Irons tips & drills

Ball-first contact, compression, long clubs, hybrids, sloping lies and trouble shots.

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LevelFixesTypeEquipmentTime

A Four-Point Setup Check for Every Range Session

Your setup is the part of the swing you fully control. So check it every time you practice. Look at your posture. Look at your…TipBeginner5 min

A Quick Reset When Your Swing Leaves Mid-Round

Everyone loses it sometimes. When your swing goes missing on the course, simplify. Find solid contact first. While you wait on a…DrillIntermediate5 min

Aim for the Toe to Cure the Shanks

When the ball keeps finding the hosel, aim for the other end. Set up with the ball lined up off the toe of the club. Make small…DrillBeginner10 minShank

Better Ball-Striking Starts With the Basics

Great iron play starts with simple things. Check your grip, stance, posture and aim often. To improve contact, try hitting a…LessonBeginner15 min

Build a Stick Station to Groove Your Path

Sticks on the ground give you clear lines to swing along. Lay one along your target line, past and behind the ball. Lay another…DrillIntermediate15 minSliceHook

Build Your First Golf Swing

New to golf? Build your swing in order. Start with the grip. Lead hand first, then the trail hand covering your lead thumb. Use…LessonBeginner15 min

Change Targets Every Ball to Learn Distance

Hitting 50 balls at one target isn't how golf works. The course gives you a new distance every shot. So practice that way. Pick…DrillIntermediate15 min

Compress the Ball Instead of Flipping at It

Flipping means the clubhead passes your hands before impact. That adds loft. You hit the ground or the middle of the ball.…TipBeginner5 minFatThin

Control Iron Height With Your Setup

You can change your iron height without new swing moves. Use your setup. Start with a few normal 7-irons. That's your baseline.…DrillAdvanced15 min

Early Extension Is Often a Symptom

Early extension means your hips move toward the ball on the way down and your chest rises. Often it's caused by something else.…LessonIntermediate10 minEarly extension

Exaggerate the Opposite Miss to Find Your Low Point

Everyone has a contact miss. Fat or thin. Here's a feel-based fix. If you hit it fat, try to hit it thin on purpose for a few…DrillAll levels15 minFatThin

Fix Early Extension at Setup

Early extension can start before you swing. Check your spine first. The bottom of it should sit right under the top of it. If it…DrillIntermediate10 minEarly extension

Get the Still Parts Right Before You Swing

A lot of good shots are made before the club moves. Your grip, face aim, body alignment and ball position all set up the result.…LessonBeginner10 min

Grip Down Instead of Swinging Easy

Need a shorter shot with the same iron? Don't slow down. Grip down. Slowing your swing is when contact and control fall apart.…TipIntermediate5 min

Handle Forward, Toe Down: An Impact Feel

Pulls, slices and weak contact often come from two things. Your body opens too early, and your wrists flick at the ball. This…DrillIntermediate10 minSlicePull

Hit a Low Knockdown Iron

A knockdown keeps the ball under wind or branches. Take one more club. Put a little more weight on your lead foot. Press your…TipIntermediate10 min

Hit Fairway Woods Off the Ground

Fairway woods off the turf scare a lot of golfers. They top it or chunk it. The key is to sweep, not dig. Play the ball a couple…TipIntermediate10 minToppingFat

Hit Irons Into Target Zones

Hitting at a whole range teaches you nothing. Give yourself zones. Use two sticks or tees to make a lane. Then set more markers…DrillIntermediate30+ min

How to Hit a Hybrid

The hybrid is very forgiving. But many golfers swing it like a fairway wood or a long iron. Treat it like an iron. Play the ball…LessonBeginner15 minToppingFat

How to Hit a Low Punch Shot

Sometimes you need the ball to stay under branches or below the wind. That's the punch. Take one or two more clubs than normal.…LessonIntermediate10 min

How to Hit From a Downhill Lie

On a downhill lie, the ground falls away toward the target. That makes it easy to hit behind the ball. Tilt your shoulders to…TipIntermediate10 minFat

How to Hit From an Uphill Lie

An uphill lie sends the ball high and left. The club can also dig into the slope. Tilt your shoulders to match the hill, with…TipIntermediate10 minPull

How to Hit Out of a Divot

Sometimes a good drive ends up in a divot. You have to play it as it lies. The hardest version has the ball near the rear edge of…TipIntermediate5 min

How to Hit When the Ball Is Below Your Feet

Standing above the ball on a slope makes shots bend downhill. Plan for it. Take one extra club. Aim a little toward the high side…TipIntermediate5 minSlice

How to Stop Topping the Ball

Topping usually comes from trying to help the ball up. You lift your body or your arms, and the club catches the top of the ball.…LessonBeginner15 minTopping

Impact Doesn't Look Like Address

Many golfers think impact should look like setup. It doesn't. At impact you're pushing against the ground. Your hips are more…DrillBeginner10 minFatThin

In Long Grass, Read the Lie Before the Yardage

In long grass, the lie decides the shot. The yardage comes second. Look behind the ball. Can the club reach it without catching a…TipIntermediate5 min

Keep Your Shoulders Closed to Stop Pulls

A pull starts left and flies straight. Usually your shoulders are open at impact, so the path goes left. Keep your chest closed a…DrillIntermediate10 minPull

Lean the Shaft Forward for Longer Irons

Ever hit an iron well and still come up short? You probably added loft at impact by flicking or scooping. Better players lean the…TipIntermediate5 minThin

