This is the secret to crisper iron shots, says Top 100 Teacher

collin morikawa swings

If you want to hit crisper iron shots, you must make room for your arms and hands on the downswing.

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You never want your hips to interfere with your hands or the club as you strike the ball. This usually happens when you thrust onto your toes as you start down from the top, an error that automatically moves your body and mass toward the ball and forces you to manipulate your face angle, your path or both. Expect the gamut of poor shots and strikes. 

What you do want is to create ample space for your hands and club to work unimpeded. One of the best ways to accomplish this is to control the movement of your trail knee. I like the simple swing thought of moving your trail knee in and down through impact while gently rolling your trail foot toward the target (right to left). These are easy moves that not only will help you not only hit the ball straighter, but a lot farther too. 

jonathan yarwood demonstrates drill
Move your trail knee in and down for better rotation through the ball. Working with an alignment stick like this will help. Stephen Denton

A good drill is to swing with an alignment stick set just ahead of your trail knee (see above). Your goal is to simply miss the stick. You’ll notice a huge difference after just a few tries.

Jonathan Yarwood is a GOLF Top 100 Teacher who teaches at Alpine CC in Demarest, N.J.

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