Approach Shots

Improve Your Iron Consistency with One of Butch Harmon's Favorite Drills

August 01, 2019
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If you want your irons to fly with that nice, high trajectory you see from good players, Butch Harmon says you have to learn how to shift your weight back and through the ball. A proper weight shift will help you hit down on the ball, which is far more effective in creating good, consistent contact than trying to help the ball in the air. In our 5-lesson video series, The Butch Harmon Swing Clinic, Harmon, ranked the No. 1 golf instructor in America by his peers on Golf Digest's 50 Best Teachers in America list, shared one of his favorite drills to teach you how to get into the right positions.

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To do the ‘pump’ drill, address the ball, take it back to the top, start your downswing and then pause when you get about halfway down. Then take the club back up to the top, then halfway down again, then back up. After you’ve done two ‘pumps’, swing down, through, and hit the ball.

Harmon likes this drill because the rehearsal shows your body what it should be doing right before you actually hit the ball. Learning the correct motion will help get rid of bad motions, like throwing the club at the ball, casting it into impact.

When doing this drill, do the full-body turn Harmon is demonstrating. This move will have you coming into impact with a steeper angle of attack and allow you to hit down on the ball. Drilling in this correct position will help you achieve solid contact and better distance and accuracy swing after swing.

There are more drills and tips in each of the five lessons in The Butch Harmon Swing Clinic, which cover the long game from driver down through the irons. Harmon’s instruction is focused on simplifying your approach to the swing to help you achieve a comfortable, consistent movement that’ll produce good shots swing after swing. He also focuses on teaching you the right way to practice, to keep you on track.