Hank Haney on How to Hit a Solid Iron Every Time | Chipping & Pitching Tips | Golf Digest

Hank Haney, Tiger Woods' coach and pro golf instructor, has chipping and pitching tips for you. With the irons, shift your hips and lead with your hands for great ball-turf contact.

Transcript
Here, teachers use two phrases.
Flipping at the ball, and compressing the ball.
Here's what they're talkin' about.
Amateur golfers who struggle, tend
to flip their hands through the shot,
meaning the lead hand, their left hand,
in my case, collapses.
This causes the club to swing up through the ball,
and will cause thin shots and weak shots
because you're adding loft to the shot.
When you're compressing the ball,
what you're doing is, you're turning
the back of your hand, your lead hand, down.
And that allows the club head to lag behind the handle.
This gives you a little bit of a downward strike.
And it also de-lofts the golf club slightly.
That will give you more hit, more power.
So by compressing the ball, with the proper release,
you're gonna get ball turf contact
and a much stronger hit.
So the back of the left hand, instead of hitting this way,
on the collapse, I'm trying to turn my hand down.
So I turn the knuckles of my left
hand down through the shot.
And if I turn my hand down, I'm gonna get
the ball, and then the turf.
And that's where you get the solid, powerful hits.


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Hank Haney on How to Hit a Solid Iron Every Time | Chipping & Pitching Tips | Golf Digest

[alanlee]

Hank is describing one of many schools of thought on how to hit irons solidly. I personally like to get my swing plane kind of shallow and then release fully through the ball but again, there's a million ways to do it. It's true that you can play a punch all the time (like he's doing in the video) and get pretty good but you also have to learn to hit the ball high.

[jabrooonni]

It always looks and sounds easy, until you try it on the course.

[BigEd]

Thanks a lot Hank this is great. What are you doing tomorrow? Sarah and the kids wanna go to brunch

[tomdallas]

Hank has aged a ton in the past 11 years. Wow.

[Ramakrishna]

On U tube other PGA teachers say exactly opposite. Not to deloft the club and don't hit down. Who's right?

[fcusen]

Having a slight descending angle of attack and deflofting the club reduces the spinloft. .

[billyburroo]

deloft the club more hit more power just what you need in a chip and pitch shot

[xlfutur]

just think a flat left wrist and and hands in front of the ball at impact and that will do it

[abro]

So much going on at impact. Weight shift, temp, swing plane...its more than just turning down the wrist.

[Inmotion]

Ugh...this isn't compression. Compression comes from low spin loft, not from a descending angle of attack.

[jungfraujoch]

This is an incorrect title, it's about full shots surely

[TheOnlyEliteSniper]

Is that how you also answer teachers when you don't understand them?

[wgb]

Mostly correct, except the hands move UP just before contact.

[ryansilver]

why did I sing the title "Hit it solid every time" Like Britney Spears' "Hit me baby one more time"?

[jonnymo]

Film yourself. Then compare to hank. Watch hank at 0.75 speed.

[ralfneuhaus]

Nur Werbungsgerede ohne echte Hilfe ….

[flippinsweet]

You dont need this information if you swing correctly, leading with your hips with relaxed arms/wrists will result in a downward blow every time. You shouldnt be forcing your hands to do anything, they will do it themselves

[ilovegolfer]

He made commendifferenciate us lpga asian golfers. I dont think he should be in the golf industry.

[otomotom]

Just another superficial tips or lesson. 😴😴😴

[tingfact]

Haney mechanized Tigers natural ability which led to injuries. He should not call himself a coach.