Top 7 Golf Iron Tips From A Professional Coach
Your irons are your scoring clubs. As long as your driving is respectable and your putting solid (they don't need to be amazing) hitting your irons well is where you can make the biggest change in your golf game. Try these 7 tips from a pro to get your irons heading for the flags like lasers.
- Not too far, not too short
- Aim for the heart of the green
- Err on the short side
- Club down
- Get rid of your long irons
- Accept your misses
- Clip the ball off the top
An iron is supposed to hit a ball a specific distance. A 6-iron is meant to go 180 yards - not 190 or 170. Remember, good contact is way more important than distance.
Don't go "flag hunting". If you hit the middle of every green, you will not score badly. Play conservatively and try to make birdies with your putter not with your irons.
Most trouble is over the greens in the majority of golf courses so swing easy and miss short rather than long. This is a form of golf damage control and you will avoid those real disasters that can ruin your score. Having 5's all day will not ruin your scorecard but a 7 (because you flew over the green and into the bushes behind) will be a disaster for your round.
If you are standing in the fairway and you think it is an 8 then take a 7. If you think it is a 6 then take a 5. This will force you to swing easy and improve your contact.
You are not a professional so you don't need a 2, 3, 4-iron in your bag. Replace the knives with a fairway wood and you will find it easier to get the ball in the air on long shots.
Play with the shape you have that day. If you have been hitting fades all day then don't try to hit a draw to get the ball close to the pin on the 14th par-3. Leave the corrections for when you get on the practice ground after you finish.
Most poor iron shots are hit fat - this means when you hit behind the ball and contact the ground first. Poor iron players dig up too much of the course. Aim to bruise the grass and clip off a few blades rather than a full divot.
