You're Correct!

If you are looking to improve your golf shots, especially with your irons, then leaning the shaft forward is a great way to help you become much more consistent to get a downward strike on to the ball, that will give you a much more consistent connection and increase the distance that you can hit the ball, as well as improve your accuracy.

At set up, set your feet shoulder width apart. Play with the correct ball position so if it is a shorter iron, play the ball from the middle of your stance. If it is a longer iron you are playing, position the ball about an inch or so inside the left heel, if you are a right handed golfer. Your medium irons are played from a position between the two points.

Once you are into your set up position, with the correct golf ball position and your feet shoulder width apart, you then want to tilt forward from your hips, maintaining a really straight back and take up your posture. As you hold your golf club, make sure you have got a forward lean in the golf shaft. This means that the club head is on the right hand side of the ball as you are looking at it and that the handle of the club is on the left hand side of the ball, so it is closer to the target. The one thing you want to work on here, is to create a straight line from your left shoulder, all the way down your left arm, through the shaft and to the club head. If you have the shaft leaning towards your left side, you will be able to create the straight line down your left arm and through the club and that gets the shaft leaning forward. As you swing through your golf shot and you return with that forward leaning position of the shaft through impact, then the club head will strike down on to the ball and will take the ball cleanly and crisply and then strike the ground after it has struck the ball.

A good way to work on making sure you have this forward lean at impact with your irons is by using an impact bag. If you have an impact bag, make sure you have filled it with old duvets, jumpers or towels. Use something soft that is going to bulk the bag out so that as you strike it, it will not cause you any harm. Do not fill the bag with sand. It will bulk the bag out, but it will not give enough when you strike it and you will start to get injuries if you do it repetitively.

Place the impact bag opposite your left foot. Take up your stance and set your hands forward so the shaft is leaning forward and the handle of the shaft is more left of the ball, with the club head to the right of the ball. You are not using a ball in this situation, it is just for where the position would be. Now take your back swing and work on making a really good shoulder turn. Then as you swing back down, make sure that you hit the bag with the shaft leaning forward so the club head is not the first part of the golf club to strike the bag. You should be striking the bag with the shaft a few inches above the club head, so that your hands are well over the bag before you make impact with it. This will now have you striking the bag, holding this position, so you can see how your hands are forward and to the left of the club head, which has got the shaft leaning forward.

Work on doing this drill with an impact bag and you will start hitting much crisper golf shots.

Golfers often feel more comfortable leaning the shaft backwards as this is an instinctive reaction to help the ball fly higher. This, however, can be responsible for creating poor contacts.

Leaning the shaft backwards through impact will produce a mis-hit golf shot.

You will either strike the ground before the ball, or you will catch the ball on your up swing and strike the top of the golf ball. Both of these actions will produce a golf shot that travels low and not very far.