Simple Golf Swing Practice Tip To Improve Your Accuracy and Distance: Hit With The Shaft 

One of the biggest breakdowns in the golf swing I see as a teaching professional is a poor impact position. A poor impact position causes an inconsistent shot pattern and as a result higher scores.

When we putt, chip and pitch the ball we always set up with our hands slightly ahead of the golf ball. We should avoid setting up with our hands behind the ball at all costs.

The full swing is no different. If you visualize your perfect set up position with an iron, and you have taken care of all your fundamentals, your hands are going to be slightly ahead of the golf ball.

The goal in the golf swing when we are striking an iron is to return the hands back to the ball before the club head, just like we talked about in our set-up position.

Think about it as a Race.

The race is between the handle of the golf club and the club head.

The finish line is the ball.

The handle of the club should always win the race back to the ball.

As a result, the shaft of the golf club will be leaning slightly forward or toward the target and we will be striking the ball on the downswing. You are now compressing the golf ball and have a better chance of taking that divot which will occur after the ball. When your hands/ handle of the club wins the race back to the ball we have eliminated inconsistencies in the golf swing and are now delivering the club in a much more repeatable way.

Impact Bag or Cushions

One of the best ways to practice this concept is to get an impact bag.

An impact bag is one of the best golf training aids out there and is fairly inexpensive.

Practice setting up perfectly and deliver the club head into the impact bag after the handle has won the race. Start off doing some slow chip shots, than move into some pitch shots and finally the full swing. You should always hit an impact bag at 50 % power as to avoid any injury.

Another great golf training drill to work on impact is a simple golf tee drill.
When you are practicing hitting balls off the grass, put a tee in the ground approx. 4 inches in front of the ball.

Improve ball strike

The tee will be inserted into the ground and stand about 3 inches high. The goal of the drill is to knock the tee out of the ground after you strike the golf ball. What you will find when you hit the tee is that you hit the ball on a descending blow and your hands/ handle won the race. If you miss the tee after you strike the ball your club head has won the race over your hands/ handle causing a picking type action on the ball.

This is the one we are trying to fix.

Hit the tee and take a divot. By delivering the golf club with the big muscles you have now started to create a more consistent golf swing. Your irons will now travel further and your consistency will improve as a result of eliminating the dreaded flip.

Good Luck and I’m certain these simple golf swing tips and instruction for perfect impact with your irons will really make a big difference to your golf game.

This is Golf Simplified.