Driver Swing vs Iron Swing: the main differences and drills for both

Ever wondered what the main differences are when it comes to a driver swing and an iron swing? Check out this fantastic video by Danny Maude, Head PGA Professional at Canterbury Golf Club. 

Danny's video below highlights the importance of striking upwards with your driver, and downwards with your irons. He also has some great drills to help you with both of these swings... 

DRIVER SWING

1. With the ball teed up in the air, all we have to do is hit the ball up on the ball. With a driver, there is very little loft on a driver, so when we swing, we swing in a way that hits up on the ball to get it up in the air. 

2. In the setup, we position the ball inside our left heel, and we get the handle of the club just behind the ball. We want our head just behind the handle. When we do this, the right shoulder is a little lower than the left. The stance should be quite wide, too. From this position, with the body behind the golf ball, the low point of the arc allows us to hit up on the shot. We do not want to be over the golf ball, which is slightly different to when hitting an iron. 

BEST DRILL FOR AN UPWARD STRIKE WITH YOUR DRIVER

With the ball position inside the left heel and the position of our body behind the ball, stick a tee peg at full height about six to eight inches in front of the ball. If you are a downward striker then you will take that tee peg out the ground with your swing. With this drill, we want to avoid hitting that tee peg on the way through. This drill will help you feel the motion that is required to ensure you hit up on the ball with your driver. 

IRON SWING

1. We want a descending blow into the golf ball with an iron, so we want to hit down on the ball. This can sometimes confuse a lot of people, but we want the ball to roll up the face of the iron, produce the backspin and get it up in the air. 

2. In the setup, we want the ball in the centre of the stance, unlike where you have the ball inside the left heel with a driver. We want to catch the ball on the downward bit of the pendulum in the swing so the handle is ahead of the ball to encourage a downward strike. We want a fairly narrow stance and the sternum directly over the ball because we do not want to be hitting up on the ball.  

BEST DRILL FOR A DOWNWARD STRIKE WITH AN IRON 

Get an old towel and stick it on the ground behind the golf ball. This will encourage a downward strike. Swing the club but try to avoid the towel on the way down. This will give you immediate feedback on your strike. 

NOW WATCH: HOW TO STRIKE YOUR IRONS PURE EVERY TIME

For more great golf tips, please visit dannymaude.com