This month we are going to reveal an exercise I do regularly to achieve more consistent strikes with my irons. It’s really easy to do and can be done from the comfort of your home which is great when the weather is less than ideal like recently. Before we talk about this exercise, let’s list the 3 most common faults that produce poor contact with your iron shots;
- Swaying – head moves away from the target on the backswing
- Lifting – head comes up on the backswing or downswing resulting in a change/loss of posture
- Swing path & angle of attack – swinging across the ball and not down through the ball as a result of an incorrect shoulder turn.
We can gain the correct feel to start improving the first two of these faults by taking your address posture with your hands across your shoulders and your head against a wall. From there start making shoulder turns as you would for your backswing returning to your start position each time. Make sure your head stays on the wall and doesn’t move as you perform this.
Once you feel comfortable grab your shortest club (putter or sand wedge) and place it across the top of your shoulders (grip on left side for right-handers). Now make the same turns where the grip misses the wall as you complete your backswing turn and the clubhead misses the wall as your right shoulder turns down towards. Again, make sure you head stays against the wall and doesn’t move.
By performing this exercise regularly you’ll gain the correct feeling of staying on top of the ball and turning your shoulders correctly. By achieving this you’ll be in a much better position to improve your swing path and angle of attack because your arms and club will swing on a better plane.
Check out the videos above to see how it’s done.
Author: Stewart Hardiman, Golf Pro at Hurstville Golf Club
