Your irons go left. Then right. And sometimes straight. What you have is a lack of clubface control, most likely caused by early extension, which is just a fancy way of saying that you rise up as you swing into impact. Consistent iron strikers tend to stay down, rotating within the posture they establish at address for most of the downswing. It’s a critical move to learn.
Your cell phone can help. Here’s how.
Place it in your front left pocket and make your usual backswing (below left). Your goal, once you reach the top, is to push the phone deeper into your pocket. If you extend early or lift up, the phone stays put (middle). Instead, focus on maintaining your forward bend toward the ball as you start down, even squatting a little, so as to push the phone deeper into your pocket (right).
Notice how little my posture changes when I do this? Once you reach this key position, you can rotate freely — as long as you continue to maintain your bend toward the ground.
The phone may not actually dig deeper into your pocket, but the image of it happening is a powerful one to get this move right.
Martin Chuck is a GOLF Top 100 Teacher who operates the Tour Striker Golf Academy at Raven GC in Phoenix, Ariz.
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