Welcome to Play Smart, a regular GOLF.com game-improvement column that will help you become a smarter, better golfer.
If you’re a beginning golfer, you may be surprised to find out that you need to use different swings for different clubs. Sure, you probably deduced that certain specialty shots called for unique techniques, but even some of the most basic shots in the game require vastly different techniques.
Case in point: the driver swing vs the iron swing. While it’s true that there is tons of overlap between the two, if you want to become a competent ball striker, it’s important that you tweak your technique a bit when hitting a driver versus hitting an iron. If you don’t, it can spell doom for your ability to effectively hit your driver.
GOLF Teacher to Watch James Hong explains more in the video below.
The difference between a driver and an iron
To hit the ball flush with a driver and an iron, you need to make some adjustments to the way you are swinging the club. While there is some overlap in technique between the two swings, there are also some key differences that can make a huge impact.
“A lot of people may have heard the saying, ‘It’s the same swing for all the clubs,’” Hong says. “And that’s not the case at all.”
One of the key differences happens in the setup. With an iron, the ball will typically be in the center (or close to the center) of your stance. However, with a driver, the ball position will be much farther forward.
But when beginners move the ball forward in their stance, it can lead to an unintentional setup mistake.
“What happens with a lot of people, is they’re so used to seeing the ball in the center, that when they set up for their driver, all of the sudden they’re moving their whole upper body forward,” Hong says. “This is going to lead you down the road of disaster.”
Everyone knows that with a driver you are looking for a strike that catches the ball on the upswing. But when you move the ball forward in the stance and then turn your shoulders to match that, you are putting yourself in position to actually hit down on the ball. That may be great for an iron, but it spells disaster for a driver.
To guard against this, Hong suggests teeing the ball up inside of your lead foot but then placing the clubhead right in the center of your stance. From here, you can slide the clubhead forward — instead of turning your shoulders — up to the ball on the tee.
“You notice that naturally tilts my shoulders,” Hong says. “That will help you with your driver setup.”
With your shoulders tilted back, you’ll be in an excellent position to swing up on your driver and hit bombs off the tee.
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