Which bit of the ball do you focus on when striking irons?

[GreiginFife]

Where’s the front AND back option..?

 

[timd77]

Personally speaking...if I'm thinking about which part of the ball I'm focusing on then I've got at least 1 too many swing thought going on in my head and the results could be..let's say interesting....
Most people have waaay too many things going on in their heads at address....clear your mind and just swing...
It's most liberating

I agree about having too many swing thoughts, and it’s interesting that some people don’t know where they focus. For me it’s just part of my set up I guess and almost the last trigger before starting the swing, I don’t think about it during my swing, if that makes sense.

Stupid game.

 

[Oops!]

Thats what my coach told me to do when I was chunking the ground behind he ball. It definetly worked.

Not really for me, didn‘t make a notable difference.

Instead, I now try to aim at the point *under* the ball where it is lying.

 

[Lucifer MorningStar]

I agree about having too many swing thoughts, and it’s interesting that some people don’t know where they focus. For me it’s just part of my set up I guess and almost the last trigger before starting the swing, I don’t think about it during my swing, if that makes sense.

Stupid game.

That’s why the dot works for. No need for any swing thoughts, look at my dot and hit it.

 

[kp17]

I have absolutely no idea? Never thought about it. My answer would be, just the ball, generally.

The white bit

 

[Orikoru]

I have absolutely no idea? Never thought about it. My answer would be, just the ball, generally.

Ok, so I've just been at the driving range, and this topic popped into my head. I can honestly say - I still don't know! It was a proper mind-fudge. Every time I consciously thought about where I was looking, I start second-guessing myself and wondering if that's what I do what I'm not thinking about it. Only thing I really noticed is that I look at where my clubhead is aligned with the ball (so, trying to make sure it's middle for irons and slightly toe side of middle for driver and woods), so you could almost say it's the back of the ball... But it feels more like I just look at the general vague area between the club and ball rather than any specific point. And I don't think I hit one good strike when I was consciously thinking about which bit of the ball to look at, so I won't be doing that again.

 

[Doon frae Troon]

No, it was to focus on the front of the ball.

As I said 'watch the ball' or as you call it focus on a small bit of the ball.
You are still 'watching the ball'.
Watching the ball is just a very old method of making golfers keep their heads still, but your swing can sway all over the place whilst still watching the ball

When I used to coach, to illustrate how important it was to keep your head still I used to swap places with the pupil and hit two or three decent shots whilst looking into their eyes.
Keeping your head still and swinging with good balance was always more important than 'staring at a ball.

 

[timd77]

Ok, so I've just been at the driving range, and this topic popped into my head. I can honestly say - I still don't know! It was a proper mind-fudge. Every time I consciously thought about where I was looking, I start second-guessing myself and wondering if that's what I do what I'm not thinking about it. Only thing I really noticed is that I look at where my clubhead is aligned with the ball (so, trying to make sure it's middle for irons and slightly toe side of middle for driver and woods), so you could almost say it's the back of the ball... But it feels more like I just look at the general vague area between the club and ball rather than any specific point. And I don't think I hit one good strike when I was consciously thinking about which bit of the ball to look at, so I won't be doing that again.

I can only offer my sincerest apologies for starting this thread!

 

[RichA]

I can only offer my sincerest apologies for starting this thread!

The more I think about it, the more I realise that I play golf wearing distance glasses so I can see clearly where the ball ends up. When it's 6 feet from my eyes it's not sufficiently in focus to actually pick out a specific part of the ball.
Correctly identifying a bush 200 yards away saves me more shots than identifying which dimple I'm aiming the club at.

 

[Slab]

The more I think about it, the more I realise that I play golf wearing distance glasses so I can see clearly where the ball ends up. When it's 6 feet from my eyes it's not sufficiently in focus to actually pick out a specific part of the ball.
Correctly identifying a bush 200 yards away saves me more shots than identifying which dimple I'm aiming the club at.

When identifying a bush from 200yds its always worth remembering that all azaleas are rhododendron but not all rhododendron are azaleas

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

I don’t focus on the ball other than trying to make sure I have it in the correct place in my stance. I let my swing take care of the rest. Draw and fade? More about stance and again let the swing do the rest.

My pro/coach is a strong advocate of the Kendal McQuade ‘Instinctive Golf’ approach to coaching…and so uses the McQuade ‘hammer’ in his teaching - but not in quite the same way as the ‘hammer and nail’ approach described by the OP.

 

[Burnsey]

Always remember 'put a good swing on it'.

Two swing thoughts are takeaway and once at the top, is follow through. The ball will be collected on the way and I tend to focus on swinging from the inside, so bottom right, top left - no specific point on the ball.

 

[Voyager EMH]

I don't "look" at the ball at all.
Obviously I can see it, but I look at the bottom line of the clubface and make sure it is square to where I want to be aiming.

 

[garyinderry]

Im a strange creature. My head follows the club head back.

Think I've ingrained in from working on my swing at the range. Looking at the head to stop it sucking inside behind me.

Doesn't seem to bother me. The balls still where I left it.

 

[Golfmmad]

Surely in the follow through you have hit the ball, how can you:
a. See the front of the ball when it is flying down the fairway?
b. Keep your head down and see the ball when it is flying down the fairway?

I think you are explaining what you do incorrectly.

It's quite simply as I said, focus on back of ball on the backswing and just look at the front edge of the ball as I'm on the downswing. I'll add that it works for irons, as the op said, from 8 iron to 5 iron.
I think the original tip came from Rick Shiels.
So I can't be that mad, as some seem to be suggesting!

 

[Neilds]

It's quite simply as I said, focus on back of ball on the backswing and just look at the front edge of the ball as I'm on the downswing. I'll add that it works for irons, as the op said, from 8 iron to 5 iron.
I think the original tip came from Rick Shiels.
So I can't be that mad, as some seem to be suggesting!

You said follow through not backswing

 

[Golfmmad]

You said follow through not backswing

No, I said, back of the ball on the backswing and front of ball on the follow through. Which all happens in a split second.
You should try it sometime.

 

[Orikoru]

No, I said, back of the ball on the backswing and front of ball on the follow through. Which all happens in a split second.
You should try it sometime.

Possibly just pedantry but I think they are suggesting that the follow-through happens after you've already hit the ball.

 

[Lucifer MorningStar]

Possibly just pedantry but I think they are suggesting that the follow-through happens after you've already hit the ball.

Exactly. The follow through by pure definition happens after the strike so you can’t see the front of the ball at that point

Unless he means back of the ball of back swing and front of the ball on the downswing. Even then and if It does only take a fraction of a second seems a little quirky changing your focus mid swing and In my mind would lead to inconsistent ball striking but that’s because I can’t fathom the thought of doing it or even remembering trying to do it seems complex and would throw me off. But I guess we’re all different.

 

[Golfmmad]

Exactly. The follow through by pure definition happens after the strike so you can’t see the front of the ball at that point

Unless he means back of the ball of back swing and front of the ball on the downswing. Even then and if It does only take a fraction of a second seems a little quirky changing your focus mid swing and In my mind would lead to inconsistent ball striking but that’s because I can’t fathom the thought of doing it or even remembering trying to do it seems complex and would throw me off. But I guess we’re all different.

The first sentence in your second paragraph is exactly as I originally described.
But I'm not suggesting everybody should try it. Just replying to the op question of how do you strike the ball with your irons.
It works for me and one of the many tips we get in our golfing journey - some work and some don't.