x
Skip to main content
Golf Logo
InsideGolf Join Now  / Log In
5 easy ways to master distance control with your irons
SHARE
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share by Email
Golf Logo
  • News
    • Latest
      • News
      • Features
      • Shows
      • PGA Tour Schedule
    • Series
      • Tour Confidential
      • Monday Finish
      • Hot Mic
      • Rogers Report
    • Shows
      • The Scoop
      • Subpar
      • Seen & Heard
  • Instruction
    • Game Improvement
      • Driving
      • Approach Shots
      • Bunker Shots
      • Short Game
      • Putting
      • Rules
      • Fitness
    • Series
      • Top 100 Teachers
      • Rules Guy
      • The Etiquetteist
    • Shows
      • Warming Up
      • Play Smart
      • Short Game Chef
      • Pros Teaching Joes
  • Gear
    • Clubs
      • Drivers
      • Irons
      • Hybrids
      • Fairway Woods
      • Wedges
      • Putters
    • Other Gear
      • Balls
      • Shoes
      • Apparel
      • Golf Accessories
    • Series
      • ClubTest
      • Winner’s Bag
    • Shows
      • Fully Equipped
  • Travel & Lifestyle
    • Travel
      • Course Finder
      • Courses
      • Resorts
    • Lifestyle
      • Accessories
      • Celebrities
      • Food
      • Style
      • Betting Advice
    • Shows
      • Super Secrets
      • Destination Golf
  • Shop
    • Shop
      • Clubs
      • Shafts
      • Training Aids
      • Balls
      • Bags
      • Technology
      • Apparel
      • Accessories
      • Our Picks
      • Shop All
    • Collections
      • The GOLF Collection
      • The Birdie Juice Collection
      • The Fully Equipped Collection
      • Shop All
  • Newsletters
    • Sign Up for GOLF’s Newsletters
      • Hot Mic
      • Monday Finish
      • Play Smart
      • Our Picks
      • Top Stories
      • Sign Up for All
  • News
    • Latest News
    • Features
    • Shows
    • PGA Tour Schedule
  • Instruction
    • All Instruction
    • Driving
    • Approach Shots
    • Bunker Shots
    • Short Game
    • Putting
    • Rules
    • Fitness
  • Gear
    • All Gear
    • Drivers
    • Irons
    • Hybrids
    • Fairway Woods
    • Wedges
    • Putters
    • Balls
    • Shoes
    • Apparel
    • Golf Accessories
  • Travel & Lifestyle
    • All Travel
    • All Lifestyle
    • Course Finder
    • Courses
    • Resorts
    • Accessories
    • Celebrities
    • Food
    • Style
    • Betting Advice
  • Series
    • Tour Confidential
    • Monday Finish
    • Hot Mic
    • Rogers Report
    • Rules Guy
    • The Etiquetteist
    • ClubTest
    • Winner’s Bag
  • Shows
    • The Scoop
    • Subpar
    • Seen & Heard
    • Warming Up
    • Play Smart
    • Short Game Chef
    • Pros Teaching Joes
    • Fully Equipped
    • Super Secrets
    • Destination Golf
  • Shop
    • Clubs
    • Shafts
    • Training Aids
    • Balls
    • Bags
    • Technology
    • Apparel
    • Accessories
    • The GOLF Collection
    • The Birdie Juice Collection
    • The Fully Equipped Collection
  • Newsletters
    • Hot Mic
    • Monday Finish
    • Play Smart
    • Top Stories
    • Our Picks
    • Sign Up for All
InsideGolf Join Now  / Log In
InsideGolf

Over $140 of value - Just $39.99

InsideGOLF
Approach Shots

5 easy ways to master distance control with your irons

By: Kelvin Kelley, GOLF Teacher to Watch , Nick Dimengo June 5, 2023
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share by Email
GOLF Teacher to Watch Kelvin Kelley shares his tips for developing better distance control with your irons, leading to better approach shots

Better approach shots will lead to lower scores.

Getty Images

Welcome to Play Smart, a regular GOLF.com game-improvement column that will help you play smarter, better golf.

Wouldn’t it be great if you had the ability to land every one of your iron shots exactly where you wanted to? Every amateur has the ability to unlock that type of skill — it just takes some proper training and practice to make it happen.

Distance control is largely talked about in relation to putting, but in today’s Play Smart lesson, GOLF Teacher to Watch Kelvin Kelley explains how it can be applied to your iron shots as well.

If you’re looking for a surefire way to shoot lower scores more consistenly, start working on distance control with your irons. While it may often be overlooked by recreational golfers, it will go a long way to improving your play.

So follow Kelley’s tips below, which will help you dial in your yardages on approach shots.

Lag Shot 7 Iron + Wedge Combo

Lag Shot 7 Iron + Wedge Combo

Groove a swing that’s on plane with perfect tempo and timing.
$199.00 from Fairway Jockey

1. Center contact

Learning to find the center of the clubface is the key to solid iron play. But before you check your path-and-face relationship, you need to properly address the ball first.

Not only will an off-center miss cause distance loss, but a toe-hit will also over-draw the ball while a heel-hit will cause a weak fade.

2. Learn the off-speed shot

Everyone can go fast, but not everyone can go slow. This is why learning how to hit your irons a variety of distances is so important to lowering scores.

