In this technology-driven age, golfers are benefiting from exotic driver design, red-hot golf balls and launch monitor club-fitting that has placed distance firmly at the top of the agenda for many. It’s funny, even the older guys like Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player are commenting on the fact that when they return to courses they played regularly in their prime, they are now hitting shorter irons in to greens than ever before.
So great, we have all added some distance to our tee shots. But what about iron play – the ‘scoring zone’, which I’m going to suggest is from the 7-iron down through the wedges. How is your accuracy and shot dispersion pattern with those clubs? Because for a lot of the scratch to, say, 12-handicap bracket players I see here at the DLGA in Orlando, this is the area that is costing them dearly out on the course. They are killing it off the tee but then putting the same effort into their iron shots, often under-clubbing and, as a result, suffering from inconsistent ball-striking.
Good players never force their approach shots. They are looking for a laser-like ball-flight with spin that stops the ball quickly on the green. And to achieve that they make some subtle changes to their technique. With a driver, you set up with your weight favouring the right side, ball up forward in the stance, opposite the left instep, and as a result the swing itself is characterised by a full body pivot and coil behind the ball. All designed to maximise speed and distance. But compare this with the 7-iron sequence below: my weight is more ‘centred’, perhaps even favouring the left side, the ball is played back towards the centre and the hands are slightly in front of the ball at address. The result? A shorter, more compact golf swing. Compare the two backswing positions. Obviously the length of the shaft makes a difference, but look at the body pivot. With the driver I am behind the ball, the upper body fully coiled. With the iron, the pivot is more restricted and the arm-swing is much shorter, too. But the main thing to note is that my weight is ‘centred’ and on top of the ball at the top of the backswing.
The finish sees a fairly similar body position, but with the iron the arm-swing is restricted, as there is simply not the momentum here to pull the arms all the way through. While the driver swing results in a wrap-around finish, the iron is much more controlled with more width in the arms. All of these specific points can be traced to the address position, one designed to produce the downand- through strike that you are looking to achieve to create spin and control. To find out more about the DLGA visit: www.davidleadbetter.com