Are you looking for a new tool or gadget to fix your iron play? What if I told you that you already have everything you need in your golf bag? Golf Tees. Cheap, plentiful, and readily available. In this episode of Swing Clinic, PGA golfer Jimmy Hanlin demonstrates three different drills using golf tees you can try out to improve your iron game.
1. Stop Yourself From Lifting Too Soon
Many golfers bring the clubhead up too soon during the backswing. This is referred to as “lifting” and often results in a slice. You can start to achieve the correct form by extending your hands back, which helps create turn behind the ball. A golf tee can be utilized in a drill to practice creating extension with the hands and proper turning.
Begin by setting a golf tee three to four inches behind the ball. The goal of this drill is to sweep the golf tee out of the way as you begin your backswing. This motion encourages extension of the hands resulting in turning.
2. Staying Down
Clean iron shots require you to stay down on the ball through impact. You want the iron to hit the ball first and impact the ground in front of the ball. A good iron shot feels like you are squeezing the ball into the ground.
Staying down requires golfers to come through the ball with their whole body. Golfers that stay back through their swing will strike a divot behind the ball or top the ball.
To practice staying down, place a golf tee one inch in front of the ball. By focusing attention on the tee, your body will naturally stay down. After you strike the ball, you should also strike the tee sending it flying.
3. Maintain a Shallow Swing Plane
To generate consistent iron shots, your golf swing needs a shallow swing plane. One of the most common mistakes players make with irons is taking a too over the top approach on the backswing, which creates a steeper plane on the downside that often results in hitting the ball too fat or too thin.
To practice a shallow swing angle, tee the ball up like you would for a driver and practice picking the ball off the tee with an iron. This drill will help ingrain a shallow swing trajectory.
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