To start, practice hitting your 7-iron at about 50 percent of your stock yardage. Slowly go up in 5-10-yard increments will help you to develop the feel of the swing required for each distance. Do this with each iron in the bag.

3. Hit it low

Hitting the ball low is not only great for overcoming any wind but it’s also better for overall distance control as well.

When the ball is lower to the ground, it’s easier to control. Just because you’re closer to the hole doesn’t mean you need to go higher into the pin.

To help you visualize this, think about the arc of a free-throw shot in basketball vs. a three-point shot. Good shooters keep the same stroke and arc of the ball from any distance.

4. Keep your stats

Keeping stats is an easy way to see what you need to work on to improve your yardage control and hit more greens. Greens in regulation (GIR) is the most important stat in golf, because it has a direct correlation to your score (picture above).

If you’re looking for some advanced stats, track where you missed the green. This will help you understand your most common misses and where to improve on your next round.

5. Get on a launch monitor (or better, the course)

Many recreational players are surprised when they see their carry yardages on a launch monitor. That’s because many amateurs think they hit it farther than they actually do.

This is where using a launch monitor to track carry distance for each iron is useful. Make sure to get a good sample size, and track your results to apply to your next round.

If a launch monitor isn’t accessible, practice with five balls, hitting each onto a green or at another target. Take the median result of the five balls, and determine a relative sweet spot for your distance with each club.

Blast Golf Swing & Stroke Analyzer

Blast Motion Speed Analyzer Package

Blast Motion is a great solution for the more tech savy player who wants to not only track their speed gains, but also learn more about various aspects of their golf swing.
$179.95 from Fairway Jockey
SuperSpeed Golf Swing Speed Training System

SuperSpeed Golf Training System Men’s Set

Increase the speed and power of your golf swing by 5% to 8% in as little as 4-6 weeks of regular practice.
$229.99 from Fairway Jockey

Latest In Instruction

18 hours ago

PGA Championship contender's drill for solid contact with wedges

18 hours ago

Those mud balls at the PGA? Here's why the pros detest them

2 days ago

Why this common putting strategy is actually the 'worst advice in golf'

2 days ago

The 4 keys for pitching off wet lies

generic profile image

Golf.com Photographer

Kelvin is a Class A PGA golf professional in San Francisco, California. He has taught at some of the top golf clubs in the Bay Area, which include The Olympic Club and Sonoma Golf Club. He is TPI certified and certified Callaway and Titleist club fitter. Kelvin has sought advice and learned under several of the top instructors in the game, including Alex Murray and Scott Hamilton.

Kelvin works with his students to develop an efficient golf swing. A swing that is repeatable, powerful and will strive under pressure. He welcomes golfers of all skill levels however is geared towards the more committed golfer. Besides swing and short game instruction, Kelvin is an expert in on and off the course coaching. This includes mental preparation, developing practice routines and course strategizing.

Nick Dimengo

Golf.com Editor

Related Articles

Instruction
Alex Noren's drill for solid contact with wedges

PGA Championship contender's drill for solid contact with wedges

By: Maddi MacClurg
Approach Shots
golfer swings golf club / golf ball with mud on one side

Those mud balls at the PGA? Here's why the pros detest them

By: Joe Plecker, with Zephyr Melton
Putting
a golfer in a blue shirt crouches down to read a putt on a green

Why this common putting strategy is actually the 'worst advice in golf'

By: Zephyr Melton
Approach Shots
Max Homa pitching from a wet lie

The 4 keys for pitching off wet lies

By: Maddi MacClurg
Instruction
bryson dechambeau hits a tee shot during a practice round for the 2025 pga championship

The nerdy tech behind Bryson DeChambeau’s resurgence

By: Zephyr Melton
Instruction
How this drill helped Sepp Straka at the Truist Championship

This simple drill helped Sepp Straka at the Truist (and can help you too)

By: Maddi MacClurg
Driving
jordan spieth points to the right during the 2014 ryder cup

Improve this key skill if you want to shoot lower scores

By: Zephyr Melton
Instruction
golfer hits balls on driving range at night

How long should your practice sessions be on the range?

By: Zephyr Melton
Driving
5 keys for longer, straighter drives

5 keys for longer, straighter drives

By: Kellie Stenzel, Top 100 Teacher
Sign up for GOLF's Newsletters
Get the latest news, the hottest instruction tips, new product releases, golf media insider reports and more delivered directly to your inbox. Choose your favorites now.
Sign Up
Categories
  • News
  • Instruction
  • Gear
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
Services
  • Masthead
  • GOLF Media Kit
  • GOLF Magazine Customer Service
  • TERMS OF SERVICE
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • Opt-out of Ads/Sharing
  • Your Privacy Choices
Social
  • facebook
  • x
  • instagram
  • youtube
Membership
InsideGOLF Logo
More than $140 Value for JUST $39.99

INCLUDES 12 SRIXON Z-STAR XV GOLF BALLS, 1 YR OF GOLF MAGAZINE, $20 FAIRWAY JOCKEY CREDIT - AND MUCH MORE!

LEARN MORE

© 2025 EB Golf Media LLC. An 8AM Golf Affiliated Brand. All Rights Reserved. All of our market picks are independently selected and curated by the editorial team. If you buy a linked product, GOLF.COM may earn a fee. Pricing may vary.

Go to mobile version