Irons: Compress the BallPractice at Home Irons Beginner / Intermediate ⏱ 11 min 🇬🇧 Video in English, summarized

Practicing Golf at Home Without a Simulator: 3 Exercises

Name: Practicing Golf at Home Without a Simulator: 3 Exercises
Uploaded: 2024-01-13T12:00:00+00:00
Duration: 11 min 6 s
Channel: Bryson DeChambeau
Description: It's cold out, and all you have is a mat and a net? Bryson DeChambeau suggests three exercises that require nothing more than masking tape and two tees, with a simple way to track your progress: how many times in a row you can do them successfully.

It's cold out, and all you have is a mat and a net? Bryson DeChambeau suggests three exercises that require nothing more than masking tape and two tees, with a simple way to track your progress: how many times in a row you can do them successfully.

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Bryson DeChambeau · his YouTube channelFree lesson selected by Fred P.

To be continued

16 minNext Level UpHow Rory McIlroy Hits His Irons: Technique and AimRory McIlroy · Intermediate 4 minSame problemThree Tips from Sergio Garcia on Irons: Stay CenteredSergio Garcia · Beginner / Intermediate 4 minFrom the same proSingle-Length Irons: Why Bryson DeChambeau Uses ThemBryson DeChambeau · Intermediate

What the lesson shows

First exercise, the contact: Stick a strip of tape on the mat, perpendicular to the line of play, and place the ball just in front of it. With the 60° wedge, the goal is to barely graze the front edge of the tape and then hit the artificial turf. If you scrape the tape, or if your shot is too light and misses everything, you’ll have to take another shot right away. Second exercise: the centering: two tees placed on either side of the clubhead—one near the heel and one near the toe—at a slight angle, like Tiger Woods’ putting drill. If you hit a tee, you didn’t strike the ball in the center.

Third exercise, the most difficult: the starting line. A ribbon stretched across the net, aligned with the ball's path, shows whether the ball goes to the left or right of the target, and helps players work on their fade and draw shots. For DeChambeau, everything is measured in a string of successful seasons: Five in a row on the first hole, and you’re on your way to a 10; ten to twelve, and you’re close to a scratch score; a tour player can string together about twenty. “It’s not the quality of your good shots that counts, but that of your bad ones.”

The Exercise, Step by Step

Stick a strip of tape on the mat, perpendicular to the baseline.
Place the ball just in front of the target and hit a wedge shot that just grazes the front edge of the ribbon.
Replace the ribbon if it breaks, and keep track of your consecutive successes.
Place two tees on either side of the clubhead, angled so that the club can pass between them, and swing without hitting them.
Switch to a medium iron and take a full swing with the same tees.
Stretch a ribbon across the net in line with the ball's path and watch where each ball goes.
To hit a fade, open your clubface, swing along the line of your feet, and aim the ball to the left of the flag.

Key Takeaways

Materials: a mat, a net, masking tape, and two tees.

Tape on the mat: ball first, contact just past the line.

Two tees at the heel and toe to check the alignment.

Tape on the net to mark the starting line.

Measure consecutive winning streaks, not a single win.

Guidelines: 5 in a row toward index 10, 10 to 12 toward scratch.

Mistakes to Avoid

Being satisfied with having succeeded just once.
Reattach a ribbon that has come loose at an angle.
Placing the tees too close to the clubhead.
Aim for the center of the net even when the ball isn't on its axis.
Move on to the third exercise before you have mastered the contact.

Driving Range Mode

Keep it in plain sight, on the rug.

Winning Streak: Aiming for Five Consecutive Clean Wins
Two tees: five, then ten straight hits down the middle
Tape on the net: straight shots, followed by intentional shots to the left or right
Restart the series from the beginning at the first failure

Your Questions

Where should the ball be placed in relation to the ribbon?

Right in front, on the target side. The goal is to barely graze the front edge of the ribbon and land on the artificial turf afterward: a fat shot will rip it off, while a delicate shot won’t even touch it.

How do you set up the two tees for the centering exercise?

On either side of the clubhead—on the heel side and the toe side—they are slightly angled and far enough apart that a centered shot will pass between them without touching them. Hitting toward the toe causes the tee to fall on the heel side.

How many successes in a row should you aim for?

DeChambeau offers some benchmarks: five in a row, and you're on your way to a 10 handicap; ten to twelve, and you're approaching scratch; a tour player can string together about twenty without a miss.

How can you practice your starting line without a simulator?

With a ribbon stretched across the net along the ball's flight path, it shows whether the ball is going to the left or right of the line and helps you practice hitting a fade or a draw in the right spot.

Learn More

All “Irons - Compressing the Ball” videos →Find the lesson that's right for you All “Workout at Home” videos →Find the lesson that's right for you Rory McIlroy's Draw and Fade: It's All in the SetupRory doesn't rely on hand position at impact: he creates draws and fades through his alignment, with the clubface slightly closed or open relative to the fairway. Tiger Woods Long Irons Workshop: Rory and SchefflerTiger asks Rory and Scheffler about three pin positions with a right-to-left wind: hitting the cut against the wind, a high or low shot, and then shots from the rough. How Rory McIlroy Hits His Irons: Technique and AimRory contrasts irons and driver: more tilted, ball toward the middle, he covers the ball with his chest and aims at the widest side of the green. Bryson DeChambeauAll of his lessons

Video posted on YouTube by its creator (Bryson DeChambeau). Best Golf Tips selects and summarizes the best free lessons, without hosting them.