Irons · Drill
Two Towels for Better Compression
Part of our irons programs for topped or thin, fat or chunked, weak contact. Build a program with it
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 little inside the line. Miss the back towel. Swing over the front one. The back towel trains a forward low point. The front one trains a shallow exit toward the target. Keep your hands ahead at impact. Contact will start to feel heavier and more solid.
The drill
- Put one towel six inches behind the ball.
- Put another a foot in front, slightly inside.
- Miss the back one, pass over the front.
- Keep your hands ahead at impact.
- Move them closer as you improve.
Why it works
Thin shots happen when the low point of the swing sits behind the ball or the club bottoms out early and rises into impact. The back towel gives you a hard limit, so the club has to reach the ground after the towel and near the ball. The front towel asks the club to stay low and shallow past the ball, which keeps the low point ahead of the ball and the hands ahead of the clubhead at impact.
Common mistakes
- You lean back and lift the club over the back towel.Keep your weight left of center through the swing and let the club descend to the ball.
- You hit the back towel because you swing too steeply or too far from the inside.Set the towel six inches back, keep your chest over the ball, and turn through so the club bottoms out just ahead of the ball.
- You flip the hands at the ball and the clubhead passes them before impact.Hold the shaft leaning toward the target at impact and let the club pass low over the front towel.
How you'll know it's working
- The ball starts on your target line with a lower, more penetrating flight than your thin shots.
- Your divot or mark on the turf begins at or just in front of the ball, not behind it.
- Contact feels heavier and more solid, with less sting in the hands.
Make it easier or harder
Easier: Move the back towel farther away and use a short swing with a mid-iron until you can miss both towels several times in a row.
Harder: Move the towels closer to the ball and hit with longer irons or from a slightly tighter lie.
Common questions
Why do I hit my irons thin?
Most often the low point of your swing is behind the ball, or you lean back and lift at impact. Moving the low point forward and keeping your hands ahead of the clubhead fixes most thin contact.
How close should the towel be to the ball in a low point drill?
Start about six inches behind the ball so a miss is easy to achieve. Move it closer as you consistently miss it and strike the ball first.
