Fault fixes: Thinning irons
I can’t tell you the number of times I crash a drive into perfect position in the fairway and then thin my iron right through the back of the green.
100-yards, 150-yards…It doesn’t matter. It runs for miles, sails past the putting surface and leaves me struggling for par.
Hitting more greens in regulation would help my handicap tumble so I’ve dropped in at The Shack to see if The Pro can find a solution.
Stuck out on the left
He quickly identifies the issue. I’m left handed but play golf conventionally. It does mean, though, that my left hand is dominant through the swing and I can come across the ball.
That means my weight stays a little bit on the back foot and there is no compression when the club face meets the ball.
The drill
The Pro asks me to really press on the left hand side at set up and lean into the ball. He then wants my right hand working harder through the swing.
He asks me to try and hit the ball as far left as possible, while planting my weight on the front foot.
I’d always felt my weight was even throughout my stance but The Pro pointed out that what I felt, and what I did, were actually two different things.
In fact, I was slipping into a lazy position on the right hand side and planting merely equalled the weight.
The results now were that I was hitting an iron with a much crisper strike, compressing rather than scooping the golf ball.
When I am practising, The Pro advised I use a mirror to check my set up points.
Key points
1 – Make sure weight is planted better
2 – Move through the ball
Steve Carroll
A journalist for 25 years, Steve has been immersed in club golf for almost as long. A former club captain, he has passed the Level 3 Rules of Golf exam with distinction having attended the R&A's prestigious Tournament Administrators and Referees Seminar.
Steve has officiated at a host of high-profile tournaments, including Open Regional Qualifying, PGA Fourball Championship, English Men's Senior Amateur, and the North of England Amateur Championship. In 2023, he made his international debut as part of the team that refereed England vs Switzerland U16 girls.
A part of NCG's Top 100s panel, Steve has a particular love of links golf and is frantically trying to restore his single-figure handicap. He currently floats at around 11.
Steve plays at Close House, in Newcastle, and York GC, where he is a member of the club's matches and competitions committee and referees the annual 36-hole scratch York Rose Bowl.
Having studied history at Newcastle University, he became a journalist having passed his NTCJ exams at Darlington College of Technology.
What's in Steve's bag: TaylorMade Stealth 2 driver, 3-wood, and hybrids; TaylorMade Stealth 2 irons; TaylorMade Hi-Toe, Ping ChipR, Sik Putter.
