This article is intended to give a general outline of how to hit a 6 iron. Whether this is off the fairway or from the tee, the method is the same.
If you are learning to play golf you soon realise that each club needs to be played differently. There are certain golf fundamentals that need to be in place to hit a golf ball correctly, then the golfer needs to be able to play each club in the bag to a competent degree.
I am not a golf teacher and this method of hitting a 6 iron is my own, but is written here in the hope it might help someone’s golf game.
Grip.
The grip is one of those fundamentals I mentioned above. I use my normal overlapping grip to play this club.
Stance.
There is lots of advice about how to stand to the ball, but for the 6 iron I like to have my weight mostly on my heels with my feet a shoulder width apart. I think this is a good rule of thumb for considering how far apart to have the feet at the address position, especially given that we are all physically different from one another, and of differing heights.
In normal weather conditions, I position the ball midway from my right heel at the mid point between my feet. I do this to give myself the best chance of hitting the ball before the turf. Every golfer dreads hitting the ground before the ball.
The Back Swing
Before beginning the backswing, I check that I am lining up the shot to the intended line of flight, with my feet square to the ball. This is the setup for a straight golf shot. When you get good at playing this club you can experiment playing an intentional draw or fade with a six iron. But first, you have to master the basics. I happen to believe that beginners at golf should first get used to playing at least one golf club well, before trying to play them all well at the same time.
I take the club back on the inside swing path and stop when my hands are at shoulder height. By then, my body weight will have shifted, to an extent, to the right leg, and while my left shoulder will be pointing to the ground, the hips will have rotated ninety degrees to the right.
Downswing
The down-swing is initiated by a leftward movement of the hips, and with the wrists still fully cocked until they are at the height of my hips, I then deliberately whip the club through the ball, and then follow through, keeping my head down. This uncoiling of the hips is the power base of the golf shot, and is where the power and accuracy of the shot originates. If you get this right, you will play good golf and you are on the way to a lower golf handicap.