The Mental Drill That Will Transform Your Ball Striking - And The Training Aid You Really Should Try

Golf ball striking drills and SAMI training aid.

There are a number of frustrating shots in this game, shots that we all struggle with from time to time. However, nothing quite saps the confidence when you struggle to hit one single good iron shot.

At times, you'd do anything to find the center of the clubface, even if it meant you missed the green. What can drive us to despair is when we fat and thin our irons shots. Suddenly, it can feel like we don't know how to swing a club at all.

Fear not. In this article, Golf Monthly Top 50 Coach Alistair Davies offers some fantastic tips for better iron play. When you know how to hit an iron properly it'll make a huge difference, both in terms of your confidence and how you score.

BALL STRIKING DRILLS

1. Mental drill (hands)

If the club reaches the ball before the hands – a fault I see with a lot of amateurs – the loft of the club is going to be increased, which leads to a high, weak ball flight. Also, there’s more chance you’ll catch the ball heavy, or thin. To compress the ball and produce that penetrating flight, the hands should be slightly in front of the ball at impact. You’re looking to produce a descending blow into the ball with your irons.

So, this is more of a mental or conceptual drill where I like to get my students aiming the hands at an area past the ball (see below), rather than at the ball itself. By doing so you’ll accelerate longer and prevent the right hand from overtaking and flipping. You’ll also get that ball-turf contact as well, with the divot coming after contact.

I like to get my students aiming the hands at an area past the ball, rather than focusing on the ball itself (Image credit: Tom Miles)

2. Trail side drill

The position below might appear like an odd one to get into, but what I’m looking to demonstrate is the trail side staying flexed into impact. Don’t worry, it’s known as a ‘dry drill’, so there’s no hitting the ball from here.

By adopting this position, the trail shoulder gets closer to the ball line so you don’t hang back and produce a heavy contact. It also helps you get that shaft lean, so it increases the angle of attack. After a few repetitions, you should develop these critical feels for a purer strike.

Try working on getting into this position to help you learn where good, clean ball striking comes from (Image credit: Tom Miles)

3. Clubface control drill

Now for one of my favorite and best golf training aids. The Tour Striker S.A.M.I. can be used in a number of ways. In this drill, it helps to give us the right angle of attack, control the wrists through impact and prevent the arms from collapsing.

Attach the S.A.M.I. around the top of the shaft and clip it to your shirt sleeve (see below). Hit some shots; your hands should be ahead of the string at impact with a slight forward shaft lean.

If you’re flapping at the golf ball the lanyard will make much more noise; we want it to be relatively quiet. Start with some shorter shots and build it up. You should develop a much smoother rotation of the body and arms through the ball.

I recommend investing in a Tour Striker S.A.M.I golf training aid (Image credit: Tom Miles)

FAQS

What is the right angle of attack for an iron?

You still need a downward attack angle, striking ball first then turf, to get the ball up in the air.

What should my ball position be for a long iron shot?

For a standard long iron shot, the golf ball should be positioned just forward of center in your stance. This will encourage the that ball-then-turf downward strike that you're looking for.