In this golf tip video we are going to discuss why you should use one swing to achieve your best golf shots with your driver and a different swing when playing your irons.

If we compare the driver to an iron, you can clearly see that there is a length difference between the two golf clubs. If you hold the butt end of both golf clubs level with each other, you can clearly see that the driver is much longer than the iron and also that there is a difference in the shaft angle, or lie angle of each club. The shaft of the driver is much lower and flatter than that of the iron and the shaft of the iron is much higher or more upright than the driver. The clubs need to be swung to take this into account. To achieve the best golf shots from the driver, the club needs to be swung on a flatter angle around you, or swing plane. The iron, on the other hand requires a much more upright swing plane to achieve the best shots from this club. To achieve this difference in the swing, it is vital to set up slightly differently so that your address position will promote these differences when you move the golf clubs around you.

To achieve a more upright swing with your iron, take your stance and place more weight on your left side by keeping your head in line with the ball and keeping your hands forward, or more left of the ball than the club head (for right handed golfers). Placing your weight on your left side and keeping your hands forward will promote you to pick the club head up on your backswing and therefore swing with a more upright plane so that you can attack down more steeply and make a downward striking action with the club head towards the golf ball. The ball should be played from the middle of your stance forward, depending upon which iron you are playing with. Your pitching wedge should be played from the middle of your stance and then the ball should move forward half a ball width for each subsequent iron.

When setting up to play your driver, you should take a slightly wider stance to increase your balance as you swing. As this club is longer, you will create a wider swing arc with the club head and a wider swing arc means that you will swing the club head faster so a wider stance will allow you to maintain your balance with the higher swing speed. Set up with the club head next to the golf ball and then your hands over the crown (top) of the club head. Place your head just to the right of your hands and this will now place slightly more weight on your right side and encourage you to make a more rounded, flatter swing arc with a more sweeping action through the strike. The ball should be positioned opposite the inside of the left heel in a more forward position than for an iron, as placing the ball further down the target line gives you more time to square the club face to the target with the longer shafted club.

The next time you play your iron or driver, work on achieving the set up tips we have just discussed and then swing your golf club and hit your best shots ever!