How To Hit Short Irons

The secret of golf is to turn three shots into two. – Bobby Jones

This quote from Bobby sums up golf perfectly. Often you focus on dropping a bunch of strokes of your scorecard.

But they only come off one at a time.

Hitting your short irons better can do just this easily. Most amateurs will take 4 shots on average hitting into the green with an iron.

Usually it results in a missed green, chip on, followed by a two putt.

The biggest difference between scratch golfers is that only takes them 3 shots on average.

Professionals will hit 80% of greens from 115 yards and 63% from 150 yards.

Amateurs will only hit 45% from 115 yards and 38% from 150 yards.

Getting consistent from these distances is the big game-changer.

In this post, you will learn how to hit your short irons better and how your divots can be the best golf coach you’ll ever have.

Hitting Short Irons Checklist:

Find Out Where Your Misses Are

Getting better with your short irons doesn’t rely solely on improving swing mechanics. 

You can improve your short irons by noting where you’re most likely to miss when playing. 

Doing this lets you better understand and select shots on the golf course that will keep your golf ball on the green or out of trouble.

For example, you notice that your most common miss is the right of your target line. 

With this information, you can play the safer option when attacking the green. 

Imagine the pin location is on the right side of the green. 

You will be tempted to attack the pin, but when your miss comes into play, you’re no longer putting but chipping.

However, knowing your miss is right, you can aim for the middle of the green, which should secure a putt on your next shot.

You Want A Steeper Attack Angle

Shorter irons require a steeper attack angle than longer irons, woods, or driver.

With these clubs, you will hit more consistent shots with a steeper attack angle. 

The higher the loft is on the golf club, the more aggressive you can get with your attack angle.

Steeper attack angles can help pop the ball into the air, which will help your golf ball stick on the green easier.

One of the most frustrating misses with short irons is when you skull, thin, or blade the golf ball. 

(Followed by the ball flying over the back of the green and wondering what the point of life is.)

One of the reasons this happens with shorter irons is a shallower attack angle. 

Shallow attack angles are perfect for longer irons, but not so much for shorter clubs.

Don’t go crazy with this, you’re trying to hit a golf ball not make room for a new fairway bunker.

Work On Your Ball Position

As you know, the ball position in your stance will change depending on the club you’re hitting. 

When hitting your short irons, you want the ball in the middle of your stance. 

By doing this, you will be able to hit down on the ball and have better success in hitting the ball consistently.

Of course, you can play the ball farther up in your stance to hit it higher or back in your stance to keep the flight down. 

That said, you shouldn’t make things too complicated and focus on improving your ball striking first.

Make Sure Your Stance Is Correct

Generally, it would help if you placed your feet shoulder-width apart, but some golfers prefer an even narrower stance than this, especially when they get down to their wedges.

The only way to find out which works best for you is to go to the driving range, hit some golf balls, and note which stance you had the most success with.

Also, you should be standing closer to the golf ball than you would with your longer irons.

You Don’t Need To Smash The Golf Ball

When it comes to short irons and wedges, you shouldn’t be concerned about how fast you can swing it or how far it goes. 

These clubs are for accuracy and attacking the pin.

After all, nobody cares if you hit a 9-iron 170 yards if it’s nowhere near the green or if you hit it OB off the tee box.

I was guilty of this as a teenager, honestly if I missed the green completely bu somehow managed to hit my pitching wedge 170 yards I’d be happy.

It was only when I eased of the spinach and swung easier that I began to score regularly.

One way to improve your accuracy and consistency is to ease off the gas and swing at about 70%-80% of your usual swing speed.

By reducing your speed, you will make controlling the clubhead and your body easier, which will lead to more consistent shots.

More consistent shots mean more greens. 

So you must ask yourself, do you want to hit more greens or the ball farther than your buddies?

Don’t Grip Your Irons Too Tight

You don’t need a super tight grip with shorter irons or wedges. 

These clubs don’t require a breakneck swing speed, making them relatively easy to hang onto.

Gripping too hard with these shorter clubs is not what you want, it will tense you up, restrict your swing, and cause bad shots. 

Ideally, you want a firm grip that doesn’t restrict you in any way.

Many golfers swear by the use of softer hands to land softer on the greens. Don’t worry, you won’t need to buy hand lotion. Just ease up on the grip a little.

Shift Your Weight Forward

Shifting your weight correctly throughout your swing is essential to become a good ball striker.

Most golfers have no problem twisting and unwinding, but they forget to shift their weight or shift too late. 

The best ball strikers in the world usually wait for their backswing to just about reach the top, and then they begin shifting their weight onto their front foot. 

They then begin their downswing and unravel their hips. This creates lag needed for more power and cleaner ball strikes when done correctly.

Let The Loft Do The Work

Okay, golfers make a mess of hitting their short irons in one of two ways: they try to help the golf ball into the air or compress their short irons too much.

