The whole performance of your golf session fully depends on your shots. Being able to hit accurately and comfortably is the foremost condition for having a successful golf career.
Most parts of a golfing session take place on the greens and irons are used to drive the ball. That’s why the maximum number of the clubs in your bag is ironing. So if you are a newcomer or a casual player, the foremost thing is to learn how to hit with an iron. Especially you must know how to hit irons straightly.
Unfortunately, most newcomers think that learning to hit with a driver is all and don’t pay much attention to their performance with irons.
How to Hit Irons Straight in Golf
Having a good knowledge about straight-hitting with irons is very much effective and beneficial. Improving straight-shots with irons should be a good start for your golf-journey and it also helps to master many golf-related skills in the future. For hitting a dead-straight shot with an iron, follow these guidelines.
Place the ball in the rightmost position
Placing the ball in the correct position will let you strike the ball properly and give good control for a straight iron-shot. For placing the ball, check the iron you are using.
- For short irons (like 9-iron)- place the ball at the very middle of your stance.
- For middle irons (like 5-iron)- place the golf ball about an inch beyond the middle point of your stance.
- For long irons (like 2-iron)- place the golf ball about two inches or more beyond the middle of your stance.
Stand behind the ball from where you can hit the ball with a square iron face. Usually, the distance between you and the ball depends on your height and the length of the iron-shaft.
Balance and Shift Your Body-Weight Properly
Good balance and smooth shifting of body-weight are compulsory for hitting accurately. To send the ball straighter, do proper and good shifting while swinging for the hit. Shift the body-weight to the leading foot and keep your back-foot flexible. It will give much speed to the ball and send the ball much straightly.
Proper Grip
Another thing that should consider is the holding on the iron. Several grip-locking methods are used in golf. The most common gripping syles are-
- Interlocking Grip.
- Overlapping Grip.
- 10-Finger Grip/Baseball Grip.
Grab the iron-grip an inch or less down from the top to have good control over the shots. Also, you can rest the iron beside the ball for finding the best grip position for you. Use any type of gripping technique which gives you comfort. Make sure that you primarily hold the iron with the palms of your hand, not with the fingers. Learn how to hold a golf club in the proper way to have the best benefits.
Bend Your Knees and Hip
For a comfortable stance for a straight shot with iron, you should bend your knees slightly. This will help a lot for shifting the body-weight more smoothly and results in many straight shots with good control.
Also, bend your hips a little and straight up your spine. Your head should maintain the imaginary line over your back. The spine is the key to perform a smoother swing. That why keep the spine much straight as well as flexible while swinging. This will also help to hit the ball with the squareface of the clubhead.
Swing Downward
Many newcomers think that for an accurate hit, he or she should straighty hit the ball with the club. This is not the right way. In fact, doing this can spoil your whole shot-preparation. The best way to straight-shot the ball is by downswing toward the ground at first and then make a deep curve and divert the swing path toward the ball. The best advantage of this method is that you are having much time to gain the clubhead speed and improve any mistakes at swinging.
Avoid These Things
For a sharp-straight iron shot, you also have to avoid some things. Here are some things that you should try to avoid for performing an excellent straight shot
Don’t Give Too Much Tension to The Muscle
You must avoid giving too much tension to your hand, arm, and shoulder muscles. But in the opposite case, you will simply lose control over your shot, and having a straight shot will become almost impossible. Keep the muscles much flexible instead.
Avoid getting too much excited or nervous
This is the thing that can ruin your focus and concentration from the shots. Most beginner golfers fall into this trap often. They simply become very tensed and nervous or sometimes exited before hitting the ball and lose their focus on the game. This should be avoided, not only for the straight shot with iron but also for all types of hits. Keep your mind calm and pay much attention to your stance and swing while playing golf.
Quick Tips
- Hitting straight with log irons is much harder than others. So, learn how to hit long irons straight and practice till you find your comfort zone.
- Use a Scale or other golf club as a marker to make sure you are in the rightmost position.
- Practice and learn to judge the condition of the course with eyes. For example, the height of the grasses, the distance of the target, the obstacles between the ball and target, the wind, etc.
Final Verdict
Irons are the most used clubs in your bag. So. a major part of your good score depends on them. By learning how to hit irons straight, you can move your ability another step further. If you learn to hit the ball accurately-straight, then other things like adding spin and fade and draw become quite easy for you to master. Follow the mentioned guidelines and practice properly to unlock your ability!
Related Articles
- How to Hit a Stinger Iron in Golf
- How to Hold a Putter Perfectly in Golf Game
- How to Hit a Flop Shot in Golf
- How Far to Stand from The Golf Ball
- How to Hit a Draw in Golf
References
https://youtu.be/v5FndzFM-Lw
http://www.golfsamurai.net/fault-fix/how-to-hit-it-straight.htm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTIk2qfMPjA
https://www.wikihow.com/Hit-Irons-Consistently
https://golftips.golfweek.usatoday.com/hit-straight-iron-shots-1278.html
https://www.golfmonthly.com/tips/how-to-hit-your-irons-straight-168166
https://break80.guide/2018/06/how-to-hit-laser-straight-irons-4-golf-tips/
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