Martin Hall on Hitting Your Irons Higher (Video)

This could be a useful video for many of you. This is Martin's Extra Credit video from last week on how to hit your irons higher. It focuses, of course, on mid-irons because short irons usually have enough loft for anybody to get height on those shots.



Note that Martin says the first thing you should do is consider a hybrid. While Martin mentions this in reference to mid-irons like your 4- and 5-irons, it is possible to get hybrids for some of your shorter irons as well. But if you're having problems getting height with your short irons, it's probably due to your technique.

Note also that Martin is clearly talking about shots off the turf. If the ball is on a tee, it's pretty easy to hit up on it and get as much height as you need, so bear in mind that these tips are to help you hit the ball off the turf.

And Martin has two tips to help improve your technique.

• Make sure you're looking at the back of the ball. Martin suggests setting the ball so the clubface will contact the logo.

Don't underestimate the power of this tip alone. Just as you tend to steer your car in the direction you're looking -- which is why you don't want to rubberneck at accidents -- you'll tend to hit the ball on the spot where you're focused. If you're looking at the back of the ball, you'll tend to stay more behind the ball, which means the face of the club should contact the back of the ball, and that should help you get the full loft of the club into play.

• Practice swinging your trailing shoulder under your chin in order to contact the ball further forward in your swing. That should also help you get more of the full loft of the club into play.

Martin's "swing under your lead arm" drill is intended to help you get the feel of this move. If you don't have someone to help you with this -- as Martin does with Blair in the video -- you may be able to use your driver or a chair as a hand rest for your lead hand.

An interesting aspect of this drill is that -- as many useful drills do -- it helps your footwork so you shift your weight to your lead foot, and that helps you get a fuller finish with your shoulders.

Hitting the ball higher increases the chance that you will hit behind the ball, so you'll need to practice this shot. But this isn't a shot where you try to swing out of your shoes. As long as you try to remain relaxed while you swing, you should be able to get good contact -- and some pretty good height -- with your mid-irons.

And if you decide to use hybrids, it should help you hit them more crisply as well.