Solid Contact Drill

This is a very simple drill to help develop solid contact with your irons.  In particular it will help identify the cause of iron shots struck in the heel of the club causing the dreaded shank.  You will need a can of foot spray and spray a light coat on the face of your 9 iron.  This will allow you to see where the ball is struck on the face of the club.

 

Use either a range basket or a plastic water bottle which will be placed about 2" from the ball.  Tee the ball about 1/2" so the impact mark on the club will be visible. Also place an alignment rod on the ground so you will be properly aligned to your target.

This drill is performed in three stages and in stage one, the goal is to hit the ball 30 yards, stage two 60 yards and stage three 90 yards.  These yardages may be adjusted lower depending on skill level.  The goal is to clip the ball off the tee and miss the range basket at each stage.  If at anytime you strike the basket you will know your path was faulty and the strike will not be in the center of the face.  You will need to clean the face of the club after every few balls and re-spray.  

30 yard Sequence-no wrist hinge on the backswing or followthrough

60 yard Sequence-just a little wrist hinge on the backswing 

90 yard Sequence-wrist hinge on both sides of the swing

30/60/90 Video Sequence

Weighted Ball Drill to Improve Body Motion

For this drill you will need a weighted exercise ball.  The one pictured is 6 lbs. but use any ball weight that meets your physicality.  The purpose of this drill is to develop proper body movement through the golf swing.  You may toss the ball into a wall in which you will catch it when it comes back at you, into a net so you don't have to chase it after each throw or play catch with a partner.  

Swing the ball back and through and release the ball to your target.  Allow your body to rotate with your arms and feel your weight transfer to the front leg as you rotate to the target.  Allow the arms to extend to the target at the finish.

From this down the line view note the body rotation on the backswing and follow through.  

After working with the weighted ball, take a short iron and make practice swings.  You should feel the same motion as you swing the golf club.

Improve your Impact with this Simple Chipping Drill

In this drill we are breaking down the impact position to the bare minimum, the chip shot.  Position two alignment rods in the shape of a triangle about one club length in front of your golf ball.  Take a chip set up in which the feet are close together, the ball positioned in the back of the stance and the lead hand in front of the ball.  Using a 9 iron, make a chip length backswing which will send the ball about 15-20 yards.  The goal is to stop the club head from traveling through the triangle.  To accomplish this the lead hand must be in control and do not allow the trail hand to take over.  You will feel like the lead hand gets to the ball before the club head and the lead wrist will remain firm.  If you do this, you will strike the ball first then take a small divot.  Once you can accomplish this task, try to make the backswing slightly longer but still stop the club from going through the triangle.  When you do it correctly you will really feel you are compressing the ball with a great impact position.

Impact Chip Drill Video