Irons · Drill
Exaggerate the Opposite Miss to Find Your Low Point
Part of our irons programs for topped or thin, fat or chunked, weak contact. Build a program with it
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 swings. If you hit it thin, try to hit it fat. Going too far the other way shows you where your swing bottoms out. Then you can find the middle. No technical positions needed. Just feel and feedback.
The drill
- Hit five mid-irons and note your miss.
- If you hit fat, try to hit five thin.
- If you hit thin, try to hit five fat.
- Go back to normal and aim between them.
- Repeat until divots start just past the ball.
Why it works
Your low point is where the club bottoms out in the swing. If it sits behind the ball you hit fat, and if it sits above or ahead of the ball at the wrong height you hit thin. Pushing the miss to the opposite extreme moves your low point by a clear amount, so you feel both ends of the range. Once you know both ends, you can aim for the middle and the club reaches the turf just after the ball.
Common mistakes
- You make the opposite miss too timid, so the feel barely changes.Commit to a clearly fat or clearly thin strike so the contrast is obvious.
- You change your setup and swing length along with the miss, which hides what moved the low point.Keep the same grip, stance and swing length and change only where you try to strike the ground.
- You stay in the exaggeration and never return to a normal swing.After the extreme swings, hit normally and aim between the two feels.
How you'll know it's working
- Your divots start just past the ball instead of behind it or not at all.
- The ball launches on a steady, medium-height flight without a low skid or a heavy, short thud.
- The strike feels crisp, with the ball leaving before the club meets the turf.
Make it easier or harder
Easier: Hit from a good lie with a 7-iron or 8-iron and a short, half-length swing so each strike is easier to feel.
Harder: Mix in different clubs and lies and change targets between shots, so you must find the middle without the same repeated feel.
Common questions
Why do I hit the ball thin with my irons?
Usually your low point is too far forward or the club bottoms out above the ball, so the leading edge strikes the ball's middle or top. Feeling the fat miss on purpose helps you move the low point back toward the ball.
How do I know where my low point is?
Look at where your divot begins. For an iron shot off the turf, it should start just past the ball.
