How to Address a Golf Ball With an Iron?
Three main things are vital for you to know:
1. How to align properly
2. How to find the best stance and balance, and
3. How to position the iron golf club
The Perfect Golf Setup Alignment Process
Golf alignment belongs to the most critical factors and is often done wrongly. However, there are simple tricks to approaching the ball in the pre-shot routine. Let’s first talk about what matters the most – the face of the club. Wherever the club will point, the ball will go.
When you position your ball, you want to draw a visual line between a target in the far and your ball. So, stand behind your ball, look in the direction of the target, and imagine a line between the target and your ball (check out the picture of Kerrod Gray to get an impression).
To help with this, also pick an intermediate target about six inches away from the ball. Be careful to take a not too obvious target though! You want to choose a coloration in the grass over an old, brown leaf a bit on the side of the course. You could forget about your primary target and hit the ball a bit too much in the direction of the intermediate target.
If you are happy with your line, you can grab the iron, walk towards the ball, and position yourself next to it with a body still open for the direction of the target. If you close yourself up, you might hit the ball too much to the right (if you are a right-hander).
Hold the clubface on the ball, then take your perfect stance. If you stand first just having in mind your target but not the ball position, you might stand too far away or too close to the ball! The golf ball always sits a distance away from your body. So, find a comfortable position square to the ball.
Now, find the best way to look at the target. Do not just look over your shoulder. It might skew your perspective. Instead, keep your neck straight and just move your head from the position of your alignment.
So, in a nutshell:
– First, create a visual line with a target in the distance
– Walk towards the ball, get comfortable with a square clubface
– Then, move your head relative to your body position.
How to Find the Best Stance and Balance?
The second crucial step to hit it like a Tiger is to find the best stance and balance. The golf club’s grip is essential, as well as distancing from the ball and a correct posture. So let us examine it step by step. First, get the clubhead in the perfect position, then it comes to stance and balance. Grip the golf club in a relaxed manner, just tight enough to get it moving, which will lead to flexible arms and shoulders and a nice shoulder turn.
Then, open your legs to asymmetrical stance with the ball in front of the center. Your arms are hanging naturally straight down, so you create a gap between your legs and the golf ball, and there is space to swing the club. When it comes to the posture of your body, make sure that you feel comfortable! Ideally, stretch your bottom out, tilt from the hips, keep your back straight, and feel some flexing in the knees. However, if it causes you any pain, being comfortable is more important.
Which Ball Position Is Best For My Iron?
There are long irons out there, medium irons, and short irons. But how does the length of your iron determine the position of the ball? To put it short, long irons are for getting speed in your ball, shorter irons more about accuracy and controlling the distance.
Thus, for long irons, one needs more speed in movement, and you want to position yourself a bit farther away from the ball. Your legs are open with fifty percent of the weight on both sides. The shorter the iron, the closer you come to your ball to have more control over your movement and the movement of the ball. Your legs are positioned closer to each other, and your body leans a bit over the ball.
How to Find the Right Body Position?
So, which is the perfect posture? How to place knees, spine, shoulders, and chin the correct way?
Especially for beginners, it is best to make sure that your ankles are underneath your armpits and toes flaring out a little. Now, hold your club parallel to the ground, as seen in the picture. It should be a hand-and-thumb distance away from your body (just use your hand in the hitchhiker-position and point it away from your belt). It is crucial that your spine is as straight as possible at this moment.
Now, lock your knees out so they are straight. Then, bend your hips until the club touches the ground, and then slightly flex the knees. While leaning towards, you want to guess where the golf ball sits. If you aligned well, it should be exactly where you touch the grass. If the ball is not where you touch the grass, you remain in your body posture and walk some small steps towards the ball.
When it comes to your shoulders, make sure to position the back shoulder lower than the front shoulder. Consequently, the shoulders are more open at the point of the impact, and you are more likely to hit the ball towards the target. When you address the ball as a right-hander, your left arm should be straight. Your rear arm, however, should only be straightened through impact and the hitting zone. Leave your shoulders naturally, and do not press them in front of your chest. The more natural your body position is, the most comfortable you will feel and the best your swing will be!
Lastly, your chin position. Do not move your head towards the ball, keep your chin out. If you look down at the ball, it stops your head and neck from moving independently. If you face forward, however, your shoulders are able to rotate freely and independent of neck and head. Thus, try to lock down only with your eyes and leave your head facing forward.
And now hit it like a Tiger
Once you have followed all the described steps, it is time to hit the ball as a Tiger. At the address, your hands should be slightly in front of the ball. As a right-hander, your lead hand is the left hand. When hitting the golf ball, you want its wrist to be flat rather than cupped.
Thus, when swinging back, make sure that your lead hand goes from a cupped extended position to a flat position when hitting the ball. As this is a crucial point, always remember that your clubface should always be positioned directly behind the ball when addressing it. Your hands holding the iron will rise slightly when addressing the ball, making the toe of the clubface point up a little, which gives more power to the ball’s movement.
With all that in your mind, go to the golf court and show the others how to hit a ball like a Tiger.
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