UNDER THE BAR

Pipe lagging can be used to improve your iron ballstriking.

If you don’t have any lying around, pick some up from the DIY store

1 Lean Machines

Compare the tour pro at address and impact and the club is in a very different position. At set-up it’s in a neutral position, as they show the maker’s loft to the ball; but by impact the shaft leans forward, the handle further ahead of the clubface. This progression creates a very crisp, squeezing iron strike. Use some pipe lagging to help develop a similar move.

2   Create an H

Push two alignment sticks into the ground, a 7-iron’s length apart. Cut off a piece of lagging a little longer than a 7-iron, and push it down through the uprights, positioned just above halfway. Focus on the zone below the lagging and between the posts. This is your target area. Take four or five steps back from the canes, and set up with a 7-iron.

3   Going under

Your goal is to drive your shots between the canes and under the lagging. To do this, play the ball further back in your stance, perhaps even just back of centre and, with the handle slightly ahead of the face, work on a delivery that increases the relationship through impact. Keep the ball under the bar and you’ll hone a more compressing, powerful strike.