Johnny Miller on Hitting Solid Irons (Video)

Sorry this one's late, folks. The weather took out our cable service last night.

This video tip from Johnny Miller is a simple one -- in fact, you can do it as a drill -- that should help you hit crisper iron shots.



This idea of getting your lead shoulder (Johnny says left because he's a righty -- it's the right shoulder for you lefties!) back to where it was at setup is a simple one, but it can be misleading if you don't think it through.

Many players mistakenly try to do what Johnny says BUT they do it by pushing their lead shoulder TOO FAR FORWARD on the downswing. That will cause problems. You don't want to lean TOWARD the target at impact. Rather, you just want to get your shoulder back to your setup position.

Pay close attention to Johnny's demonstrations in the video. You'll note that in his practice swings his left shoulder is directly above his left foot at the finish, but in his actual swings it isn't quite over his left foot. That's because his upper body is rotating more during the actual swing.

When hitting an iron, this will help you hit down slightly on the ball. You'll "trap" it against the ground and get more spin -- hence, a more solid shot.

Johnny's tip is intended to prevent a reverse pivot, where you lean away from the ball during your backswing and hang back on your trailing foot during the downswing. Depending on your swing tendencies, from that position you'll either hit a push-slice or a duck-hook.

One last thought: Note that Johnny says this can help "a little" with the driver. Under normal circumstances, you want to stay behind the ball at impact with a driver so you can hit up on the ball. (That's why it's teed up, after all, and why you set up with your head a bit more behind the ball. Your lead shoulder will set up AND finish a bit farther behind the ball on a drive than it does with an iron shot.) But if you have a problem with a reverse pivot, this drill can help. And it can also help in a headwind, where you want your tee ball to fly a bit lower. In that case, you'll also want to tee the ball lower.