How to hit a draw with an iron

A question frequently asked by many amateur golfers, particularly those who’ve never broken 90, is… how to hit a draw with an iron?

For the low handicap golfer, it’s not a difficult proposition, since they already do many things right with their golf swing.

Most amateur golfers, however, hit slices, and are unable to hit a draw.  The inability to hit a draw is what keeps many golfers from becoming low handicappers.

I could offer a myriad of golf tips for you to try.  But, there are some things you must understand first before you run out and try any tip.

First up, you need to understand the ball flight laws.

Based upon the ball flight laws, to hit a draw, you must be able to attack the golf ball with a swing path from inside to out.

In other words, if you are a right handed golfer, your swing path just before impact with the golf ball, must be from inside the ball, and not outside.

Take note of the diagram above.

When you are standing beside the golf ball, you are swinging on a path that has an arc.

Right at impact, if your swing path is square to your target, and the club is square to the target, you will hit a straight shot.

Most people attack the ball from an outside/in path, as seen in the middle diagram.  To hit a draw, your path must be inside/out.

However, we aren’t quite finished.

As I mentioned, to hit a draw, you must attack the golf ball from an inside/out swing path.  However, if your clubface at impact is aimed further right than your swing path, you will still hit a fade or a slight…it’ll just be a push fade or push slice.

In order to make the ball curve back to the left, the club face must be slightly closed to the swing patch.  That is what will impart hook spin.

The more closed the club face compared to the swing path, the more the ball will hook.

Swing Plane

The hard part is developing a golf swing that will allow you to draw the ball on command.  You must develop a golf swing that is on a swing plane that allows you to draw the ball.

Most amateur golfers try pulling the golf club to the inside on their takeaway in order to try and draw the ball.

The problem then becomes that the body over compensates… a far inside takeaway often leads to an over the top golf swing… one that attacks the ball from outside/in.

The result is a bigger slice than before.

One reason that many golfers attack the ball from outside/in is that they do not have a proper kinematic swing sequence.

Where many golfers get out of whack is in the transition… they begin the downswing with their upper body, rather than with an unwinding of the hips.

Therefore, it is necessary to practice the proper golf swing sequence as much as possible…preferably without a golf club, in order to make the necessary changes.

Now, back to the swing plane.

Most amateur golfers have what we call a steep swing plane.  They attack the golf ball from an angle that is too steep, and it usually means they are attacking the ball from outside/in as well.  Note the image below.

A steep swing plane makes it more difficult to release the club properly through impact, which is necessary to hit a draw.

Many golfers have a steep swing because at some point, someone told them they need to “hit down on the ball” to create some backspin, or for some other reason.

A flatter swing plane makes it much more easy to release the club.

How to hit a draw with an iron

In order to hit a draw with an iron, you are going to need to do some analysis of your game.

If most of your iron shots start out left of the target and finish off to the right (assuming you are a right hander), then you need to flatten your swing plane a bit and/or work on proper sequencing.

If most of your iron shots start to the right and curve more to the right, then you are already attacking the ball from an inside out swing path.

At this point, you should analyze your grip to see if it is too weak as in the photo below.  If that is the case, just strengthening your grip will allow you to hit a draw as you’ll be able to release the club more easily.  So, if you are a right hander, just turn both hands more to the right on the club.

If you already have decent fundamentals, but you struggle to hit a draw with your irons, consider setting up with the ball a little further back in your stance.  This will put the ball in a position where your swing path is inside/out, and allow you to hit a draw.

For a pretty quick fix, check out this video by Hank Haney.  I’ve seen this work very quickly to help a slicer hit a draw.

The issue is that, in the long run, they revert back to their old ways.  You need to drill the proper swing sequence over and over in order to allow the muscle memory to kick in over the long run.

Final Thoughts

There is no one size fits all answer to the question of how to hit a draw with an iron.  The prescription for each individual golfer is going to be different.

Even physical issues can come into play, so it makes no sense to try a basic tip if your body won’t allow you to execute.

The best advice I can give to any golfer is to get their swing analyzed by a competent professional who uses video.  Once you see your swing on video, you’ll have a much greater understanding of your strengths and weaknesses.

The key is to fix your critical ball flight error first, then move on to more minor issues.

It’s a process.  Now get to work!