If you find yourself in a position on the golf course where you can pull out your nine iron to hit an approach shot, you can start thinking about getting the ball close to the pin.
Whether or not you attack the pin on an approach shot with a nine iron should not be decided only by the distance you have left to the hole. If the pin is at the front of the green, which is sloping towards some water, you may think twice about it and play to the centre of the putting surface.
However, when the opportunity presents itself to attack the pin with your nine iron, you want to play a great shot and today we have some tips for getting the best from your nine iron.
The nine iron is considered to be, along with the wedges, the easiest club in the bag to hit but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t practice the shot. When attacking the pin with a nine iron, the first thing you must be aware of is to keep your head over the ball.
You want to generate plenty of back spin on the ball as it leaves the face of the club and to do that you should keep your head over the ball throughout your swing. There is no need to try and swing the club hard when using a nine iron, so focus on the control and keeping your head over the ball and still.
As you are looking for a downward contact when playing a nine iron approach shot, you need to get your hands beyond the ball at impact. This means you must keep your hands moving on the down swing and try as hard as you can to get them in-front of the ball as contact is made.
It may feel a little strange when you try and do this the first couple of times but try and keep your body turning left and this will help to keep your hands in-front of the ball. If this is new to you, try practicing it before your next round and you can even practice at work or home, without hitting a ball.
Finally, do not try and hit the ball as hard as you can with the nine iron.
You are aiming to achieve great control with the shot, not hit the ball as hard and far as you possibly can. You should be swinging with less than full power and concentrating on the two swing elements highlighted above.
If you think you need to hit the nine iron with as much effort as you can muster to reach the hole, change to an eight iron instead and play the shot with a more relaxed swing.
The key to getting the best from your nine iron is control and this will be lost if you are forcing the shot because of the distance.
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