Russell Knox: Find the sweetspot with your irons
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Let Russell Knox teach you the four keys to being consistent with your iron shots and have more chance to hit that sweet spot everytime
Russell Knox is a two-time PGA Tour winner and currently sits inside the World’s Top 50 on the OWGR – but what is his secret to hitting consistent iron shots.
From focusing on keeping his balance to letting his arms lead his body through the backswing, Russell has four keys to hitting the sweet spot with your irons.
Let Your Arms Take Their Natural Position
I let my arms hang from my body. You’ll notice my hands are fairly close to my thighs, which just comes naturally to me when I grab the club. If I were to put them more away from body – something a lot of today’s players do to create width and therefore power in their swing – it would add tension to my hands and arms. Don’t force an uncomfortable position unless you have to make a significant change to fix a fault.
Arms Lead The Body To Complete The Backswing
I start the takeaway with my forearms and hands and let the body follow. To start the swing I focus on a rhythmic, smooth tempo and making a nice turn on the way back. I’m a bit more ‘handsy’ than some but that allows my shoulders to get perpendicular to my spine without over-rotating my hips. At the top I almost have a little pause – that’s when I know I’ve completed the backswing and it’s time to let the body uncoil.
Compress The Ball Out Of The Middle Of The Clubface
My goal is to get back to my start position, but with my hands forward at impact so I’m trapping and compressing the ball. When I start down, I let it happen naturally with the body and feel like the club is dropping back into position. It’s a difficult feeling to achieve but when you get it, it’s pretty easy to hit good shots. All I’m focusing on is striking the ball in the middle of the clubface and letting the club release through.
Stay Balanced And Controlled Through Your Entire Swing
This significantly increases your chances of making good contact and hitting a good shot. You can from the nish if a swing has good balance, but you need to have the balance from your address position all the way through your action. I hit balls with my eyes closed to work on my balance. You’ll know really quickly where your swing and balance is and you’re in great shape if you can hit a 7-iron with eyes closed.
