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Eliminate Thin Iron Shots

From Jennifer Hudson, Mark Blackburn On October 22, 2021

Sometimes even the best golfers in the world need a second set of eyes to help them get out of bad swing patterns. That goes for instructors, too, and in this video Titleist staff member Jennifer Hudson... seeks some help from her fellow Titleist instructor and PGA 2020 Teacher of the Year, Mark Blackburn.

Jennifer had been struggling with thin iron shots – a common problem that can gradually creep into anyone's swing. In Jennifer's case, the thins were a result of her hanging back a bit through impact. As Mark explains, when your head stays back and doesn't have the freedom to move a bit towards the target during impact, you have to flip the club at the bottom in order to make contact with the ball.

A more ideal impact condition is to "cover" the ball, where your head moves slightly closer to the target as pressure shifts into your lead leg. This allows you to turn your trail shoulder down and towards the ball. The club shaft leans forward during the strike and your chest feels like it's facing and on top of ("covering") the ball.

To get a feel for this sensation, Mark uses his foot as a barrier in front of the ball and asks Jennifer to envision pinching the ball under his foot (vs. scooping the ball up into the air). Next, he has Jennifer hit a few pinch shots while she swings through to an abbreviated finish. In a few short reps of the drill she begins to hit the ball out of the center of the clubface (vs. the lower-most grooves) and compressing the ball again.

Sometimes even the best golfers in the world need a second set of eyes to help them ... get out of bad swing patterns. That goes for instructors, too, and in this video Titleist staff member Jennifer Hudson seeks some help from her fellow Titleist instructor and PGA 2020 Teacher of the Year, Mark Blackburn.

Jennifer had been struggling with thin iron shots – a common problem that can gradually creep into anyone's swing. In Jennifer's case, the thins were a result of her hanging back a bit through impact. As Mark explains, when your head stays back and doesn't have the freedom to move a bit towards the target during impact, you have to flip the club at the bottom in order to make contact with the ball.

A more ideal impact condition is to "cover" the ball, where your head moves slightly closer to the target as pressure shifts into your lead leg. This allows you to turn your trail shoulder down and towards the ball. The club shaft leans forward during the strike and your chest feels like it's facing and on top of ("covering") the ball.

To get a feel for this sensation, Mark uses his foot as a barrier in front of the ball and asks Jennifer to envision pinching the ball under his foot (vs. scooping the ball up into the air). Next, he has Jennifer hit a few pinch shots while she swings through to an abbreviated finish. In a few short reps of the drill she begins to hit the ball out of the center of the clubface (vs. the lower-most grooves) and compressing the ball again.