"Everybody can get better on 15 minutes per day."
"You can even get better on 5 minutes per day."
Tom Tucker, Unrenowned Golf Coach
Tom's Featured Tip: Solid Iron Shots
Lesson Comments: What Students Have To Say
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Game of Throws Indoor Simulator
The Divot Board
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The Rypstick
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Club Champion
Buying a sponsored product through any of my affiliate links helps support this free newsletter, and I only affiliate with excellent products that I use myself. Thanks, Tom
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Outdoor Golf lessons are available at The Batavia Country Club. Please call me (Tom Tucker) at 716 474 3005, email me at TomTuckerGolf@gmail.com, or visit my website at http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/lessonrates.html for details.
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Solid Iron Shots
The Best Training Aid For Indoor or Outdoor Practice
The Divot Board
This is the most useful ball striking development training aid that I own.
Solid Iron Shots
For simplicity, all advice on actual swings or drills is provided from a right handed perspective.
One of the requirements for a good golf swing is low point control.
When a good player - or for that matter, any player - comes to me for a solution for fat or thin iron shots, I check for the following problems:
- Weight not far enough forward at impact
- Lack of a properly timed pivot in the downswing transition
- Early release
- Ball position too far forward
It's been my experience that ball position tends to creep forward in the stance to a point where it's hard to hit ball first, ground second, with an iron swing.
The angular downswing arc goes downward and outward, and curves along a swing arc that gets straight and flat for a brief interval, then travels inward and upward.
At the straight and flat portion, the swing reaches its low point and touches the ground after it strikes the ball with a good iron swing.
With a good iron swing, you should strike the ball on the descending portion of your swing arc. This is often referred to as "hitting down on the ball", but I don't normally like to use that term because I don't want my students axe chopping at the ball.
I said "normally" because every so often I do need to tell a student to feel like they are "hitting down on the ball", because that resonates better than the thought of striking the ball on the descending portion of their swing arc.
Here are some drills to work on for solid iron swings.
- Get a
Divot Board. I use mine all the time, it's the most useful training aid that I own.
- If you prefer to not invest in training aids, at the range scratch a line in the ground with a tee, perpendicular to the center of your stance. Place a ball on the line, and practice
hitting the ball then making ground contact in front of the line.
- If that is difficult for you, you may need to feel a "hit down on the ball" mindset with this drill:
- Make a swing with your 8 iron and take a shallow divot.
- Place a ball in the center of the divot.
- Hit balls out of the divot. You can't do that without catching the ball on the descending portion of your swing arc, and you will automatically make ball position adjustments
until you can hit the ball cleanly.
You are training yourself to make good ball strikes without thinking about it, which is the best
method for skill development and skill retention.
- Hit three balls out of a divot, then one ball off the ground.
- Repeat for a large bucket of range balls and you should get a good feel for "ball first" strikes.
- Make a swing with your 8 iron and take a shallow divot.
Email Comments: to TomTuckerGolf@gmail.com
Mike Bennett and Andy Plummer, The Stack and Tilt Swing
Love your practice, own your swing, own your health, and remember that golf is a game of discovery. Dont be afraid to experiment when you practice, it's good for your golfing brain.
Tom
Golf Lessons
I am now conducting lessons at The Batavia Country Club
Lessons are available for all ages and skill levels, please contact
me - Tom Tucker - at (716) 474 3005 or email me at TomTuckerGolf@gmail.com
for more information.
Outdoor Lessons Details and Rates:
Outdoor Lessons Details and Rates
Indoor Lessons Details and Rates:
Indoor Lessons Details and Rates
Testimonials:
http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/testimonials.html
Sponsors and Affiliates
Buying a sponsored product through any of my affiliate links helps support this free newsletter, and I only affiliate with excellent products that I use myself. Thanks, Tom
Batavia Country Club (585) 343-7600 www.bataviacc.com
Great rates, the best greens in WNY.
Golf Digest Four Star rating for public courses to play in New York State.
Tee times online or by phone in season.
FISH FRYS AT BCC and other delicious dinner specials with soup and salad bar - Fridays, 4pm - 9pm
Click here to buy your Divot Board to drastically improve your ball-striking. Combine your Divot Board practice and putting practice with the included putting lesson drills, and watch your scoring improve1.
Use your club or hand to re-set the board after your strike
Click here to buy now for outstanding Ball-Striking practice feedback
BONUS: when you buy through the newsletter link above, you'll also receive free access to my Putting Lesson Videos ($60 value) which cover: The Elevated Aimline Drill, The Squareness Awareness Drill, The Aimline Accuracy Drill, The Stock Putting Stroke Drill, The Barrier Drill, The Short Putt Channel Drill, and more.
Click here to buy your Fiberbuilt Golf Flight Deck Practice Station. (Editor's note: Order through Amazon Prime instead of through the manufacturer's site and you'll save around $100)
If you are looking for the most robust portable hitting station that money can buy, the Fiberbuilt Golf Flight Deck Practice Station fits the bill.
Click here SuperSpeedGolf.com to buy this swing speed training aid and increase your distance off the tee.
SuperSpeedGolf.com Buy now and get to work on increasing your swing speed now.
Club Champion Don't waste another dollar on clubs until you've gone through a fitting at Club Champion, 1669 Pittsford Victor Rd., Suite 400, Victor NY 14564. Call Master Fitter & Builder Jeff St. John. PGA work: (585) 978-8513, cell: (585) 831-2292 to schedule your fitting today1 Mention my name and you'll get special attention.
Train with a Rypstick to improve your swing speed and gain more distance off the tee. If the versatility of three different swing weights in one club appeals to you, this is your swing speed training aid of choice.
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Click here Rypstick.com to buy now, and make sure that you enter TOMTUCKERGOLF (case sensitive) in the Discount code box when you check out to receive a 5% discount.
All the best,
Tom Tucker
Teaching Professional, Batavia Country Club
WGTF ' "Top 100 Golf Teacher"
USGTF Class "A" Teaching Professional
IGPA Certified Golf Psychology Coach
Cell: (716) 474-3005
Email: TomTuckerGolf@gmail.com
http://www.TomTuckerGolf.com
"There are no substitutes in the quest for perfection1"
~ Ben Hogan