Short irons have high lofts, which will naturally send the ball into orbit and hopefully land on the green. 

However, golfers sometimes feel like they need to make adjustments to get the ball airborne.

They may feel like leaning back during their downswing will help, or if they dig into the ground, it will help. 

It’s more likely that you will mess up your shot by doing this. 

Just let the club’s loft do the work, and if you need more height, choose a different club.

Similarly, amateur golfers will want to push the limits of their 9-iron to hit it as far as the professionals or their buddies.

To do this, they will compress their short irons, which de-loft the club. 

A little compression is needed for crisp iron shots, but when you overdo it, you can turn a 9-iron into a 7-iron.

This makes no sense because you won’t benefit from the additional height that will help the golf ball stick to the putting green, and if you wanted to hit a 7-iron, just hit your 7-iron!

How To Hit Short Irons In Different Weather Conditions

Knowing how to hit your short irons in perfect conditions is one thing, but being able to hit them in every kind of weather is another.

It’s what separates the sports elite from the weekend hackers. What works in the rain or windy won’t always work when it’s dry.

Below you will find out how you can master each of the different climates and save yourself a few shots on the scorecard.

Hitting Short Irons In Windy Conditions

Windy conditions are going to be a nightmare for your short irons or wedges if you don’t know how to play them.

These clubs fire the ball high into the sky leaving them the most vulnerable to wind, meaning the ball is more likely to be dragged of course, pickup and even lose distance.

You must consider these things before you hit your shot.

When the wind is blowing from left to right you will have to aim further left than you would usually when playing for the wind with your longer irons or hybrids.

If the wind is at your back then you would be better off hitting a ¾ swing or clubbing down as a strong wind will add distance.

Lastly if you’re playing into the wind you will have to club up or take your medicine and take out a long iron to keep it under the wind. 

Hitting Short Irons In Wet Conditions

Hitting short irons on a soft golf course can be challenging as the ball or club interact with the soil differently.

Starting with your strike. It becomes even more important to catch the ball and then the soil when it’s wet. By default short irons dig into the ground more than other clubs.

So if you catch it even a little fat in the wet it’s going to dig in much further than it would in dry conditions when you may even get away with some fat contact.

Something I try to do in especially wet conditions is trying to hit the ball without taking a divot when possible. 

By doing this I can eliminate the possibilty of catching fat shots and blowing up holes.

The only other thing you need to focus on in the wet is that the ball is going to stick to the green instantly. 

So when you’re hitting approach or pitch shots you can afford to get more aggressive and attack the pin.

How Your Divots Can Help Improve Your Irons

Check How Deep Your Divots Are

When your divots are deep, you have a steep attacking angle to the golf ball, which produces a lot of spin. 

Tones of spin are excellent if you can control them, but if you can’t, then you might get the occasional significant fade or draw.

Alternatively, if you notice that you didn’t take much of a divot or no divot, it means you have a shallow attack angle to the ball.

What is the perfect depth for your divots?

There is none, it depends entirely on the club you are using. You will look for shallow divots when you hit long irons, middle irons, hybrid, or wood.

You are looking for deeper divots when you have a shorter iron, pitching wedge, sand wedge etc…

So, if you’re trying to improve your short iron play and notice that you don’t take a divot or are digging up more turf than you are supposed to, you now know that your golf swing is too shallow or too deep.

Shorter irons are the clubs with the higher numbers on them.

Deep divots look great when they fly through the air, but if you bite off more than your club can chew, you could injure yourself.

Check What Direction Your Divots Are Going In

Ever take a shot, and it shoots off way right of the target, and you’re not sure what you did wrong? 

If you pay attention to your divots, you can find the answer.

To see what went wrong, look at your divot, stand behind it, and see what direction it’s pointed towards. 

If your shot went right and your divot pointed right, then your swing path caused the issue. 

When a divot points exactly, it means your swing path went from in to out, and if it points left, it’s out to in.

This may have happened if your body got ahead of your hips on the downswing, which can cause you to pull the ball to the left. 

Likewise, if your lower body turns faster than your upper body, it can cause you to push the ball.

Ideally, you want to come through in sync.

Lastly, if your divot is pointed toward the target, but the ball still goes left or right, you have a clubface problem.

When it goes right, it means your clubface was open at impact; if it goes left, it was closed at impact.

Check To See If They Are Consistent

Now that you know what the depth and direction of your divots mean, you must check to see if they are consistent.

Throughout a round of golf, if you notice that your divots are similar, then at least you know you have a consistent swing.

Which makes your problem easier to fix. 

For example, if you notice that most of your short iron’s divots are shallow and point to the right, you must work on a deeper attack angle or correct your swing path.

You can learn a lot from just a little bit of dirt. Just remember to clean out your grooves when you’re done to make your irons last longer!

Don’t miss our latest post, which goes in-depth on what the best irons are for beginners and what to look for when you’re buying a new set.