NOT FOUND: solid iron shots.jpgThe key to striking an iron shot solid is to emulate the impact position and hold the position for ten seconds. Holding this position will allow your body to sense where it needs to be at impact. Try this drill at home. Set up a hitting station with a ball and one club laid down parallel to the target line. Address the butt end of the club on the ground with the clubface squarely against the end of the grip. A solid impact position is attained by moving your hands slightly ahead of the clubhead. Allow your left hip to open up, but keep your shoulders parallel to the target line. Hold this position for ten seconds so your body can feel the sensation. Immediately after holding the position, step up to the ball and try to create the same feeling.
Pay close attention to the back of the left hand. At impact you should not be able to see the knuckles or the back of your left hand. Another drill to help this sensation along is to swing a club with your left hand only. Make sure you make the knuckles disappear on your left hand. The difficult part of this is to have the patience to work through the drill so you can move forward and improve your ball striking.
Another facet of good ball striking is good balance. When you are off balance, your weight moves toward your toes resulting in poor body position that will affect how you strike the ball. Make sure your arms and the club are swinging with your body. If you try to swing too much down the target line while you try to rotate it will cause you to be out of balance and usually fall toward your toes. Allow the club to move around your body through impact, keeping your hands close to your body throughout your swing. When this is done correctly, your weight should move to the left heel rather than toward your toes. A solid iron shot will have a balanced finish to the swing. The other piece that will tie these two fundamentals together is to make sure you AIM correctly.
Many golfers typically aim to the right and swing back across the target line. This will affect your balance and ability to square the clubface to the best impact position. As you approach the ball for your set-up position, open up your left side and drop your left foot back so you can get a better view of the target. When you complete your set-up, your feet should be parallel to the target line and aimed slightly left of your target. AIM, BALANCE, AND KNOWING THE CORRECT IMPACT POSITION, will help you strike the ball more solid.
Mark Hatala is the PGA Class A Director of Instruction at Indian Creek Golf Course, 4487 Barton Road, Loomis, CA 95650.
www.markhatalagolfacademy.com