can do so.

 

1. Grip

Players start to cut accross the ball in order to avoid hitting pull shots or slice. So to stop coming over the top, you need to stop hitting slice. Look down to your grip. Make sure you see 3 knuckles of your left hand. If you see 2 knuckles less, rotate both hands to the right until you see 3 knuckles of your left hand. Don't forget to rotate your right hand as well. By changing it to stronger grip like this, you might soon start to hit pull hooks. That's fine. When you see shots going left, you will unconciously adjust your swing path to compensate. By the time you notice, your outside in swing path is gone.

 

2. Grip Position

Even if you change your grip to a strong grip, you may hit the shank. The problem is the position of your hands. When I see players with their new grip (strong grip), some players position their hands or their grip in front their zipper. That's too far back and will cause you to swing from outside to in. I want you to position your hands toward the inside of your left thigh. You may think your hands are too far forward. But that's fine.

 

By positioning your hands forward, it will help you to swing from inside the target line. It's very important that you swing from inside to fix your shanks. So check the position of your grip every time you set up to hit the shot. But don't try to grip your club in front of your zipper and then position your grip toward the inside of your left thigh. This will cause open face at impact. To avoid this, position the grip (handle) toward the inside of your length thigh and then take your grip.

 

3. Ball Position

Do you tend to put the ball too far forward in the stance? If so, that may be causing you to hit shanks. With 7-iron, put the ball one to two ball length left of center. With short irons, put in the middle of the stance.

 

4. Backswing

Don't work on your backswing before changing grip. Always check  your grip, ball position, posture and alignment first before working on your golf swing.

 

5. Downswing

Make sure your swing from the inside. For practice, try to swing the clubhead so that the ball will start 5 to 10 yards right of your target. On the downswing, try to face the back of your left hand toward the ground. This will help you close the face through impact. The open face will lead to shanks by forcing you to come over the top.

 

Reference: http://www.golfsamurai.net/fault-fix/cause-and-cure-for-the-shanks.htm

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The Drills to Fix Shanks

When players start hitting shanks, they try to stand further away from the ball to avoid hitting it off the neck. This may seem to fix your problem, but it doesn't. Players hitting shanks are moving closer to the ball on the downswing. If they put the ball too far away from their body, they are going to move closer to the ball. This will make things even worse. But if you put the ball closer to your body at address, it won't solve the problem either.

 

The cause for shanks is outside in swing or coming over the top. So you need to fix your swing path if you want to fix your shanks. To fix your swing path, I want you to swing inside out or practice. Here is the drill that let you do that.

 

1. Set up to the ball using your 7-iron.

2. Swing back and try to hit it on the toe of the clubface.

 

Don't try to hit it on the sweet spot. Instead, try to catch the ball more toward the toe of the clubface. If you are confident, try to set the heel of the clubface to the ball at address. And try to hit it more toward the toe of the clubface. To hit it on the toe of the clubface, you need to swing inside in.

 

Check Your Right Shoulder at Address

Most players hitting shanks haave their right shoulders high at address. Their shoulders are level with the ground at address. This will cause the reverse pivot which will force you to come over the top on the downswing. So make sure your right shoulder is lower than your left at address. Lower your right shoulder first and then grip the club. This will cure your shanks.

 

Reference: http://www.golfsamurai.net/fault-fix/drills-to-fix-shanks.htm

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How to Fix Shanks and Pull Shots

Shanks and pull shots are closely related. If you hit lots pull shots and shanks, the cause may be in your address. Set up to the ball. And then take the club and put it against your shoulders. Where does it point to? Is the shaft parallel with the target line? Or is it point well left of the target?

 

If it's parallel with the target line, you are fine. But if the shaft is pointing well left of the target, yu are open to the target. Your right shoulder is closer to the ball. Shoulder alignment often inflences the swing path. If they are open, the clubhead tends to come from outside and cut across the ball.

 

After hitting spme pull shots to the left, players may start to guide the ball to the target by swinging more to the right or at the target. However, if you align your shoulders open at address and try to swing from inside the target line, your body tends to move closer to the ball causing you to hit the ball more toward the heel of the club or shanks. Many golfers check feet alignment but don't check shoulder alignment. But shoulder alignment has a lot to do with your ball flight.

 

When do You Open Your Shoulders at Address?

There are few reasons why players open their shoulders at address.

 

1. Grip

Weak grip will cause them to open their shoulders. Try to grip it really weak. Turn both hand well left for experiment. Now, see shoulder line. I think it's well open. Now, do the opposite. Try to grip it really strong and see the shoulder line. It tends to close with stronger grip. So if you have open shoulder alignment, your grip may be weak.

 

2. Ball Position

Another reason for open shoulder alignment is incorrect ball position. Players hitting shanks tend to put the ball too far forward. On the other hand, if you put the ball well back, your shoulder line tends to close. Try to put the ball back. With 7-iron, put the ball one to two ball length left of center.

 

Reference: http://www.golfsamurai.net/fault-fix/how-to-fix-shanks-pull.htm

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Quick Fix for Shanks

When you hit a shank, there is a good chance that you are going to hit it again on the next shot. So it will help you to understand how to fix it quickly on the course. Remember that it is only a quick fix.

 

But on the golf course, you don't have much time to cure your shanks. So for a quick cure on the golf course, follow two steps below.

1. Set up to hit the ball and pull your right foot back a little

2. Try to hit the inside of your ball

 

By pulling your right foot back a bit or by closing your feet alignment, you will temporary fix your outside swing. Make sure to shift your weight to the back foot. It's also a good idea to try to hit the inside part of your ball. It will promote inside out swing which will help fix your shanks.

 

Reference: http://www.golfsamurai.net/fault-fix/shank-quick-fix.htm

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Hitting Shanks with a Half Swing?

When you have about 50 yards to the pin, you might have to take a bath swing. There are players who hit shanks with a half swing. But if shanks only occur with a half swing, you might have some problems in your backswing. The common fault with a half swing is to try to swing with your arms and forget to turn your body.

 

If you swing with your arms and don't turn your body, the clubface tends open during the swing. It also forces you to come over the top on the downswing. All these cause you to hit it off the hosel of the club.

 

How to Cure it

There are few things you can do to avoid shanks with a half swing. First, you might want to try gripping down on the club to control distance. By gripping down, you can make a full turn on the downswing. Next, on the backswing, focus on turning your shoulders instead of lifting your arms to hit the ball.

 

Even if you take a half swing, you have to turn your bidy and shift your weight on your back foot. To practice your body turn with a half swing, put a towel under your armpits and take a half swing. If you take a full swing, the towel will drop on the ground. So don't take more than a half swing. By trying not to drop your towel at the start of your backswing, you will learn to turn your body.

 

Reference: http://www.golfsamurai.net/fault-fix/shanking-with-half-swing.htm

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