The Differences Between Hitting A Wood Or An Iron

There is a tremendous variation in the golf swing when hitting a ball off the ground or one well elevated on a tee.  The differences come from stance, ball position and the type of golf club being used.

Stance and Ball Position: The shorter the club, the narrower the stance and the longer the club, the wider the stance.  The shorter the club, the ball will be placed in the center of the stance and the longer the club the ball will be placed more forward in the stance.  Most players hit a driver opposite the left heel.

Type of Club Being Used: Irons are made with either a straight hosel (no offset) or with an offset hosel.  In either case your hands or the grip end of the iron should be slightly in front of the leading edge of the club.  Most woods are made with what is called face progression meaning that the face of the wood is actually in front of the shaft, therefore the face of the wood is slightly in front of your hands.  These characteristics of irons and woods create the variation in ball position.  Due to this setup with an iron, we want the hands to lead the club head into the shot and to hit “down” on the ball.  This means that we hit the ball first and the ground or divot after impact.  This hitting down on the ball is what lifts the ball off the ground and imparts spin on the ball.  Top players are de-lofting the club when hitting an iron.  The feeling is that we pinch the ball against the turf.  With the driver, when the ball is teed well up, the desired path is slightly upward on the ball.  This will launch the ball into the air for maximum distance.  Even with a driver, the hands still lead the club head into impact.