Tiger Woods’ career needs no introduction but it’s worth noting that people like Hank Haney played a crucial role in the 15-time major winner’s success.
Haney was alongside Woods for a number of years through the 2000s before they eventually parted ways in 2010.
Over that time, Woods won countless major championships and Haney can hold his head high in terms of being an influence on Woods.
Do you think the PGA Tour reducing the amount of cards for 2026 to 100 is a good thing?
Now, years down the line, someone like Haney is worth his weight in gold as amateur golfers go looking online for tips and tricks on how to improve at the game.
Luckily, looking back at the archives, Haney has previously revealed just how the amateur golfer can ensure they get better contact with the ball.
Hank Haney’s tip for amateurs to hit their irons pure
One of the big shouts you will hear if you first take up golf is to ‘hit down on the ball’. At the time, it can be difficult to make sense of such a comment but over time, it starts to bed in.
Still, hitting down on and then compressing a golf ball takes time and practice and according to Hank Haney, there is a simple way to ensure the hands are doing the right thing to aid amateurs in this quest.
“You hear coaches using two phrases. Flipping at the ball and compressing the ball. Amateur golfers who struggle, tend to flip their hands through the shot, meaning the lead hand collapses. This causes the club to swing up through the ball and causes thin and weak shots because you’re adding loft to the shot,” Haney explained.
“When you’re compressing the ball, what you’re doing is you’re turning the back of your lead hand down and that allows the club head to lag behind the handle. This gives you a little bit of a downward strike and it also de-lofts the club slightly.
“So by compressing the ball, with the proper release, you’re going to get ball to turf contact and a much stronger hit. So the back of the left hand, instead of hitting this way on the collapse, I’m trying to turn my hand down. So I turn my knuckles down and if I turn and come in with them down, I’m going to get the ball and then the turf, and that’s where you get the solid and more powerful hits.”
What Hank Haney told amateurs who are trying to break 100
Every amateur golfer has a different goal and oftentimes, it’s trying to get around the golf course in a certain score or less.
Breaking 100 is very much one of those milestones and a lot of the time, getting below the century mark can be a big moment for the average golfer.
Indeed, Haney has previously shared his top tips for getting below that magic 100 number.
Eliminate your penalty shots by working on your big miss with the driver, learn a basic chip shot to eliminate two chips and be able to green it when you are in a bunker and lastly eliminate three putts by always thinking about your speed on every putt.“
Clearly, we can all learn a thing or two here.
And in fairness, if you aren’t going to listen to a coach who worked so closely with Tiger, then there might not be much hope for you!
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