The WEIRD ADJUSTMENT that gets you hitting a DIVOT EVERY TIME with your IRONS

Stop fatting iron shots, strike your irons longer, strike your irons further and strike your irons straighter

Transcript summary:

This is the one simple adjustment you need to make to your ball position to help you take a divot with your irons—and that’s exactly what’s going to help you lower your scores.

Take a look at this shot—a prime example. I’ve got a scoring club in my hand, and we’re aiming to hit the green. Same principle applies on par threes.

Today’s video is inspired by a great question from Timothy Wang on the channel—all about fatting iron shots. I’ve got a simple solution that you can take straight out onto the golf course.

Welcome to a brand-new video.My name’s Alex Elliott. I’m a PGA golf professional and Top 50 World Coach. This channel offers free, simple golf tips five times a week, and I’m here to help you play your best golf.

In my hands, I’ve got my scoring irons: 9-iron, 8-iron, and 7-iron—you could even include the 6-iron depending on your game. When you're using these clubs, the objective is simple: they’re for scoring. You want to get the ball on or as close to the green as possible.

Now, the main thing holding your scores back?You're simply not striking these clubs well enough, and you're making too many costly errors with them.

Think of it this way:If you strike a long iron well—great. But we're not necessarily expected to hit them close every time. With these scoring irons, however, we are.

I'm going to demonstrate this using my 7-iron, one of the longest scoring irons.

Here’s what I see separating great ball strikers from those who lose distance or hit all their irons the same distance—maybe this sounds just like you:

They don’t take a divot.

Good ball strikers will naturally take a divot after the ball. If you’re someone who never takes a divot, this is the fix you need.

I'll prove it to you—from both the fairway and a par three with the ball slightly teed up.

What do good golfers do at impact?They shift weight slightly left, hands are ahead of the ball, and the club travels downward into impact.

So here’s the move I want you to make—a punch shot technique using your scoring irons.It's based on four simple steps, and it’s incredibly effective.

Step 1: Hand Placement

From the player-cam view, notice how my hands are in the middle of the grip. It might feel like the club’s shorter, but that gives you more control. Shortening the shaft helps you find the middle of the clubface more often—and a center strike always travels farther than a heel or toe strike.

Step 2: Ball Position

With a 7-iron, I normally play the ball just ahead of my zip. For this shot, I want you to move it to half a ball behind your zip.This slightly back position helps you hit down on the golf ball.

Step 3: Weight Distribution

Set up with your weight 60% on your left side. That’s going to help you stay on top of the ball and compress it better.

Step 4: Swing Length

I want you to feel like you’re swinging from shoulder height to shoulder height—a controlled, compact motion.Keep your weight left throughout. Practice swings should feel like you're brushing the turf every time. If you’re swaying or transferring too much, that’s when things start to go wrong.

Let’s hit one from the fairway to demonstrate.

• Grip is choked down

• Ball is back in the stance

• Weight is left and stays left

• Compact swing from shoulder to shoulder

Now, I trust this tip so much, we’ve come to the third hole here at Mottram Hall—a par three over water. Still using my 7-iron.

This proves how versatile this shot is. The ball is teed up just a fingertip above the ground, and I’ll go through the exact same routine.

From the player-cam view, you’ll see how having the ball slightly back in your stance naturally gets your hands ahead and weight left, helping you avoid scooping and guaranteeing a downward strike.

Let’s go through the routine again:

• Grip down in the middle

• Ball slightly back

• Weight preset on the left

• Waggle, then go

• Keep the weight left throughout

It’s that easy to produce a solid strike every time.

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