Hit Down for Perfect Iron Shots

Golf Swing Tips: Hit Down for Perfect Iron Shots for Duffers
by Wayne Hudler

Think about the last time you nailed an iron shot; the crisp sound and beautiful ball flight are a key part of what makes us love the game so much. Don't you want to do that more often? Wouldn't it make the game more fun? Discover the key to consistent iron shots here today. As you spend the next ten minutes learning this little known secret to correcting poor iron shots you will notice just how easily you can begin hitting pure iron shots at will.

Golf is full of well known and long accepted axioms. Just a few are: "Keep your head down", "transfer your weight" and "Driver for show and putt for dough". Another of these long held truths is the subject of this article: "hit down with your irons"

Do you hit down with your irons or sweep them? The more accomplished players all hit down. They may not all take a divot but they all are hitting down and through the ball at the moment of impact.

When it comes to the full shot swing in golf hitting good irons shots seems to me to be the most challenging. The difficulty begins with the idea of hitting down on something you want to go up. That is counter intuitive for most of us. As a result we either consciously or unconsciously try to help the ball into the air with how we use the club scooping or lifting during the swing in an effort to get the ball airborne

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This will often cause you to hit behind the ball creating either a fat shot or a bladed shot as the club head bounces up off the ground into the middle of the ball. If decent contact is made while scooping it will often result in a too high ball flight which falls very short of the target.

You mission (should you decide to accept it, duffer) is to avoid the inclination to scoop or lift in an attempt to get the ball airborne.

The proper iron shot brings the lofted club face into the back of the ball from a slightly inside path where the leading edge of the club will contact the ground at a point just ahead of the ball.

This brings the clubface into the ball in a manner that causes the ball first to be forced toward the ground where it becomes compressed between the club face and the ground. Then it begins to roll up the club face where the grooves impart backspin on the ball. The club face then determines launch angle and the rapidly spinning ball along with its dimples will create aerodynamic lift.

Dooley's swing instruction recommendations

The more lofted the club the more backspin is created. It is the backspin that causes the ball to stop quickly once it hits the green. The short irons are most effective at stopping the ball. Good news is these shorter irons are easier to hit correctly than the longer irons.

To achieve this downward strike of the golf ball it is vital that the shaft be leaning forward ahead of the ball at impact. Each club is built with a certain amount of forward tilt so that when the club is properly placed on the ground the shaft leans ahead of the ball.

Most duffers hit the ball with the shaft leaning backwards. This ruins the function of the golf club and inevitably the shot as well.

Dooley's swing instruction recommendations

Hitting down therefore is the best way to maximize the engineering of the golf club and ball. When struck with the proper downward stroke the club face, the shaft and the golf ball all work together to result in the perfect iron shot. One that travels the expected distance, travels on the proper trajectory and stops quickly once it hits the green.

Now what could be more perfect than that?

Find your perfect iron shots here: Dooley's swing instruction recommendations

Wayne Hudler is an avid golfer of over 30 years and golf writer. He has been recognized as an expert by the leading online article directory.

Dooley Duffer Golf is devoted to helping ordinary golfers (duffers) improve. Are you a duffer? Visit Dooley Duffer Golf where you will find an ever growing collection of improvement resources.

www.DooleyDuffer.com

Contact Dooley: dooley@dooleyduffer.com