Neat iron drill

[swingpure]

I had my final lesson down here today. It was an hour and a half lesson to help me with my fairway woods, but we started off hitting irons and immediately he had me doing what he called one of "Hogan's" drills.

I would strike the ball with my right thumb and right little finger off of the club. The purpose or the drill is to improve ball striking with the pressure of the right trigger finger being constant into impact and it promotes a hands forward ball striking.

I actually had no problem with the drill and right from the first ball had solid strikes.

It is a good drill to do at the start of any warm up season.

We went on to do other things with my fairway woods that are particular to my swing.

One last thing, now practicing at a really good range, I realize the value of a good hitting surface and in particular good targets. In the past I have looked for the closest or sometimes the cheapest place to hit balls, but the better value is finding one with good targets and a good surface to hit from.

[rtto5588]

Re: Neat iron drill

I unconsciously do this drill. When I first started golf, I used to grip too hard and get blisters on my right hand thumb. After some internet reading, I realized the right thumb is pretty much useless in the swing, so I started to hit all my clubs with the thumb off the shaft. Didn't know this was a drill.

[vijay]

Re: Neat iron drill

I had my final lesson down here today. It was an hour and a half lesson to help me with my fairway woods, but we started off hitting irons and immediately he had me doing what he called one of "Hogan's" drills.

I would strike the ball with my right thumb and right little finger off of the club. The purpose or the drill is to improve ball striking with the pressure of the right trigger finger being constant into impact and it promotes a hands forward ball striking.

I actually had no problem with the drill and right from the first ball had solid strikes.

It is a good drill to do at the start of any warm up season.

We went on to do other things with my fairway woods that are particular to my swing.

One last thing, now practicing at a really good range, I realize the value of a good hitting surface and in particular good targets. In the past I have looked for the closest or sometimes the cheapest place to hit balls, but the better value is finding one with good targets and a good surface to hit from.

This is an excellent drill. Hogan said in his book that the right thumb and forefinger are important in other aspects of your life, but can hurt you golf swing (I am paraphrasing). It also helps reduce the domination of the right hand in the golf swing.

[Rod Morningwood]

Re: Neat iron drill

Two great tips

I suffer from an overactive right hand (Damn you Lee Trevino!!!)
Hogan's tip helps. You might also want to try Furyk's double-overlap grip if your right hand has a mind of its own. It really takes it out of the equation.

Couldn't agree more on hitting surface.
I hit a couple buckets 2 or 3 times a week on a good surface over the winter with no problems. A single bucket on a Green Lane mat had my wrists aching all day afterward. Had I not been tuned up from the winter I'd surely have a serious injury from that.

RM

[Quest]

Re: Neat iron drill

In the past I have looked for the closest or sometimes the cheapest place to hit balls, but the better value is finding one with good targets and a good surface to hit from.

This is so true. While I think that Deer Creek is a great practice facility they lack targets on the driving range. Why not place yardage markers every 25 yards to assist with grooving your distance control?

[sunnyball]

Re: Neat iron drill

Nice Drill thanks for sharing.

[longenstrate]

Re: Neat iron drill

This is an excellent drill. Hogan said in his book that the right thumb and forefinger are important in other aspects of your life, but can hurt you golf swing (I am paraphrasing). It also helps reduce the domination of the right hand in the golf swing.

And the problem with a dominant right hand would be? One of the needs to be dominant - the other can go for the ride.

[golf nut]

Re: Neat iron drill

This is a good wood drill

[vijay]

Re: Neat iron drill

And the problem with a dominant right hand would be? One of the needs to be dominant - the other can go for the ride.

well, mid and high handicappers don't have Hogan's swing that would allow them to say, " i wish i had 4 right hands!"

dominant right hand causes most high handicappers to "throw" their right hand out in the downswing and results an over the top swing.

[Shadow]

Re: Neat iron drill

well, mid and high handicappers don't have Hogan's swing that would allow them to say, " i wish i had 4 right hands!"

dominant right hand causes most high handicappers to "throw" their right hand out in the downswing and results an over the top swing.

I wonder if anyone's ever considered that the problem may not be right hand dominance, but the right shoulder moving out instead of down at the transition?

"I draw blood with my left; my right's wet spaghetti." Moe Norman

[longenstrate]

Re: Neat iron drill

well, mid and high handicappers don't have Hogan's swing that would allow them to say, " i wish i had 4 right hands!"

dominant right hand causes most high handicappers to "throw" their right hand out in the downswing and results an over the top swing.

Is that not a suggestion they believe they will get more from their body by aggressively coming out of their backswing position with a rotation first concept vs maintaining angles (lag) to be used later
An educated player with a correct use of a right hand won't curse the right hand, but rather will love it

[vijay]

Re: Neat iron drill

Is that not a suggestion they believe they will get more from their body by aggressively coming out of their backswing position with a rotation first concept vs maintaining angles (lag) to be used later
An educated player with a correct use of a right hand won't curse the right hand, but rather will love it

Educated is the key work here. But if you do not know how to use you right hand correctly, it can do more damage than good.

"Gripping the club with the the right thumb and forefinger off shaft helps the golfer to accustom himself to the feeling of strong, correct grip in which both hands work together as one unit" - Ben Hogan

"On a full shot you want to hit the ball as hard as you can with your right hand. But this is only half the story. If you hit hard with only the right and let the left go to sleep, you will not only lose valuable power, you will run into aall the errors that result when the right hand overpowers the left. YOU MUST HIT AS HARD WITH THE LEFT AS WITH THE RIGHT." - Ben Hogan