THE IRONS
Tips from Tiger Woods - Part V
Excerpts from the book How I Play Golf by Tiger Woods
07/01/2002
Whenever I get an iron in my hands, my first instinct is to be
aggressive. The irons are the true offensive weapons in golf.
I always feel a surge of excitement just pulling an iron from the bag,
because that's were the process of making birdies really begins. If you're
capable of hitting the ball close to the hole, you're capable of shooting
low scores.
The basic equation
From a scientific standpoint, golf is a game of opposites. I think that's
what makes it such a hard game for some people. A lot of the things that
occur when the club strikes the ball are just the opposite of what your
instincts tell you should happen.
The best example falls in the area of iron play. In order to get the ball
airborne, you must hit down on it. Countless golfers try to help get the
ball in the air by swinging up on the ball. That makes it go down – a
topped shot, or a thin one at best.
Hitting down not only gets the ball in the air, it imparts backspin and
enables the ball to fly true.
A primer on ball position
The golf club travels in a circular path during the swing, with the lowest
point of the circle occurring directly below your sternum. To make the
clubhead contact the ball while it's still moving downward (before it
reaches the bottom of the circle), you need to position the ball correctly
in relation to your body.
• The driver: The ball is placed opposite my left heel. The clubhead
will be moving level to slightly upward when it contacts the ball. The
driver is the only club you want to hit slightly on the upswing.
• The 5-iron: The ball is positioned slightly forward of center at
address. Nevertheless, I still can hit down on the ball because my body
moves forward laterally on the downswing, which moves the bottom point
of the swing closer to the target.
• The pitching wedge: I want to hit down a bit more sharply on the ball
with my wedges. Therefore, I play the ball dead in the center of my
stance. I have less lateral body movement on my short irons because the
swing is shorter, so I don't want to position the ball forward of center.
Keep your chin up
Good posture is important on every shot. At address I make sure my back is
fairly straight and that I have a bit of flex in my knees. My body is now
prepared to move freely in any direction during the swing.
One of the most important aspects of good posture is to hold your chin
high at address. You want your chin well off your chest so your left
shoulder has plenty of room to turn under your chin on the backswing.
Think 'wide' on backswing
The proper backswing is a combination of horizontal and vertical movement.
Most amateurs err on the vertical side – they start the swing by lifting
the arms straight up and cocking the wrists immediately. Because the
backswing is too vertical, the downswing is too vertical as well. The
tendency is to chop down on the ball instead of swinging through it
smoothly.
Don't forget the "horizontal" part of the backswing. That means
establishing a nice, wide swing arc as soon as you move the club back.
I have the feeling of stretching my hands and arms away from my body
early in the backswing, my wrists beginning to cock naturally after the
clubhead reaches about knee height. That helps me accumulate power and
also ensures that my downswing won't be too steep.
While I believe in a nice, wide backswing, I don't like one that is too
loose. I don't want my arms running away from my upper body.
That would lead to a "fake backswing" – the club reaching parallel, but
only due to excessive wrist cocking or the arms swinging back too far.
That leads to a weak downswing in which you slap at the ball with your
hands and arms alone.
I try to swing the club back with everything – hips, shoulders, arms and
hands – working together. When I turn my shoulders fully, they
accommodate the swinging of my arms to create a strong, unified package
at the top of the backswing.
Start down slow
When good players talk about "getting too quick," they're almost always
talking about the first move down from the top of the backswing. The
beginning of the downswing can't be rushed. You want your swing to gather
speed gradually.
If you start down suddenly, all your speed and power are gone by the
time you reach impact. Your timing and mechanics are shot, too.
Remember, there can only be one fast moment in the swing, and it had
better be when the club strikes the ball.
Down and through
One of the keys to good ball striking is to hit through the ball, not at
it. In my mind, the ball is merely an object that is in the way of the
clubhead as it tears through the hitting area. I don't try to end my swing
abruptly after the ball is struck. I try to keep the clubhead accelerating
down the target line as long as I comfortably can.
A sweet finish
The look of my follow-through serves as sort of a road map for what
happened earlier in my swing. My arms are extended, showing that my swing
was real wide, with good extension through the ball. My shoulders have
unwound, showing that my swing was predicated on a full shoulder turn.
The toe of the club points straight down, proving that I didn't rotate
the club excessively with my hands through impact. For it to arrive at
this position, I had to release the club naturally.
Finishing thoughts
One of the secrets to good iron play is keeping things simple. The number
of situations I encounter may be endless, but the same sound, no-frills
swing is sufficient to deal with almost all of them.
Here are the keys to hitting the irons solidly and consistently:
• The longer the iron, the farther forward I position the ball in my
stance.
• I sweep the longer irons, hit down on the rest. I trust the club's
loft to get the ball airborne.
• My backswing with the irons is shorter than with the woods.
• To promote good timing, I start down slowly from the top of the
backswing.
• The clubhead strikes the ball first, the turf last. I don't begin to
take a divot until the ball has left the clubface.
• I swing within myself. On standard shots, I never expend more than 80
percent of my effort.
• The worse my lie, the farther back I position my ball in my stance.
• I always tee my ball on par 3s. You want every edge you can get.
• The perfect divot is the same size and shape as a dollar bill.
From the book How I Play Golf by Tiger Woods with the editors
of Golf Digest. Text copyright 2001 by ETW Corp. Reprinted by
permission of Warner Books, Inc, New York. All rights reserved.
Distributed by New York Times Special Features.
Building blocks
to mental toughness
A player can become mentally tougher by learning from his experiences –
both positive and negative. Rallying to win three consecutive U.S. Juniors
and as many U.S. Amateurs taught me the value of a never-give-up attitude.
Take ownership of your mistakes. Every shot is your responsibility. When
I drive it into the junk like I did on the last hole at Dubai in 2001, I
can't blame anyone but myself.
Never make the same mistake twice. It took two visits to the tributary
at Augusta National's 12th hole to convince me never to be short of that
green again. Both times the wind got me – but the wind is always a
factor there.
Never beat yourself up; there are plenty of people who'll do it for you.
I'm my own worst critic, but I will never do anything to undermine my
confidence. Nor will I be influenced by anyone's criticism of me. You
must be tough enough mentally to handle all potential distractions.
