Rasmus Hojgaard's 6 Invaluable Tips To Improve Ball Striking In Golf
The 2024 Irish Open champion, Rasmus Hojgaard, shares six expert tips to help improve your iron play and boost your ball-striking prowess on the golf course...
Improving your ball striking directly correlates to shooting lower scores, so getting the right tips and advice is crucial to ensuring you can increase your consistency in this key area.
Rasmus Hojgaard is one of the best ball strikers in the game, helping him to secure 5 DP World Tour titles including a famous Irish Open victory to deny home-favourite Rory McIlroy.
In the interest of helping amateurs to play their best golf, we asked Rasmus Hojgaard to share his top ball striking tips – and he did not disappoint with these six expert insights...
1. Set-up To Compress The Golf Ball
You want to have a very natural set-up where you feel like you can move and stay balanced and controlled. The ball position should be pretty central for mid-irons, because you want the low point of the swing just after the ball in order to compress it at impact.
You can move the ball a little further back for wedges to create a steeper attack angle, and a little further forward with long-irons and hybrids to create a slightly shallower attack angle. Setting your hands slightly ahead of the ball so there’s a little forward shaft lean will also help you compress the ball.
2. Swing With A Smooth Tempo
The best ball-strikers have a very nice tempo. They’re not trying to hit it too hard and they keep it very simple. It’s hard to say what the right tempo is because it can be different for different people.
I have to feel like I’m finishing the backswing and giving myself time for the club to naturally fall down. Then, I turn on the ball. A nice way to find good tempo is to hit three-quarter shots focusing on staying connected and engaging your core. Let the body control the shot. You’ll be a much better iron player in the long run if you focus on that.
Get the Golf Monthly Newsletter
Subscribe to the Golf Monthly newsletter to stay up to date with all the latest tour news, equipment news, reviews, head-to-heads and buyer’s guides from our team of experienced experts.
3. Keep Your Arms And Body Connected
It’s important to stay connected so your arms and body move and work as one. As soon as it separates, that’s when the bad timing comes. I like to put a glove or a headcover under my left armpit and make sure it stays there as I swing, so I feel like I’m connected.
That will also make the backswing shorter and help engage your core, which will make you a lot more consistent. You should have a shorter backswing with irons than driver because you don’t need the time to create speed – you want to be more consistent and efficient.
4. Stabilise The Clubface
You have to make sure you rotate through the ball so your upper body finishes facing the target. As soon as you stop rotating and the body slows down, it causes bad strikes and direction.
When you stay connected and your body keeps turning it stabilises the clubface, so you want to use the body as much as possible to have maximum clubface control and consistency at impact.
5. Tweak The Ball Position
If you want to hit a draw, put the ball a little back. If you want to hit a fade, move the ball up a little bit. That changes the club path a touch into impact without you having to change your swing, but remember to tweak your aim and start line to allow for the shot shape.
I like to have the ball a little more forward to neutralise my path because I’ve always been a bit too much from the inside, so don’t be afraid to slightly move the ball to suit your swing and shots. When I hit a draw, I’m maybe swinging at 90 per cent because I want to make sure I’m getting the clubface to release and a little more speed helps with that. For a fade, it’s a bit less because I’m taking distance off.
6. Weight Forward At Impact
You want to have most of your weight in your left foot at impact as your body continues to rotate towards the target. This creates speed and promotes the correct club path through impact.
Focusing on reaching a good, full finish is a simple way to keep your weight moving forward during the swing. I might have a shorter finish position if I want to flight the ball a bit lower, but you always have to keep turning and get your weight forward to create speed and launch it on target.
Barry Plummer is our Staff Writer, joining in January 2024 after seven years as a PE Teacher. He now writes about instruction, working closely with Golf Monthly's Top 50 Coaches to provide hints and tips about all aspects of the game. As someone who came into golf at a later age, Barry is very passionate about supporting the growth of the game and creating opportunities for everyone to access it. A member at Sand Moor Golf Club in Leeds, he looks forward to getting out on the course at least once a week and making up for lost time in the pursuit of a respectable handicap.
Barry is currently playing:
Driver: Ping G425
Hybrid: TaylorMade Stealth 4 Hybrid
Irons: Mizuno JPX 921 4-PW
Wedges: TaylorMade RAC 60, Callaway Jaws MD5 54
Putter: TaylorMade Spider Tour
-
How To Putt On Fast Greens: Expert Tips From A Top PGA Pro
Learning how to putt on fast greens can remove the fear that many golfers feel, improving their ability to hole out more effectively and avoid costly 3-putts...
By Ben Emerson Published
-
What Are The New Training Aids Rory McIlroy Is Using?
Rory McIlroy was spotted on the range at Wentworth earlier this week with some interesting new practice devices. We explain what they are and why he's using them…
By Joe Ferguson Published
-
You Might Not Even Know You Are Doing This... But It's Killing Your Short Game
Allowing this destructive habit to eek into your set-up for chip shots can play havoc with your short game, but PGA pro John Howells has the perfect antidote...
By John Howells Published
-
Solheim Cup Star Nelly Korda's Game Plan For Shooting Lower Scores
Nelly Korda tees it up at the Solheim Cup this week, but what is the secret to her success? Her game plan holds the answers and will help you play better golf
By Barry Plummer Published
-
I'll Never Fear These Diabolically Difficult Golf Shots Again Thanks To 4 Expert Tips
When you get a dodgy lie or an unlucky break around the green it can be easy to rack up a big number... but not if you utilise these four expert short-game tips
By Barry Plummer Published
-
This Bunker Shot Masterclass Changed Everything For Me... I Feel Like A Sand-Saving Machine!
I used to find bunker shots daunting, as finding the sand would often seriously damage my scorecard, but this professional masterclass changed everything...
By Barry Plummer Published
-
Hit It Like Monty With The Hall Of Famer's 5 Favourite Tee-To-Green Tips
With over 50 professional wins, in a career that spans five decades, Colin Montgomerie is a true golf legend – and his expert tips can help you play better golf
By Garrett Johnston Published
-
Surfer Signals To Shadow Spotting... 10 Innovative Iron Play Tips And Drills From An Expert Golf Coach
Sometimes, to get the results you desire, you have to think outside the box. Well, PGA pro John Howells has done exactly that with these expert iron play tips
By John Howells Published
-
This Household Item Can Cure Your Golf Swing And Banish The Shanks...
Golfers are generally pretty resourceful, but have you ever considered using a sponge to improve your golf game? You will after reading these expert tips...
By Tom Motley Published
-
This Is Pure Short Game Sorcery... Expert Tips To Get Up-And-Down From 80-Yards
The 80-yard pitch shot is a tricky skill to master, but with these tips you can transform your short game and add another weapon to your wedge-play arsenal...
By Gary Munro Published