- With a short iron or mid-iron, hold the club with your right hand only.
- Set up with a ball in the middle of your stance.
- Take the club back slowly and stop about halfway up the backswing.
- As you swing into the ball, keep your right hand ahead of the clubhead. Your hand should be even with your left leg as the club makes contact.
You’ve surely noticed how loud it sounds when professional golfers strike the ball.
It’s evident even on television. While high clubhead speed has a lot to do with it, the sound is more about the compression of the ball against the club.
Only a small percentage of amateurs truly compress the ball. This requires an accelerating swing in which the hands are ahead of the clubhead at impact, the shaft tilted toward the target.
The right arm (for righties) plays a key role in delivering this downward blow. If the arm unfolds too quickly on the downswing or strays too far from the body, you’ll never achieve the sought-after “lag” effect that all pros exhibit.
This simple drill will help you learn the proper right arm action coming into impact:
It will take many repetitions to become comfortable with this one-handed swing. Do about 50 at a time, then try a series of easy, two-handed swings with the same right-hand action.
When your full shots start sounding louder and more solid, you’ll know you’ve got it.
