Breaking 90: Test Your Iron Game

By Darrell Kestner with Pete McDaniel Photos by Stephen Szurlej

May 26, 2009

Move your divot forward

To get down in the 80s, focus on making solid contact with your irons. Accomplish that by making a downward strike, with your weight moving to your front foot at impact (left). You want the bottom of your swing arc in front of the ball.One way to check the bottom of your swing is to hit irons off a tee and assess your divots. If your weight is forward, your body is turning open and your arm triangle is intact, the divot will come after impact.

Divot test

A descending blow compresses the ball and cuts a divot on the forward side of the ball. All good iron players produce this kind of impact. A divot that starts behind the ball is a sure sign of a thin or fat shot.

Stay connected for consistency

Your arms and body should work in harmony to keep the club in position. Try this drill. Place a tee under each armpit and make swings holding the tees in place. This will prevent you from lifting on the backswing. Coming down, it will keep your body from outracing your arms. How? When the lower body races ahead, the arms get "stuck" behind the body and then swing to an upright finish -- and the tees fall out (near left). If the tees stay (middle), you're in sync.

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Breaking 90: Test Your Iron Game

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Move your divot forward

Divot test

Stay connected for consistency

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