# Iron swing is a disaster



## skelly022782

Hey guys-

I was wondering if anyone had any tips for getting some consistency going with iron swings. This is my 4th year golfing and I've tried lessons with a couple of golf pros here in Connecticut with limited sucess. Last year I was hitting my iron shots pretty well but it seems like no matter what I do now, my shots are all over the place. Did anyone ever have a problem with ball striking that they were able to fix with some drills?

I played a round yesterday and most of my iron shots were shooting out and fast and hard to the right. This includes my 9 Iron, 8 Iron, and Pitching Wedge.

Any advice?


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## Cajun

First things first, make sure you're consistantly striking the ball the same way everytime. That just takes hitting a lot of balls and practice with all your clubs. There is one thing that may make a difference, it did with me, if your hands a a little bigger, larger grips may make your irons more consistant for you. I was trying to grip the club to tightly with the regular size grips so I went to oversize on all my clubs and it helped me tremndously to get the "spray" tendency under control.

Anyway, my advice is practice practice practice and make sure your clubs fit you as well as possible.

Oh, and hey, welcome to Golf Forum!


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## FrogsHair

One of the first drills I use when my swing goes south is the "feet together" drill. Best golf drill: Swing with your feet together - Instruction - Golf.com. It's not a cure all, but it will help. I even use it to warm up with. My biggest problem is I lose my swing tempo/timing sometimes, trying to swing a little faster for what ever reason. This also causes me to have a balance issue, which causes me to spray the ball, and causes a problem with inconsistent distances. Using the "feet together" drill helps to get me back to my normal swing tempo, timing, and balance. Hope this helps.


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## keiko

A good rule of thumb is whenever things go bad, return to your fundamentals, grip, address, posture, alignment, distance from the ball, shoulder pivot, weight transfer. I suspect either your grip or weight transfer is messed up.
Someone mentioned the feet together drill and I use it all the time before playing or practicing; it has a way of getting you in sync.
Also, check your grip pressure and make sure you are nice and loose with your hands, arms and wrists.



skelly022782 said:


> Hey guys-
> 
> I was wondering if anyone had any tips for getting some consistency going with iron swings. This is my 4th year golfing and I've tried lessons with a couple of golf pros here in Connecticut with limited sucess. Last year I was hitting my iron shots pretty well but it seems like no matter what I do now, my shots are all over the place. Did anyone ever have a problem with ball striking that they were able to fix with some drills?
> 
> I played a round yesterday and most of my iron shots were shooting out and fast and hard to the right. This includes my 9 Iron, 8 Iron, and Pitching Wedge.
> 
> Any advice?


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## skelly022782

*Video*

I went to the driving range today to work on my pitching wedge, 9 Iron, and driver. The driver was fine. The 9 iron and pitching wedge produced some shots that were very good but that shot I mentioned in my above post creeped its way back in towards the end.

It's a fast slice that cuts right so fast and I'm still not sure what causes it. In any event, I have a swing that sometimes produces great shots and sometimes horrible ones. Does anyone see anything here that sticks out like a sore thumb? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks Guys!

YouTube - 2011 04 24 12 31 43 307


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## indiginit

first of all, i'm not a pro, i'm a slightly-better-than-bogey golfer.

but i did rebuild my swing a few years ago, and i recognize some of your issues.


from the rear view of your video, watch your swing plane... notice how sometimes you shift at the top (transition to downswing)? from the rear, the clubhead moves out, then down.

it is a difficult correction to make, and it will become more problematic as you get tired (later in the session/round).

as to how to correct it? well that might be out of my realm, but i'll try to get you started. search about 'coming over the top' in golf literature and/or websites. 

as for drills, the feet-together drill is a good place to start. 

an early lower-body shift can sometimes cause the swing plane to shift. try to test it with a club in your hand in slo-mo. 
1. take the club to the top of your backswing. 
2. exaggerate the early hip-clearing motion 
3. watch the club head as you do. 
it changes your angle of attack on the ball and BANGO, a banana slice or dead-pull left, depending on where the clubhead angle is. 

the 'over the top' move can be sometimes temporarily corrected with stance and grip changes, but the fundamental flaw will creep back uninvited unless you pound away at it... 

also, slow down your practice time... rapid fire range time doesn't have nearly the effect or learning curve that slow range time does. step back and think about EVERY shot, even on the range. pay particular attention to your ball position in your stance, both parallel and perpendicular to your feet line. 

read about 'the slot' in golf literature as well. that's were i turn when my irons get off. 

hope this helps some... not a bad swing by the way. once you retrain yourself to consistently 'hit the slot' you'll be happy you went to the effort.


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## skelly022782

Thanks! I really appreciate the feedback. I'm going to try slowing down at the range. It seems like what you described is what I'm going through now with dead pulls and slices. But I do see that little hitch at the top where the over the top move happens.


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## keiko

You are correct, that "hitch" as you call it is just natural wanting to add extra to the shot and thereby going off plane/balance.
It's hard to do at first but if you resist trying to give the shot that extra and just allow your swing to unwind from winding without any extra help, you will arrive at impact square with your hips clearing the way to produce on plane and path impact.
You will be so much happier.
Remember, in golf, there are very, very few shots that ever require an extra effort.



skelly022782 said:


> Thanks! I really appreciate the feedback. I'm going to try slowing down at the range. It seems like what you described is what I'm going through now with dead pulls and slices. But I do see that little hitch at the top where the over the top move happens.


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