Learn Low Shots by Building Up From Short Ones

A low shot is something you build. Take a 5-iron and hit it only about 100 yards. At that speed it can't climb. It'll fly low and…DrillAdvanced15 min

Line Up Like a Set of Railroad Tracks

Alignment trips up good players too. Picture railroad tracks. The ball and clubface sit on the outside rail, which points at your…DrillBeginner10 minSlicePulls

Make the Swish Loud and Keep Your Chest Down

Speed, not muscle, makes distance. Hear it for yourself. Turn a club upside down, or use a stick or towel. Make practice swings…DrillBeginner10 min

Move Your Low Point Forward to Stop Thin Shots

Thin shots usually come from one of two things. You're hanging back, so the club bottoms out early. Or you're steep, so you lift…DrillBeginner10 minThinTopping

New to Irons? Let the Loft Lift the Ball

Here's the big secret for beginners. It's not your job to get the ball in the air. The loft does that. Your job is to drive the…LessonBeginner10 minThinFat

Practice Your Way Out of Deep Rough

Deep rough is easier when you've practiced it. Find thick grass at your practice area. Drop a few balls. Grab plenty of loft, a…DrillBeginner15 min

Punch, Knockdown or Stinger?

There are three main low shots. Each has a different job. The punch gets you out from under a branch. Ball back, short swing, and…LessonAdvanced15 min

Push Into the Ground to Stop Thin Shots

Thin shots often come from rising up on your toes through impact. Use the ground instead. Feel your feet planted at setup. On the…TipIntermediate5 minThin

Read Which Way the Rough Is Growing

Not all rough is the same. How deep the ball sits matters less than which way the grass lies and how wet it is. Grass growing…LessonIntermediate10 min

Read Your Divot to Check Your Path

You stand to the side of the ball, so the club swings on a curve. Your arms go inside as you turn back. They come back inside as…DrillIntermediate10 minSlicePull

Rehearse a Feel That Fights Your Fault

What you feel and what you do are often different. So use that. Figure out your usual fault at impact. Then rehearse an…TipAdvanced5 min

Simple Rules for Sidehill Lies

Off the tee box, flat lies are rare. Slopes change your strike, your curve and your distance. Here's the simple version. Ball…LessonIntermediate15 min

Start the Takeaway by Moving the Handle

Don't pick the club up with your hands. Start your backswing by moving the whole handle away with your arms. Keep your wrists…TipIntermediate10 min

Steady Posture for Crisper Irons

Thin and fat shots often share a cause. Your body changes height or position during the swing. Keep your chest over the ball.…TipBeginner10 minFatThin

Stop Hitting Your Irons Thin

Thin shots usually happen for one of two reasons. Your body backs away from the ball. Or the club hits the ground too early and…LessonIntermediate15 minThin

Stop Topping Your Fairway Woods

Topped fairway woods happen when the club bottoms out behind the ball. Three things control where it hits the ground. Ball…LessonBeginner10 minToppingThin

Sweep Your Long Irons and Hybrids

Long irons and hybrids don't have much loft. So it's tempting to help the ball up. That ruins contact. What works best is a…DrillIntermediate15 minThin shotsFat shots

Take the Fear Out of Long Irons

The first mistake with long irons is trying to lift the ball. Solid contact is always the job. When you're between clubs, take…TipIntermediate5 minThin

The Towel Drill for Ball-First Contact

This is one of the simplest contact drills there is. Lay a folded towel about six inches behind the ball. If your club hits the…DrillAll levels10 minFatThin

Think Like the Ball in Deep Rough

In deep rough, picture the shot from the ball's view. It's sitting down in thick grass. Its only way out is up. Yet many golfers…TipBeginner5 min

Three Keys for Solid Irons

Start your backswing with your big muscles: arms, shoulders and core together. Coming into impact, keep your chest down through…TipBeginner5 min

Two Fixes for Topped Irons

Topped irons often come from two simple things. First, your weight at setup. Put a little more on your lead side, about 55 to 60…TipBeginner5 minThin shotsTopped shots

Two Towels for Better Compression

Once you can miss one towel, try two. Put one about six inches behind the ball. Put the other about a foot in front of it, a…DrillIntermediate15 minFatThin

Use a Line to Stop Fat Shots

A fat shot means your swing bottoms out behind the ball. You need to move that low point forward. Get your weight onto your lead…DrillBeginner10 minFat

Use Your Lead Shoe as a Target for Ball-First Contact

Ball-first contact separates good players from the rest. Here's an easy target. Look at the laces on your lead shoe. Make that…DrillBeginner10 minFatThin

What "Covering the Ball" Really Means

You'll hear coaches say "cover the ball." It's about where your weight is at impact. As you swing down, your weight moves toward…LessonIntermediate10 minFat shotsThin shots

What Actually Causes a Shank

A shank hits the hosel and shoots off to the right. Most people blame an open face. Usually the real cause is the club moving…LessonIntermediate10 minShank

What Your Divot Says About Your Strike

Your divot is a report card. A big, deep chunk means you're too steep. You're taking loft off and hitting it low. That makes…TipIntermediate5 minFatThin

When the Ball Is Above Your Feet

A ball above your feet makes your swing flatter. The face points left, so the ball wants to draw or pull. Don't fight it. Plan…TipIntermediate5 minHookPull