NAIL YOUR IRONS!

Follow these handy tips and drills to dramatically improve the quality of your iron strikes

- Katie Dawkins

As good as it feels to hit long, straight drives or hole lengthy putts, nothing beats a well-struck iron. When we're striking the ball cleanly with our irons, it's amazing how much more confident we become. But there are times when we feel like we're never going to find the centre of the face again, so how can we go from hitting it purely one day to struggling with all kinds of mishits the next? It's time to nail the fundamentals. The joy of many of the drills here is that most can be done at home. Groove these healthy habits and you'll start to hit your irons sweetly and more consistently.

USE THE BIG MUSCLES

I like to start beginners on this drill, but it's really a move we should all rehearse. Crucially, we're getting the body moving. So many golfers forget to use the bigger muscles. Get yourself in an athletic position and move back and through as here. All too often we get bogged down in the technical aspects of the swing, and think about where we need to be at certain points. These 'checkpoints' sometimes get in the way. Here, we're stripping it back to basics and getting used to the feeling of how the body should move with an iron swing. I love doing this on the range, and during the round when you can't just pull out a training aid. It ticks so many boxes, such as loading and releasing and can even help you get back on plane, too.

PERFECT SETUP