Take away on an Iron

[CannyFifer]

quick question, should you take the club away low like a sweeping motion like a hybrid on a 5-7 iron shot as I think thats why I'm losing distance and often dont get the ball in the air? any suggestions greatfully received.

 

[pokerjoke]

The most important thing for myself when hitting these irons is making sure you hit down on the ball taking a nice divot after the ball this will generally get the ball airborn and produce more distance.

 

[In_The_Rough]

Got to agree here hit down on the ball and a nice divot just after the ball will send it soaring into the distance.

 

[CannyFifer]

cheers guys, I often take a nice divot before the ball. Ball too far foward maybe?

 

[bobmac]

But to answer your question...no.
The downswing often mirrors the backswing so if you want to have a steeper angle of attack you need to pick it up a bit steeper on the way back...not too much though.

 

[JustOne]

quick question, should you take the club away low like a sweeping motion like a hybrid

Are you trying to swing around your ankles?

 

[TRS30]

Ball should in general be in the middle of your stance for say a 5i and then moved slight back as you go down the clubs.

This will not apply to everyone as some prefer to nip the ball off the ground will little or no divot.

 

[slugger]

Ball should in general be in the middle of your stance for say a 5i and then moved slight back as you go down the clubs.

This will not apply to everyone as some prefer to nip the ball off the ground will little or no divot.

My pro has always taught me that the ball is never further back than in the middle of the stance (unless a specific lie allows it). wedges in the middle right up to 5 or 6 iron, then a wee bit forward for each club above that until the driver is a couple of inches inside the left heel at address.

Now, about hitting down on the ball. as far as i know, this is to compress the ball into the turf/ground, which is what sends it flying off into the distance as the ball regains it's shape. Is this why balls don't fly as far in the winter because they don't have as hard a surface to bounce off what with the grass being generally muddier and softer?

 

[Region3]

The ball doesn't compress into the ground off an iron shot because even though you're hitting down on the ball, the face still points upwards.
Search on Youtube for swingvision iron, and the latter part of the clip will be a close up of the ball at impact in slow motion.

I'd guess the reason the ball doesn't carry as far in the winter is that a) the ball is colder so loses some of it's elasticity, and b) the air is colder, therefore denser and harder to travel through.

 

[CannyFifer]

cheers for the replies, the reason I was asking was I was told to take away in a level plane for 6 inches to help me stop topping the ball.this was from someone who has never beaten me though and plays off 28 but reads loads

 

[JustOne]

The club should raise naturally as you turn. you shouldn't be manipulating it with your arms/hands at all. Don't raise it extra and don't try to keep it extra low, just turn.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

the reason I was asking was I was told to take away in a level plane for 6 inches to help me stop topping the ball.this was from someone who has never beaten me though and plays off 28 but reads loads

A lot of advice is well intentioned and although probably taken from a good source, is usually taken out of context. "Keep you head down" is a clssic example of such well meant advice that technically is not great

 

[RGDave]

It's an interesting thread. Lots of times you hear things like "take it away wide and low" etc. but what does it all mean?

I remember a drill where you take a long club, stick the butt end in your belly button, grip it half way down the shaft and practice the triangle/one piece takeaway.

If you do this drill, you don't need to manipulate anything, just turn and let the club come away as you set the wrists.

I DO understand the need to "not pick up the club" and clearly a wide backswing is preferable to some sort of lifting...but in all my lessons, I can't remember any pro ever telling me to take the club away low or whatever. To provide a counter-argument though, my mate practiced a drill for months putting a ball 6 inches behind the back of the club and trying to sweep it backwards off the range mat....so there is obviously some value in keeping the head close-ish to the ground at the start of the swing. However, it would apply to the swing in general (surely?) not trying one thing for woods and another for irons etc.

t.b.h. perfectly honest, if I (as an example) was to work on wide and low, I'd simply get so far onto my right foot, I'd never hit a decent ball again, I expect.

 

[viscount17]

about the only thing I remember being told about the takeaway was keep the left arm straight for as long as possible - though whether that applies only to the driver?
tbh, I don't consciously think about the takeaway, I just do it. whether I do it properly is another issue.

 

[JustOne]

To provide a counter-argument though, my mate practiced a drill for months putting a ball 6 inches behind the back of the club and trying to sweep it backwards off the range mat....so there is obviously some value in keeping the head close-ish to the ground at the start of the swing.

These are drills though, for curing problems, feelings if you will. Just like standing on one leg hitting balls helps your balance...but you don't see everyone hopping out on the course.

If your mate was practicing the "sweep ball" drill then he probably had issues... doesn't mean you need to do it.

 

[RGDave]

If your mate was practicing the "sweep ball" drill then he probably had issues... doesn't mean you need to do it.

No...I agree. The thing was that he a) hit the ball miles b) was quite straight and c) on video had an already wide-ish swing. The fact that his pro was so keen on the drill to do something particular seemed "interesting" to me. He wasn't a hacker and I expect could have got to less than the 5 or so he was on. I was just putting it out there to counteract the fact that I think there are more important things to work on unless you are a pick-the-club-up merchant!!!

 

[JustOne]

It's possible that he may have taken the club away too far to the inside/outside and the drill was to cure the initial direction and not the elevation.... depends what the pro saw.

 

[JustOne]

Yeh, let's agree ... that was definitely it LOL

 

[RGDave]

It's possible that he may have taken the club away too far to the inside/outside and the drill was to cure the initial direction and not the elevation.... depends what the pro saw.

Ahh, oh wise one....that could've been it.

 

[Cookiesdaughtersdad]

As a rule the full swing including the takeaway should be the same for every club, only posture, stance and ball position should change as the shaft length increases and so the angle of attack changes.
Ball position is probably the second most important thing as far as shot direction is concerned and surprisingly the one many people don’t get right and fail to understand.
To move the ball further back in your stance is the most confusing advice and one that can easily be taken wrong.
The width of stance should change with the club being used, about a shoulder width at the inside of the heels with a driver down to just 8 inches or so with a wedge so if you play ever iron shot with the ball 3 inches off your left heel it will look progressively further back as the stance narrows.
This is one area of golf that cant be fixed in a few words from me on a forum and is where instructional books, videos and lessons take over.
Nick Faldo would often take a practice swing with a wedge before hitting his driver, proving that the swings should be the same just the impact changes.

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