On The Tee with Hank Johnson

Effective Short Iron Practice

Short iron: 7 iron or less. These are your scoring clubs.

When you have a short club into the green you need to get it close to create a scoring opportunity. When you have a longer club, you need to be more conservative.

Most players do better playing less than full out shots with their scoring clubs. They shorten and tighten up their swings much like playing a less than full wedge shot. This allows them to be more precise with distance control and this is the key to the effective use of your scoring clubs.

The Key to Effective Short Iron Practice.

The key to effective practice with your scoring clubs is to know exactly how far each of your practice shots carry. On the course, most of your shots from inside the distance of your 7 iron are going to fall on a yardage that is between two of your clubs. To maximize scoring you have to learn to play in between shots with your short irons.

Tour players use a system called TRACKMAN to dial in their distances. This Doppler Radar based system tells them exactly how far each shot they hit carries. We use the same system with our students in the Hank Johnson School of Golf. It is expensive but we think itis worth it if you really want to score better.

What good does an expensive laser distance measurement device do you if you don’t know how to hit the ball exact distances?

If you don’t have access to a TRACKMAN system, use your laser device to create exact distance targets on your practice range so you can dial in your carry yardages. You can put out targets with shafts stuck in the ground or even lay out towels you just need to be able to see each shot land and be able to tell exactly how far each shot carries.