Improving is arguably the main goal of just every golfer on the planet. Regardless of whether it’s a beginner taking up the sport for the first time, a seasoned handicap golfer playing off single figures or a professional playing on the PGA Tour, everybody wants to improve and take their game to the next level. There are many ways in which a player can improve their game, but improving how they hit the ball is key. 

Many players look at how they should be hitting the golf ball in general, which is a good start, though the problem here is that we want to hit the ball differently with different clubs, or at least with different types of club. For example, you’re not going to be hitting a driver in the same way as you’d be hitting an iron. 

Let’s break it down and look at the different things we need to do in order to hit solid iron shots. 

Stance 

Before hitting an iron shot, we need to be working from solid foundations, and we can do that by getting into the correct position, having the correct stance. Adopt a neutral stance, feet shoulder width apart. This will allow your weight to shift back and then forward. Line up so that the side of your body is in line with the target, whether that be further down the fairway or the green. To aid with achieving the correct starting position, imagine that there’s a line drawn from the side of your body to where you want to hit the ball. 

Ball position

It’s important to have the ball positioned correctly. Now, obviously you cannot move the ball when playing on a golf course, but you can position the ball correctly by standing correctly. Depending on how well you strike the ball generally, you may want to go with the ball directly in the middle of your stance or slightly closer to your front foot. Placing the ball closer to the front foot should allow you to gain more height, which is something that lots of players struggle with. 

Swing

Once we get our feet into a nice neutral position and we’re happy with the stance, we then need to focus on developing a good swing*. The internet is awash with lots of great in-depth information about developing a solid golf swing, but here are the basics. 

At the start of the golf swing, your feet should be nicely planted so that you’re evenly balanced. Then, holding the club a comfortable distance from your body, with a straight back, swing the club back with your arms, keeping your arms straight to begin with, so avoid breaking the wrists too early. As you swing back, allow your shoulders to turn with the momentum, shifting your weight slightly towards the back leg, then shift your weight slightly towards your front leg and make a nice easy swing through the ball, ensuring to swing through the target line once you’ve made contact with the ball. It’s also important to remember to keep your head down, keeping your eye on the ball until you’ve made contact. 

Remember that you don’t need to swing too hard either. Even if you’re looking to hit the ball a long way, distance is achieved by creating more club head speed. The goal should be to swing fast, not hard. How will you know if you’re swinging too hard? Pay attention to your feet, and if they move a lot during your golf swing, then you’re swinging too hard. Keep your feet planted and make a nice, easy swing,

*At the end of the day, there are many ways to achieve the desired result, and there are lots of different swings. Watch any PGA Tour event for 30 minutes and one of the things that you’ll notice is that lots of players have very different swings. This is also true among amateurs, but the pros and the best amateurs all understand that the relationship between the club face and the ball is key, in that to avoid slicing or hooking, regardless of what your swing looks like, the club face must be pointing towards the target at impact to achieve the correct shot. If the club face is either too open or too closed, you will miss significantly to either the left or the right of the target. 

Ball striking 

To achieve those really clean, solid iron shots, we need to be aware of the fact that it’s critical to strike the ball on the downswing, rather than on the upswing. Doing the latter will result in weak contact, contact that will often mean that the ball is topped rather than struck sweetly. One trick to help with this is to imagine that you’re hitting slightly in front of where the ball is actually sitting. As you do this, make sure that you’re making downward contact on the ball. You want to compress the ball. When you watch the pros, you’ll notice that they all take rather large divots, but their divots come after the ball. This is because they’re hitting down on the ball, compressing it, creating a divot with their club head after striking the ball. Aim to recreate the same sort of divot after the ball and you should end up striking those irons purely. 

Practice makes perfect 

Practice, practice, practice. Knowing the basics is one thing, but it’s important to put them into action on a regular basis. Start by practising each of the above basics, familiarise yourself with everything required to hit solid iron shots, repeat each one, get the feel for each one, and then put them all together. Get on the range and start hitting those irons. Get into position, imagine a target, get the feel for what you need to be doing to hit those perfect iron shots time after time. And it’s important to remember not to just hit balls aimlessly. Think about what you’re doing, always have a target in mind, be mindful of each of the basics and take your time. Remember that you want to compress the ball by striking down and you’ll be out on the course striking those iron beautifully in no time.