The secret to going flag-hunting with a knockdown iron swing

Using the same club to hit different distances is the calling card of a player. Once you get good at it, there’s absolutely no reason you can’t snuggle an iron close.

Most rec players assume that taking off yards from a certain club is a matter of controlling the length of your backswing. My advice is to keep your backswing the same. Why complicate things? The trick is to combine your everyday backswing with a different type of finish, depending on how far you need to hit the ball.

Use 20 minutes at the range to get the right feels. Start with, say, a 7-iron. Make your normal backswing, but, instead of swinging to a full finish, stop your motion at about 90 percent complete (below right). That’ll give you about, well, 90 percent of your total distance.

Now try one where you stop the club just as you feel it re-hinge in your follow-through (middle). Notice that this gives you about 75 percent of your full yardage — and a much lower ball flight.

Then, swing and stop the club as soon as the shaft reaches parallel to the ground (left). That’s about 50 percent and results in a penetrating flight that cheats the wind and gives you the shot-stopping spin you only see on Tour. 

Eric Johnson is a GOLF Top 100 Teacher who teaches at Yellowstone Club in Big Sky, Mont., and The Turn Club in Cranberry, Pa.