How To Swing A Golf Iron

Being able to swing a golf iron well is vital to having a great round of golf.  Your short game is incredibly important, the closer you can put the ball to the pin the easier your putt is going to be.  Many players, even people who do not even consider themselves golfers can hit the ball far and straight off a tee, but putting the ball ten feet from the pin out of the rough or even just the fairway is something that separates great golfers from people who just like to play.

As with any club, you want to make sure your swing is comfortable and smooth.  Place your feet about shoulder width apart.  Depending on your club you want to place the ball centered between your feet or towards your back foot.  The higher you want to hit the ball, the closer to your back foot the ball should be placed.   Your front foot should be opened slightly and your back foot straight.  You want to have a slight bend in your knees.  Keep your back leg knee locked in position as you rotate your core during your backswing.  Your backswing should end with the club parallel to the ground.

Your downswing will start with shifting your weight from your back leg to your front leg.  As you strike the ball your arms should be fully extended.  When striking the ball correctly with an iron you should leave behind a small divot in the ground.  If you are losing your balance during your follow through and can not hold it until your ball lands, then you are probably swinging too hard.

Now if you do not understand how irons work, let me go over that quickly, this is a golf basic you should know.  Your standard set of clubs will come with 8 irons; 3 through 9, and a pitching wedge.  Each club, starting with the 3 iron, will give your shot slightly more loft than the last club.  So the 3 iron will hit the ball much lower and farther than the 9 iron.  Your pitching wedge hits the ball the shortest distance and has the most loft, it is a great tool to master, the higher your ball is hit, the less it is going to move once it lands.  So if you can become accurate with your high irons you will be able to place the ball within great putting distance of the pin.  You really want to practice with each iron so you can figure out how far you hit the ball with each club.  Once you know your typical distance with a club, your golf score is going to improve dramatically.