Problems With Fairway Irons

Most golfers who have problem clubs are dealing with woods. But Bob writes asking for help with his fairway irons.

Bob Layte says:
Hi Don,
Thanks so much for the free lessons. My question is: can you teach me and instill the confidence to use my fairway irons? This may sound laughable, but I am so bad with a fairway (up to a 7) iron that I often use my 7 wood to hit from a hundred yards out trying to cut my swing down. I am a rare person who hits fairway woods better than irons.

The Surge says:
Bob definitely is in a boat with few passengers when he hits fairway woods better than irons. He does not give specifics about the shot problems he is experiencing. He could be hitting '€œchunky monkeys'€ to avoid that coming out of the shot and hitting thin blades and skull shots. Then there are the dreaded '€œhosel rockets,'€ or as they are better known. '€œS#&*@s.'€ Without specifics, I have to make assumptions. So here goes.

Let'€™s start with the tough one, the hosel rocket. In my 30 years of teaching I really have not run into a lot of cases of the laterals. But every time I have, the problem was the same: too much leg drive in the forward swing transition. The legs drive too much, causing the knees to collapse downward so the player looses their height and also falls inward and closer to the ball. Hosel hits ball and you have the most dreaded shot in golf. I cured them by getting the student into the PPGS master setup position of the wide knees with outward pressure. Then the swing thought was the limited turn ‚¾ backswing and maintaining their knee position and height in the transition to impact.

The most common problem with bad iron shots is hitting '€œchunky Monkeys,'€ the really deep divots that are also called, '€œlaying the sod over the ball.'€ These are the divots that can really cause injury to the fingers, wrists and shoulders, and can even send the strain and pain all the way to the lower back. Then, after too many of these, the brain decides enough is enough and the player pulls out of the shot or pulls the hand up too soon and hits it thin, or '€œblades it'€ as it is called, screaming one waist high over the green.

The #1 cause of chunks is hitting down on the ball. Who has not been told from the first iron swing they ever made that, '€œyou have to hit down on the ball.'€ I have had students tell me they were instructed to '€œpound the ball into the ground.'€ Whatever form of down is taught, I believe DOWN is wrong. Any thought of hitting down tends to cause the upper torso to move first in the forward swing, which is out of sync, because the lower should start first. The upper leading also means it is moving forward and ahead of the ball. Add in the hitting down and you have a steep angle of attack and deep divots.

The answer is '€œSecret # 4'€ in the PPGS Foundations Swing Manual, '€œSwing up to the T '€“ Finish. Pop Tart.'€ I believe that the downswing is free because gravity helps the arms and club fall down. What is not free is the upswing after impact to the finish. We can accelerate through the ball and up to the finish smoother and faster by thinking swinging up, standing up AFAP, as fast as possible, taking shallow divots or nipping or clipping the ball off the turf. Naturally, you have to make impact before you come up.

I describe this swinging up in the first paragraph of the explanation of Secret #4 saying, '€œI have always stressed that once you hit the ball, you can'€™t stand up fast enough. After impact, I want you to stand up like a POP TART out of a toaster.'€

My assumption, Bob, is that since you hit your irons poorly, you likely are hitting down on the ball. Since your woods off the fairway are hit well, you likely, even without knowing it, are swinging up, clipping the ball off the turf. So hit your irons with the same swing thought and swing like you swing your woods off the fairway.

Think swing up, shallow divots, POP TART, standing up AFAP, and you will hit good iron shots. You'€™ll also improve your wood shots as a bonus.

The Surge!