This simple tip was our most-read instruction tip of the year.
Stephen Denton
There’s nothing like hitting a crisp iron and watching it tower toward the pin. Our readers seem to think so, too.
Our most-read instruction story of 2022 featured the best tip for hitting a well-struck iron, and it came courtesy of GOLF Top 100 TeacherClaude Harmon III.
“The most common miss recreational golfers suffer with their irons is falling short of their intended target,” Harmon wrote. “This is in part caused by overestimating their distances and, therefore, not taking near enough club.”
But there’s another reason players come up short, too. It happens because players don’t hit their irons solidly and consistently enough.
There’s an easy drill to fix these problems. And all you need are a ball, a tee and a club.
Place the tee low in the ground about an inch in front of the ball. The goal is simple: Hit both the ball and the tee as you make your swing. This will bring down your attack angle and allow you to make ball-first contact.
If you get good enough at it, you’ll quickly see yourself hitting Tour-quality iron shots that produce plenty of backspin.
Zephyr Melton is an assistant editor for GOLF.com where he spends his days blogging, producing and editing. Prior to joining the team at GOLF, he attended the University of Texas followed by stops with the Texas Golf Association, Team USA, the Green Bay Packers and the PGA Tour. He assists on all things instruction and covers amateur and women’s golf. He can be reached at zephyr_melton@golf.com.