Struggling to get any sort of height with your irons is not what you want.
A low ball flight with irons makes getting over trees impossible, it’s harder for the ball to stop on the green, and you lose so much distance.
Hitting the ball higher is the answer to all the above and that’s exactly what you will learn to do by reading this post.
Below you will find out how you can improve your swing to achieve this.
But maybe your swing isn’t the problem, you will also discover what club adjustments you can make to get the ball launching higher.
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Hitting The Golf Ball Higher: Through Swing Tips
Increase Your Speed
If you don’t have the speed needed to fully compress the golf ball at impact, it won’t take off like the rocket you want it to.
The more force you can apply to the ball, the higher and longer it will go. That’s why your half-swing pitch shot doesn’t go as high as a full swing.
Same club + More speed = Higher ball flight.
Swinging fast becomes more important, and you go from your shorter irons to your longer ones. These longer irons have strong lofts, so speed is necessary to get them flying high.
But how can you increase speed?
Well, there are plenty of speed trainers available online, essentially they are golf clubs with heavy weights at the end. You swing them as fast as you can until, eventually, your actual iron feels like a paperweight.
Helping you swing it faster with ease.
Another way to increase your speed is the grip two clubs at the same time and swing hard.
Achieves the same results as above just make sure you don’t let go of one of the clubs while you swing!
Or you could always hit the gym to increase speed…
Follow Through With High Hands
Most golfers don’t pay much attention to their hands after impact, I mean once you hit the ball that’s all that matters…
Not really, and your hands not getting high enough after impact could be the cause of your low ball flight.
Think about it, if you had a shot from the trees and you wanted to keep it low how would you swing?
You’d probably try punching at the ball with little to no follow through and your hands down low.
Restricting your follow through by stopping your hands early will cause the golf ball to not fly as high.
On the other hand if you hit a shot and let your hands follow through above your hip height and beyond the ball with launch higher.
So adding more height could be as simple as staying loose and letting your swing follow through until completion.
Position The Ball Slightly Forward
Adjusting your ball position slightly will result in a higher ball flight. I’ll use an 8-iron for example but the same applies to your other irons and wedges.
For me I like to have my ball position fractionally towards my lead foot with an 8 iron. Maybe half a ball or so depending on the shot I’m trying to hit.
Now if I want to hit it higher I’ll simply move it closer towards my lead foot.
By doing this the club now has a little further to travel before impact which increases the clubhead speed which is needed to get it high.
Also since the clubhead is slightly forward of where it would usually bottom out, the clubface is more open at impact, adding loft.
With the extra speed and additional loft the ball will launch higher in the air.
Use Forward Shaft Lean And Hit Down
I know what you’re thinking, hitting down and leaning the shaft forward in taking loft away from my iron so won’t that make it launch lower?
You wouldn’t be alone in thinking that either as most golfers attempt to help the ball into the air by doing the opposite.
Having some froward shaft lean at impact allows you to compress the ball better. Combine this with some speed and you get a high penetrating ball flight.
Think about it like this. Which tennis ball will bounce higher when being hit into the ground.
The one where the racket is a little under parallel or the one that’s angled down towards the ground when striking the ball?
Option number 2 is the right answer. This is because by hitting the ball down into the ground at a more aggressive angle it’s going to bounce and shoot into the air.
With the first option the ball will skim of the ground resulting in a reduced height.
This is why it’s important to hit down when using your irons for best results. But if you’re trying to hit a driver then you want to change this and hit up on the ball.
Don’t Be Afraid To Tee It Up
When you’re struggling to get height with your irons using a tee whenever possible will help a lot.
Just don’t be trying to tee it up in the fairway!
But when you’re playing a par 3 or short par 4 and using your irons of the tee box, don’t opt to go withoutt a tee just because everyone else is.
Getting the ball a little off the ground can help you make better contact and increase the height of your ball flight without having to worry about implementing any of the above tips.
Hitting The Golf Ball Higher: Through Club Tweaks
Use Irons With Higher Lofts
Most modern irons today come standard with stronger lofts than irons had years ago.
Basically a lot of the time a modern 7 irons loft could be the same loft that used to belong to a 6 or 5 iron.
This is an attempt from manufactures to sell more distance so when you swap from your old set to modern one you instantly notice a difference.
So doing a little research to ensure the irons your using are not strongly lofted should help you hit the ball higher without changing your swing.
You can either search up the lofts of your irons online or ask someone at your local golf or club fitting stores.
Use Chunky Irons…
So chunky irons are game improvement irons, or even some muscle back irons can, at times, appear chunky. The reason I call the chunky is because they have larger heads with more mass at the soles of the irons and more offset.
This additional weight and how it’s distributed around the clubhead is to help golfers pop the ball up into the air easier.
Mass moves mass.
Think about it, this is why a 4 iron is harder to hit than a hybrid for most golfers. Hybrids have more weight behind the clubface which makes them easier to hit and requires less speed.
Making them perfect for golfers with slow swing speeds or who just want a little more forgiveness.
The same principle applies to game improvement irons.
Use A Softer Shaft Flex
If you feel like you’re hitting your irons pure or even close to pure but the ball is barely staying off the ground, it’ probably a shaft issue.
One of the telltale signs the shafts you’re using is too stiff for you is a low ball flight.
When you don’t have the speed needed to make a stiffer shaft to flex properly throughout the swing you’ll be hitting low flyers all day.
By simply swapping to a less stiff steel or graphite shaft automatically, the ball will begin launching higher.
So there you go it’s not always your swing and sometimes it is actually the clubs fault!
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