6 Drills For Making Solid Iron Contact Consistently

Hitting fat, thin, and topped shots isn’t any fun. But it’s what happens when you fail to make solid contact with your irons. You probably know this. You probably also know the feel of a solidly struck ball, which requires swinging down and through the back of the ball.

Unfortunately, most of us don’t make solid contact consistently enough. Instead, you’re like the golfers we work with in our golf instructions sessions. They make poor contact way too many times and generate far too many fat, thin, and topped shots.

These miscues are costly. They can prevent you from breaking 80 and from shrinking your golf handicap. Making solid contact more consistently, however, boosts ballstriking and reduces scores. That’s fun.

Key To Making Solid Contact

The key to making solid contact is creating lag in your swing—as we tell students in golf lessons. Poor swings have a “one-two swing” tempo. This tempo occurs when you rush through the transition at the top. Rushing prevents you from swinging down and through the ball—a necessity in iron play.

Tour players’ swings, on the other hand, have a one AND two swing tempo. The AND is really a slight almost imperceptible pause at the top of their backswing. It occurs just before their lower bodies shift their weight and rotate their arms as you begin your downswing motion.

This effort is called creating lag. It does four key things. It:

• Shifts your weight onto your front leg before impact
• Allows you to narrow the bend in your right elbow and right wrist that you need to hit down and through.
• Lets your legs and hips reach maximum speed before your shoulders and arms
• Allows your shoulders and arms to reach top speed well before your wrists and club do

Put simply, creating lag stores tremendous energy and then transfers that energy to the ball through your swing. That’s where power comes from.

6 Drills That Teach Solid Contact

Creating more lag eliminates fat, thin, and topped irons shots. Use the following 6 drills to grove a swing that creates lag:

Right Arm Drill

Grip a 7-iron with only your right hand and assume a normal setup position. Now swing the club down and through as if you’re hitting a golf ball. If you have room, you can use a plastic ball in this drill.

Swinging one-handed forces you to power the club by pivoting your lower body. As you do, feel the bending of your right arm and wrist increase as the lower body rotates. Remember this feeling when on the course.

Step Drill

Set up to the ball as you normally would with a 7-iron. Move your front foot back so it’s almost touching your back foot. Next, swing the club back until your left arm passes parallel to the ground, then lift your front leg off the ground and step toward the target. Swing all the way through the ball and into the finish.

Having to wait until your front foot hits the ground creates the “AND” you need to generate lag in your swing. It’s a critical “feel” to remember.

Pivot Drill

Place a club across your chest and assume your normal setup position. Turn your upper body away as if starting your swing. Before completing your swing, shift your lower body onto your front foot and continue rotating to the finish.

The Pivot drill teaches you to rotate your lower body before allowing your shoulders to move into the downswing. That’s critical to making solid contact with your irons. Do this drill slowly at first.

Impact Bag Drill

The impact bag drill is a great way to work on your downswing and ensure that you are making solid contact with the ball. Simply place an impact bag in front of you and take your normal stance with an iron. Take a half-swing and focus on hitting the bag with the clubhead. This drill helps you check your clubhead position and make sure you are hitting down on the ball.

Butch Harmon’s Drill

Butch Harmon’s drill is a simple yet effective way to work on your iron play. Take a towel and place it under your left armpit (for right-handed golfers). Take your normal stance and swing the club, focusing on keeping the towel in place throughout your swing. This drill helps you maintain control and power throughout your swing, leading to more consistent iron contact.

Divot Drill

The divot drill is a great way to check whether you are hitting down on the ball and taking a divot after impact. Place a tee in the ground where you want the ball to be and take your normal stance. Focus on hitting the tee and taking a divot after the ball. This drill helps you ensure that you are hitting down on the ball and not missing to the right or left.

Working on these three drills improves ballstriking? They’ll teach you to imitate the one AND two swing that creates more in your swing, improving your ball striking.

Hitting thin, topped, and fat shots isn’t any fun. Making solid contact is. The more often you make solid contact with your irons the better your chances of breaking 80 and shrinking your golf handicap to single digits.

Improving Swing Mechanics for Better Contact

Swing Plane

Maintaining a consistent swing plane is crucial for making solid iron contact in golf. A swing plane is the imaginary path that the clubhead follows during the swing. If the swing plane is too steep or too shallow, it can cause the club to hit the ground before making contact with the ball or hit the ball too high or too low.

To improve swing plane, golfers should focus on keeping the clubhead on the same plane during the backswing and downswing. They should also avoid lifting the club too high during the backswing, which can cause the club to come down too steeply.

Angle of Attack

The angle of attack refers to the angle at which the clubhead strikes the ball. Golfers should aim to hit the ball with a slightly descending angle of attack, which helps create backspin and a higher ball flight.

To improve angle of attack, golfers should focus on hitting down on the ball with a slightly forward shaft lean at impact. They should also avoid trying to scoop the ball into the air, which can lead to thin or topped shots.

Hip Rotation

Hip rotation plays a crucial role in generating power and consistency in the golf swing. Proper hip rotation allows golfers to transfer their weight from their back foot to their front foot, which helps create a more powerful and consistent swing.

To improve hip rotation, golfers should focus on turning their hips toward the target during the downswing. They should also avoid sliding their hips laterally, which can cause them to lose power and balance.9

By improving swing mechanics in these key areas, golfers can make more solid iron contact and achieve greater distance and accuracy on their shots.