When I was younger, I used to play golf by trying to ‘lift’ the ball with my irons. My game was inconsistent - with many topped shots, duff shots and a lack of power. A keen footballer as well as golfer, I would take a 6 iron with me to practice golf on the pitch after a match. It was in this most unlikely of places that I discovered something which was to revolutionise my perception of how to hit good iron shots.
IMPACT
A lot is written about the golf swing, but rarely is the impact position the focal point. Since all other movements are simply a means to get there, the position at impact is the only one that really matters.
These pages are demonstrating what I learnt whilst practising on a football field by aiming to hit the ball underneath the cross bar from the penalty spot. Of course in order to ‘score a goal’ from such a short distance it is
necessary to keep the ball down.
My natural instincts told me to get my body over the ball and my hands in front of the clubface at impact. What I had not realised at the time was that this would result in the ball going higher. In fact the more I attempted to keep the ball down, the higher, straighter and further it went - the three things that we are all trying to achieve in golf!
This is no secret to professional golfers, but for the vast majority of amateurs it stems from a lack of understanding of how the ball and clubface are designed to work together.
The loft on the set of irons we each carry in our bag are there to assist us in achieving the necessary flight and distance we require. If it were intended for us to use our body and hands to lift the ball in the air we might as well be carrying a hockey stick around the course rather than a 1,000 euro set of the latest irons.
Hitting penetrating iron shots off the fairway always seems to impress my playing partners. But don’t be deceived as this is one of the easiest shots to play - once you get your head around it. Let’s take a look at a typical amateur golfers impact position,why it occurs and the effects it has on their game...
