Having your hands positioned properly in relationship to your
shaft and clubhead is a vital ingredient to crisp iron shots
Having your hands positioned properly in relationship to your shaft and clubhead is a vital ingredient to crisp iron shots. The position of your hands is directly related to the position of the ball in your stance.
One rule of thumb with all your iron shots is that your hands need to be in front of the ball. In this position, the shaft is then angled slightly back to the ball. How much of an angle and how far ahead the hands are depends on the club you are hitting. In all cases, the shaft of the club should angle to the inside of your front hip.
With that, the short irons (SW-PW-9-8-7) should be placed in or near the center of the stance, or what I call half position. The mid-irons (6-5-4-3), should be played 1-2 inches forward of that, in what I call two-thirds position. Fairway woods should then be forward of that, in what I call three-quarters position.
It is important to understand that as the ball position moves forward, the angle “softens.” This means, when using a fairway wood, the hands are almost directly over the ball and not in front of it. Keep this in mind the next time you address the ball and crisper fairway shots will be the result.
Don DeLorenzo is a PGA-certified instructor at Gilroy Golf Course. To schedule a lesson with Don, call Gilroy GC at (408) 848-0490.
