Golf Tips 
Instruction Iron Play: Lessons Master Your Iron Play
Instruction Iron Play: Lessons Master Your Iron Play
Master Your Iron PlayAugusta National places demands on the iron game more than any championship venue. Here’s what it takes from The Masters. |
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| By Brady Riggs, PGA, with Mike Chwasky, Instruction Photography by Warren Keating | |
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Low Runner #11While most of the shots at Augusta National require a high trajectory and soft landing, there are a couple of holes, like the 11th, that demand a lower, controlled shot to access the green. For decades the hole required a ludicrously accurate long-iron approach that avoided the water short and left of the green, but that all changed as players got increasingly longer and reduced the hole to a drive and short iron. However, thanks to the addition of over 60 yards of length, the 11th again demands a long-iron approach. Mastering the Low Runner: The successful execution of a low runner begins, as always, in the setup. The ball should be positioned well back in the stance, reducing the effective loft of the club. Your body weight should be shifted slightly onto your front foot, with the hands choking down on the club to gain control. The opposite of the high shot with the hybrid, this low shot moves the majority of the body ahead of, not behind, the ball at setup. During the swing, the right side of the body should try to stay “on top” of the ball during and after impact. This helps to decrease the loft of the club while eliminating a costly “hang-back” of the right side that could easily produce a higher trajectory and pull hooks. When done correctly, the low runner is an effective, dependable shot that can be used with every iron in the bag. Photo by Andrew Reddington/Getty Images 
Spinning Shot #7What used to be a very short par-4 that demanded an iron off the tee, the 7th is now a tight driving hole that’s anything but easy. The green is a turtle-back design that’s extremely difficult to hold if the approach shot isn’t struck crisply with a good deal of spin (the ideal is to land long and suck the ball back to the flag). Furthermore, the green is completely surrounded by bunkers and requires perfect distance control to get the ball close to the pin. Mastering Spin: A common question my students ask me is “How do I put spin on the ball like the pros?” While soft, fast greens like those at Augusta National encourage backspin, the real answer to this common question lies in the fundamental differences between how amateurs and professionals execute iron shots. A misconception many amateurs have is that in order to create copious amounts of spin, they must flick their wrists at impact. In reality, nothing could be further from the truth. Instead, the spinning shot should be executed by leading the clubhead into impact with the hands and with a firm, flat left wrist. This hands-ahead technique generates the two impact conditions necessary to create backspin, acceleration and a slightly descending blow. When executed correctly, the straight line formed by the left arm and clubshaft at impact remains intact for several feet past impact. This ensures acceleration and a compression of the golf ball against the clubface. It’s important to note that spin is difficult to create out of a marginal lie. While this isn’t an issue at Augusta National, it may be where you play. In addition, it isn’t easy controlling how much a ball will spin back, so having the ball stop on a dime, or at least close to where it lands, is not only a more realistic goal for most amateurs, but is also better for distance control and scoring. Photo by Brian Morgan/Getty Images |
