Best iron striking tips

[BrianM]

My biggest issue on the course is my iron striking, more often than not I’m straight down the middle with driver and can get it out there with my better hits.
Then comes the problems, the amount of duffed second even third shots is really starting to get to me, I’ve worked pretty hard on my game this year since starting a new job (given me more time with a 3 and 11 year old in the mix ?)
Any thoughts, any simple tips for a repeatable iron swing…..

 

[Deleted member 23270]

Make sure you're not swaying, leads to inconsistent ball striking.

 

[Larry long dog]

I’m far from and expert but compression is key for distance and ball strike which I’ve lost a bit of in recent years however:-
Butt of the club wins the race to the ball
Belt buckle to target at finish
Let the club get the ball in the air not your hands
‘Crush the can’ with your left foot to feel the weight transfer

Not too much to remember…?…good luck

@bobmac is ya man?

 

[Larry long dog]

Sorry forgot one great tip that works (for me) on the course when I remember is feeling like you’re hitting a punch shot. I always think it won’t go as far but my timing is so much better so often get a better result.

 

[Mel Smooth]

Biggest game improvent I've made to my iron striking this year is by relaxing my grip. I haven't really changed much in my swing other than that, but I'm hitting the ball a lot better with the irons as a result of the grip change. Also, slow backswing, and nice easy tempo.

 

[Springveldt]

Biggest game improvent I've made to my iron striking this year is by relaxing my grip. I haven't really changed much in my swing other than that, but I'm hitting the ball a lot better with the irons as a result of the grip change. Also, slow backswing, and nice easy tempo.

Opposite for me, my irons improved when I gripped the club tighter, it stopped the face moving all over the place. I had watched loads of YouTube videos saying “grip it like you are holding a baby bird” or “grip it like your are holding a tube of toothpaste”. Utter nonsense imho. You need to grip the club quite tight to swing with speed and control the face. The secret for me was to have a firm grip but not tense in the forearms/arms/shoulders etc.

 

[Larry long dog]

Opposite for me, my irons improved when I gripped the club tighter, it stopped the face moving all over the place. I had watched loads of YouTube videos saying “grip it like you are holding a baby bird” or “grip it like your are holding a tube of toothpaste”. Utter nonsense imho. You need to grip the club quite tight to swing with speed and control the face. The secret for me was to have a firm grip but not tense in the forearms/arms/shoulders etc.

Hard to have a firm grip but no tension in forearms!

 

[Larry long dog]

But as we know…more than one way to skin a cat

 

[Deleted member 1147]

Make sure the ball isn’t too far forward in your stance.
7 iron in the middle and work from there.
Mine has improved immeasurably since a quick chat with the pro identified that my ball position had crept forward.

 

[Orikoru]

My iron striking isn't the best. Main problem for me is low point of the swing being slightly behind the ball instead of after. I really have to focus on getting my weight across to my lead side through the swing to hit it decently. And to do that without nearly shanking it out of the heel, which means making sure I rotate into the follow through rather than finishing in front.

 

[Beezerk]

Sorry forgot one great tip that works (for me) on the course when I remember is feeling like you’re hitting a punch shot. I always think it won’t go as far but my timing is so much better so often get a better result.

This x 1 million.
I changed my iron swing last year almost trying to copy Tommy Fleetwood with his short punchy swing. Worked wonders for me, completely transformed my iron game.

 

[BrianM]

Make sure the ball isn’t too far forward in your stance.
7 iron in the middle and work from there.
Mine has improved immeasurably since a quick chat with the pro identified that my ball position had crept forward.

Im pretty sure this could be a problem for me, I don’t get much height on my irons which would suggest the ball is too far forward.

 

[peld]

Duffs/chunks are because your low point is before the ball.
Often its because your hands are active - you can get away with this for driver off the tee, but not irons. I have suffered (and still do the same). Your hands want to hit the ball - i.e. releasing too early.

On the range, just try some half swings, where you take your hands parallel to the ground but then only use your body to turn and hit the ball

 

[BrianM]

Duffs/chunks are because your low point is before the ball.
Often its because your hands are active - you can get away with this for driver off the tee, but not irons. I have suffered (and still do the same). Your hands want to hit the ball - i.e. releasing too early.

On the range, just try some half swings, where you take your hands parallel to the ground but then only use your body to turn and hit the ball

Im going to hit the range today and work on it.

 

[adasko]

Stick with lessons with Peter at the dunes. Done 2 lessons with him and helped my irons striking massively.

 

[Junior]

Make sure the ball isn’t too far forward in your stance.
7 iron in the middle and work from there.
Mine has improved immeasurably since a quick chat with the pro identified that my ball position had crept forward.

Agree with ball position. Also at set up, the pro who I see for lessons tells me that my hands should naturally obstruct the view of my left knee. (Not a massive forward press )

 

[stefanovic]

Your hands want to hit the ball - i.e. releasing too early.

My advice is to pick up the club and feel the weight of the club and swing the club head rather than the hands.
Try and take the hands out of the swing altogether.
Takes a bit of practice.

 

[bobmac]

Keep your head still

 

[stefanovic]

Keep your head still

Along with keep your head down is the worst advice I've ever heard in golf.
The head has to move away a bit to the right on the backswing.
It is more appropriate to say don't let you head move in front of the ball on contact, or even keep your nose behind the ball at any point in the swing.

 

[JonnyGutteridge]

There’s a huge difference in the quality of my iron striking based on how long the backswing is.

If I feel like I do a half swing, I don’t actually, it’s still almost a full swing, I don’t make it to parallel, but I tend to flush it. When I start putting a big long swing, full turn, getting all the way to parallel as well, I tend to fat it and my dispersion becomes rather wide