Why Do I Pull My Iron Shots?

Aim check

If you have been asking yourself, why do I pull iron shots, it’s a fairly obvious place to start but you must examine your own alignment. It’s easy to make mistakes here without noticing so lay down some alignment sticks in practice. Make sure that your clubface is pointing at your target and that your feet, hips and shoulders are parallel to your ball to target line.  Get into the habit of doing this is absolutely essential and if you spend any time watching tour players on television you’ll spot the best players are doing it too!

Ball position check

The most common reason for a consistent pull is a poor ball position. I’ve laid seven balls on the ground to illustrate how the golf club works on an arc through impact. This natural arc exists because you are swinging the club around your body and it stands to reason that if the ball is forward in your stance the face will be slightly closed at impact. If your alignment is good, check your ball position – if it is too far forward set it further back in your stance and that should help.

Downswing check

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If your alignment and ball position are both good, the issue will lie within the swing itself. The first port of call would be to make sure you are not throwing the club outside the line at the start of the downswing. This is a common move often caused by too much upper body movement at the start of the downswing and will often result in sliced drives and pulled iron shots explaining why slices and pulls are linked. Place an alignment stick straight into the ground, leaving a space between your hip and the stick of around a hand’s width. Swing to the top as normal. From here, the downswing should be initiated by your left hip bumping into this stick. That will allow the club to drop naturally into a much better delivery position. Work on this simple move, groove it into your swing and you should start to hit much better golf shots. Not only will you stop pull iron shots but you will also fix your slice.

Swing Shape Check

The final checkpoint relates to the shape of your swing through impact. The pull can come from a slightly out-to-in swing path and if, as you strike the ball, the face is square to the path, a pull is the only outcome. To help you visualise the correct shape, fix an alignment stick into the ground so it is on an in-to-out line, pointing slightly to the right of your target. This marks the ideal path of the club through the impact area. That is – the club should be moving from inside the target line to outside. Make some slow swings without hitting a ball but following this path. This is a great drill to help you feel the change you need to make in the swing. Then start hitting shots for real – use the alignment stick to help you visualise and follow the correct swing path. This particular drill will require some time and dedication to work but the more swings and shots you hit, the more likely you are to groove a much more beneficial swing path.