Successful Iron Play

The true secret of successful golf is accurate iron play. A man cannot be a really first class player unless he is more or less a master of all manner of iron clubs. Deadly accurate approaching will make up for many defects in other parts of the game, and, in consequence, it is the iron clubs above any other with which a player should practice. It is necessary for a player to be a complete master of every class of iron shot and to have intimate knowledge of the correct way of playing them, but it is absolutely necessary for a player who is anxious to attain any great measure of success to have a good command of his iron clubs.

This means that he should be able to regulate the swing of the club much as he pleases. Now there are two natural shots with an iron club; one is with a full, free swing, hitting the ball much as one would hit it with driver or wood; the other is the short, jerky type of approach shot that is played with a comparatively stiff wrist and forearm.

The novice, if presented with an approach to play, will employ either one or other of these methods; they are the natural strokes with an iron club. There are many other forms of iron shots, however, which are the result of development, the strokes which lie in between the full shot and the stiff wristed approach; they are the key to successful approaching and are also the most difficult strokes in the game thoroughly to master. They represent the secret of being able to control the club on the upward swing to any length the player may wish.

It does not come natural to any golfer to play these half and three-quarter swing iron shots; they are the result of after development and many amateur players rise to prominence without ever mastering them in any way. Yet when they come to really serious competitions their lack of such knowledge invariably proves their undoing. To be a successful first class player, a man must have a comprehensive knowledge of the correct manner in which to play these half and three-quarter strokes.