1. raise your game
ParGolf july 201670
Fault Fixer With Andrew Rogers
Ironing It OutHow to achieve solid and consistent iron shots by mirroring the ideal
impact position in your set-up
Our game is full of failed trends but one thing has never and will
never go out of fashion ... hitting it solid!
Reducing iron lofts and increasing shaft lengths over the years
has resulted in a loss of focus on what’s really important with irons.
The sad reality is that this trend is driven by marketing and not
performance. Catchphrases like ‘hit it 20 yards further!’ and ‘be two
clubs longer!’ are common. But that is not because the clubs are any
better, but rather because the 5-iron is now stamped as a 7-iron!
Tour players don’t talk about how long they hit their irons; they
talk about how well they strike them.
There are two keys to scoring with irons:
• being able strike it reliably enough so you can predict your
distances
• flight the ball high enough so you can maximise carry whilst having
some ability to hold the green.
If you look at every tour player or elite amateur, you’ll see some big
similarities with their impact position:
• chest ‘facing’ the ball
• hands ‘leading’ the strike, creating shaft lean and good downward
pressure into the ball
• weight shifted into lead side.
So how does the mere mortal achieve these hallmarks for
success?
Try this simple approach to simplify your swing and put more
purpose to your set-up.
Think about the ideal impact position and then mirror it with your
set-up. Starting your swing at the position you want to return to
means fewer corrections during the swing, which means less can go
wrong and there will be more consistency.
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Jordan Spieth Prom Meesawat

2. ParGolf july 2016 71
Fitting Tip: Iron length
The key to having a well-configured set of
irons is having the correct shaft lengths.
Too many golfers just go and buy off-the-
shelf clubs with little or no consideration
about the shaft length.
Simply put, the length of the shaft is
the key element of having an effective iron
set. If you’re using irons with the wrong
shaft lengths, you’ll find always struggle
with getting enough distance, controlling
the shape of your shots or generating
consistent height.
If you find yourself having any of the
following problems with your ball striking, a
simple tweak to your length will more than
likely help:
• heavy strikes and/or thin strikes
• heel strikes and/or toe strikes
• inconsistency in any real pattern in your striking, ie all over the place!
• big distance gaps between good and badly struck shots, ie poor distance control.
An experienced club fitter will be able to assist in figuring out the correct length for
you – but if you’re unsure, or suffer from one or all of these issues, try going shorter! The
large majority of players, professionals included, have benefited from shorter shafts
lengths.
The top image shows the impact spot for a set-up that was too long for a player (in
this case a standard-length club). The bottom image shows the impact spot after
shortening the shaft length by half an inch.
The end result, without changing anything else, was an increase in average carry
distance of 6m and – more importantly – significantly tighter dispersion. The player was
able to hit more greens hit and saw his handicap drop by three over four months!
KEY POINTS
• Hands pressed towards to target so the
shaft leans forward and hands are ahead
of the ball.
• Hip pressed towards the target, aiming for
about 60/40 weight balance into the lead
leg.
• Lead shoulder higher than the trailing
shoulder.
• Knees stable and flexed with the glutes
and hamstrings activated and ready.
• From there, focus on keeping the legs
stable and feet planted during the swing.
Australian golf professional Andrew
Rogers is the club-fitting specialist
for Titleist South East Asia.
He did his PGA traineeship at
Indooroopilly Golf Club in Brisbane
under the highly-rated teaching pro
Gary Calder, a former national and
Queensland state coach.
Rogers joined Titleist South East Asia in 2015 and makes
frequent trips to Malaysia for club-fitting sessions and other
fitting-related programmes.
For more information, log on to www.titleist.sea or email
andrew_rogers@acushnetgolf.com.
To make an appointment for a Titleist
advanced fitting session, scan this
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