Wouldn't it be brilliant to know how to hit your irons straight every time? The thought of consistent ball-striking, more greens in regulation and plenty of birdie opportunities might seem a little out of reach... but it doesn't have to be.
We have called on the services of Golf Monthly Top 50 Coach Barney Puttick to share his advice and a simple drill that will help you improve your iron-play in time for the new season...
How to hit your irons straight: The underlying causes
As with any bad shot, diagnosing the causes is crucial before setting out a plan for making improvements. It may come as a surprise that the push shot actually derives from the hook family, with the club path approaching the ball too far from the inside and the clubface square to that path. So if you want to stop pushing the ball, it's worth knowing how to fix a hook.
Similarly, if you pull iron shots, this comes from the same family as the slice. For this fault, it is likely that you are cutting across the ball or your swing is coming over the top. Either way, analysing and understanding the issue is the start of the process towards improvement.
Grip Check
In order to hit a straighter shot with your irons, it's important to take time perfecting the golf grip. When looking for visual checkpoints, take a look at the 'v' shape between your thumb and your forefinger on your right hand, as this should be pointing towards your right shoulder.
If the 'v' is pointing to your chin, this can cause a push shot as the clubface will be open at impact. If the 'v' point to the right of your right shoulder and often will result in a pull shot. If you know that your grip is causing you problems in your golf swing, it is worth developing your understanding of the strong vs weak golf grip.
Over the stick drill
Set-up an alignment stick about five yards in front of you, on the correct target line, and aim to hit the ball directly over the stick.
To do this, your arms will need to go down the line rather than out to the right (as they would in a push) or in to the left (as they would for a pull).
