When it comes to hitting irons, many golfers collapse their arms and have their hands too close to their head in the backswing. That leads to hitting the ball on the upswing because you have to throw the club away from your body to start the downswing.
Get depth in your backswing with a good shoulder turn and width between your arms and hands, which should be far enough from your body to allow you to find the slot in the downswing. Here’s a good drill to help with your swing plane:
Get in your stance and grip the club just above the hosel.
Turn your chest, shoulders and hands back together to create a nice turn in your upper body.
After hinging the club, start the downswing from the ground up by shifting your weight left. This will drop your hands and arms into the slot and improve your downswing plane as the head works down while the hips are turning toward the target.
You should end by having your left foot braced, hips opening and shaft under your left arm.
When it comes to selecting irons, look for a set that matches your ball-striking skills. There’s nothing wrong with playing a more forgiving iron that has a cavity back and a more weight in certain areas to make your misses turn out better.
When you select irons look into clubhead design, the correct shaft flex and the correct lie angle since you’re going to be making thin divots with these clubs.
Glenn Deck is director of instruction at Pelican Hill Golf Club in Newport Coast.
