IRON CONTROL

BECOME A SHAPE-SHIFTING SHOTMAKER

In his short time on the PGA

Tour, Collin Morikawa has already earned a fearsome reputation for his exceptionally straight ironplay. However, in this instance ‘straight’ is not the most helpful word. As Collin himself explains on the right, he likes to play a fade – a soft left-right shot for the right-handed golfer. He rarely tries to hit his irons straight. Indeed, the concept of trying to hit your irons dead straight doesn’t really stand up to scrutiny. A shot hit straight at the flag can only curve away from it; conversely, when you have some shape to your iron shots, you can start the ball to one side of the pin and work it back towards it. In Collin’s case, he typically sees his iron shots starting slightly left of the flag before fading back on to it. It is probably fair to say that when most club golfers consider trying to shape their shots, they overdo it. Tour pros on the other hand are playing with very soft shapes, the ball pretty much dropping to the right or left. Keep that in mind as you learn from Collin’s own observations opposite… and from the three-step shot-shaping guide overleaf. A subtle shape is all you need. COLLIN SAYS...

I believe one of the key skills to golf is knowing your misses; once you establish and know your typical shot shape, you can allow for it and manage your game. Personally, I like to hit a fade; it comes naturally to me. The shot might not always come off exactly as I’d hoped, but I know I’m not going to miss left, and that breeds confidence.

This said, it is important for me to feel I can move the ball either way when I want to. That’s why I have developed a practice routine where I work it both ways. I begin by hitting wedges, then 8-irons, just soft fades. But then I will move to the 5-iron and hit both draws and fades. This helps me even my action out. I have a habit of picking the club up, instead of turning with a natural body rotation. Hitting draws helps me keep that under control, though I also sometimes hit balls with a glove – attached to a lanyard round my neck – held under my left armpit to keep arms and body connected.

My fade comes naturally; to hit a draw I close my stance, aim my body a little right, set the clubface at the target and swing along my toe line. Simple thoughts have always done it for me, and for draws and fades I like to think about my finishing position...

For draws I finish low, hands almost below the shoulder.

For straight shots I finish around the ear line.

For a normal high cut I almost finish on the top of my head.

Thoughts like this stop me getting too technical and allow me to be creative – an important element of shaping the ball.