2 crispy-contact swing moves that will quickly upgrade your iron game

So many golfers struggle to, quite simply, put the clubface on the ball. They're hitting shots off the heel or they're catching them thin or fat.

It's that range of contact errors that rob you of distance, direction, and overall sanity.

Which is why I genuinly enjoyed the Golf Digest Schools series by Sean Hogan that just dropped. Hogan goes through some different ways to hit the ball solidly from tee-to-green, but I especially enjoyed the full swing stuff (you can watch it all right here, by the way).

If you're struggling with solid contact it's likely a low-point issue. The low point of your swing is either too far behind the ball (causing you to hit chunks) or too far ahead of the ball (causing tops and thins). And as Hogan says, there are two common mistakes that cause those to happen:

1. Get into your left side

Transferring your weight to your trail side on your backswing is great. But by the time they reach the top of their backswing, tour players have already re-centered, as Hogan demonstrates below. Getting your weight into your lead leg, earlier than you think, is key. Lots of recreational golfers hang out on their right side too long, never get back to their left, and hit behind the ball because of it.

2. Ball first, then turf

You can't hit a solid iron shot unless you're making ball-first contact. To do that, you'll need to bring the low point of your swing ahead of the golf ball. One of the ways you can practice this is hitting shots with an ultra-short backswing: Hit the ball, then the ground; it'll create the shaft lean you need for a descending blow, and crispier iron shots.