Being able to hit many different shots with the same club is the hallmark of a good golfer.
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Using the same club to hit different distances is a player’s calling card. Once you’re good at it, there’s absolutely no reason you can’t embrace an iron nearby.
Most rec players assume this removing yards from a particular club it’s a matter of controlling the length of your backswing. My advice is to keep the same backtracking. Why complicate things? The trick is to combine your daily swing with a different type of finish, depending on how far you need to hit the ball.
Use 20 minutes in intervals to get the feel. Start with, say, a 7-iron. Do your normal backswing, but instead of moving to a full finish, stop your movement at about 90 percent complete (bottom right). This will give you about 90 percent of your total distance.
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Now try one where you stop the club just as you feel it re-hang on your follow through (in the middle). Note that this gives you about 75 percent of your full range—and a much lower ball flight.
Then, swing and stop the club once the shaft reaches parallel to the ground (left). That’s about 50 percent and results in a penetrating flight that cheats the wind and gives you the stop spin you only see on Tour.
Eric Johnson is one GOLF Top 100 Teachers who teaches at the Yellowstone Club in Big Sky, Mont., and The Turn Club in Cranberry, Pa.
