Browsing: Pure

When your ball settles deep in the rough, it’s easy to feel like there’s no good way to make solid contact. You swing harder, but the club still seems to grab and twist in the grass.

According to GOLFTEC’s Josh Troyer, that’s because the problem isn’t a lack of swing speed — it has to do with your angle of attack.

“Players with steeper angles of attack tend to handle the rough better,” Troyer says. “It allows the club to come down on the ball more directly, instead of skimming through the grass too early.”

That concept closely ties to something Troyer (and all GOLFTEC teachers) harp on daily: hip sway. This is the manner in which your hips move toward the target during the downswing. Most skilled players shift their hips about six and a half inches toward the target from the top of the backswing to the finish, which helps control two key things:

1. Low point — where the club meets the ground.
2. Swing direction — the path the club travels through impact.

“Good players move their hips enough toward the target so they can hit the ground in the right spot and on the correct path,” Troyer explains. “Bad golfers either don’t move forward enough, or they stay too far back. That’s when the club path gets out of whack — too far in-to-out or too steep and down.”

Here’s where it gets interesting: golfers who move their hips too far toward the target often produce an in-to-out path that’s too extreme, leading to a shallow angle of attack. That’s the kind of swing that sweeps across the turf rather than driving through it — and it’s a killer in thick grass.

“When you start hitting out of thicker rough, it becomes really hard to get clean contact with a shallow attack angle,” Troyer says. “You see a lot of players who hit big draws really struggle from the rough because their club gets too close to the ground too early — the grass grabs it, and they can’t get through to the ball.”

That’s why Tour players often talk about trying to hit fades or cuts when they’re in gnarly lies. Those shot shapes naturally promote a steeper angle of attack — exactly what you want when you need to chop the ball out cleanly.

“They might not even know why it works,” Troyer says. “But when you hit a fade, your club’s coming down a little steeper. It’s easier to get through the grass and make solid contact.”

So next time your ball buries in the rough, don’t just swing harder. Adjust your setup and your thought process: aim slightly left, feel like you’re hitting a soft cut and let the club descend a bit more steeply. You’ll catch the ball cleaner — and give yourself a much better chance at hitting a pure iron onto the green.

If you want to get some expert insights into your swing, book a swing evaluation with GOLFTEC below.

Hitting your long irons pure on a consistent basis is a challenge for most recreational golfers. Sure, they may catch one solid a couple of times per round, but sprinkled in there are chunks and thins that are unplayable. I know that’s been the case in my own game at certain points in my golf career.

If that sounds like you, just know you’re not alone. When you stick a long iron in the average player’s hand, they typically have very little shot of hitting one stiff. It can be a disheartening feeling, but with a few key swing tweaks, you can exhibit improvement.

In the text below, GOLFTEC‘s Director of Teaching Quality Josh Troyer shares five swing keys you can focus on to improve your strike with long irons. Put them to use, and you’ll quickly see improvement.

5 keys for pure long irons

Long irons — the 4, 5 and even 6 iron — can be some of the most satisfying clubs to strike cleanly, but for many amateur golfers, they’re also the most frustrating. While hybrids and higher-lofted woods are excellent alternatives for players who struggle with launch and consistency, and club fitting can absolutely make a difference, the real key to mastering long irons lies in your swing fundamentals.

1. Ball position forward

The first step to success with long irons is putting the ball in the right place. A ball too far back in your stance encourages a steep angle of attack and path too far to the right, while if it’s too far forward you’ll be too shallow and to the left.

According to Troyer, you should place the ball just inside the lead foot’s instep — slightly forward of center, but not as far forward as a driver. This position promotes a slightly downward strike, helping you compress the ball while still launching it high.

2. Widen your stance

You should also be mindful of the width of your stance when hitting a long iron. With longer clubs, you need a slightly wider stance to maintain balance and create the proper swing arc.

With a long iron, this means widening your stance by about an inch more than you would with a 7 or 8 iron. This stabilizes your lower body and accommodates the longer swing arc without sacrificing control.

3. Smooth tempo and balance

When golfers struggle to get the ball in the air with their long irons, they’ll tend to force the issue and try to swing even harder. And while this can be effective for generating clubhead speed, it often comes at the cost of a center strike.

Instead of swinging harder, try focusing on a smooth tempo that will allow you to find the center of the clubface. If you do that, you’ll find that it’s much easier to not only get the ball up in the air, but also send the ball in the direction you want it to go.

4. Maintain your posture

Another symptom that arises when golfers struggle to get the ball in the air is that they’ll lose their posture as they come through impact. They do this because they’re trying to get underneath the ball and “scoop” it in the air. This rarely works out.

Instead of dipping back to help the ball in the air, focus on maintaining your posture and keeping your weight moving forward. This encourages solid contact and ensures you’re delivering the club with the right angle and loft, which in turn will launch the ball in the air.

5. Trust your club

Modern club technology is a wonderful thing — but you’ve got to trust the club to do its job if you want to get the most out of it.

“You don’t have to create height by manipulating your body to get the trajectory that you want,” Troyer says.

Don’t lean back or flip the wrists at impact to add loft. Let the correct setup, solid contact and club technology do the work for you. If you trust all of these factors and make a solid pass at the ball, you’ll be amazed at how much better your ball striking becomes with your long irons.

If you want to get some expert insights into your swing — and learn how to properly sway your hips — book a swing evaluation with GOLFTEC below.

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