Ernie Els is without question one of the game's best ball strikers of all time. You don't win four Major Championships without being a very strong iron player, but the South African was particularly good in this department - as clean a ball-striker as you could ever wish to see.
Although we're all capable of striking one out of the middle, it's the consistency that most amateur golfers lack. However, there are ways of improving your ball striking and producing cleaner strikes on a more regular basis.
In this article, Golf Monthly Top 50 Coach Katie Dawkins demonstrates one of the drills 'The Big Easy' would regularly work on to ensure that his iron play never dipped below excellent.
HOW TO STRIKE YOUR IRONS LIKE ERNIE ELS
There are lots of very good ball striking drills out there, but this has to be one of my favorites. The fact Ernie Els practices this drill has a lot to do with it, and he's been a pretty fine iron player, right?
It's a simple drill to demonstrate (see below). Set-up as you would normally for a mid iron (I'm using a 7-iron). The only difference - and the significance of this will become clear - is that you need to tee the ball up (quite high) opposite the inside of your lead foot.
I'm not going to say it's easy, because it's not. A lot of golfers I teach, when they first try this, end up topping the golf ball. Don't quit if you do - you have to persevere.
In fact, it doesn't hurt to top a few, because now you're going to improve your understanding of why that happens.
I'm sure we've all seen the position below. Swaying and scooping are really common faults, but this drill can really help you appreciate how the body needs to work in order to strike the ball cleanly.
If you don't get through the ball as you're supposed to, you are going to top it. Start off with half swings using a 7-iron. Then, build up your speed.
Once you go back to hitting 'normal' iron shots (standard set-up), I promise you'll notice a difference. I'm not saying you'll strike it like Ernie straight away, but you'll certainly have a better idea of how you need to get through the ball.
As I say to a lot of my students, this is a golf swing and not a hit. A lot of recreational golfers focus solely on the ball and almost whack the handbrake on at impact.
I think the main reason this drill is so effective is because it brings all the important aspects of the iron swing together. So, go and try it.
