6 Compression Drills to Strike Your Irons Pure Every Time
Most golfers will agree that nothing feels quite as good as a clean, compressed golf iron shot.
However, the majority of shots are not like that. If your ball striking feels inconsistent, it could be because you aren’t compressing your iron shots.
One of the best ways to start compressing the ball is to practice drills.
These six drills to compress the golf ball will teach you what it takes to maintain your wrist angles through impact, make ball first contact, and maximize distance and accuracy.
Wearing your HackMotion while you work on any of these drills will help you gather some valuable data to use to improve your game.
Contents
The Secret to Compressing Your Irons Starts with Your Wrists!
Solid iron shots come from proper wrist mechanics and clubface control. Try these drills to master your wrist action and start compressing the ball like a pro.
6 Best Drills to Compress Your Irons for Pure Contact
Towel Compression Drill
If you strike the golf ball thin or hit fat shots, the towel compression drill can help you zero in on your point of contact.
The towel drill helps you train forward shaft lean and flexion in the lead wrist through impact.
Wearing your HackMotion can help provide some additional feedback and give you more insight into what your wrists are doing as you approach the golf ball.
- Video Timestamp: 0:17
Towel Compression Drill – Step by Step
- Place a towel on the ground approximately one grip length behind the golf ball.
- Take your normal iron setup.
- Focus on keeping your lead wrist flat or slightly flexed at impact.
- Make swings, avoiding contact with the towel.
- Gradually move the towel closer as you improve.
- Use HackMotion to monitor lead wrist flexion at impact (targeting 0–6° of flexion).
Lead Wrist Flexion Reps
To compress an iron shot, your lead wrist needs to be in a flexed position at impact.
Having studied more than 1,000,000 golf swings, we know that the best players are those with more flexion in the lead wrist at impact than they had at setup.
The lead wrist flexion drill helps you learn to reduce loft and deliver shaft lean through impact.
- Video Timestamp: 3:10
Lead Wrist Flexion Reps – Step by Step
- Without a ball, take your address position.
- Slowly move into impact position (without taking a backswing), focusing on flexing the lead wrist (bowing it forward).
- Feel the handle move ahead of the clubhead.
- Return to setup and repeat the motion 8–10 times.
- Use HackMotion to measure change from extension at setup to flexion at impact.
- Progress to slow swings while maintaining that flexion feel.
Extension vs. Flexion Feedback Drill
Sometimes, to understand your issues with extension at impact, you need to feel how wrist extension and wrist flexion change throughout the golf swing.
This drill lets you track improvements in real-time and can encourage you to associate the feeling of compression with the flexed lead wrist position.
- Video Timestamp: 7:09
Extension vs. Flexion Feedback Drill – Step by Step
- Hit a shot while wearing the HackMotion wrist sensor on your lead wrist.
- Record the flexion/extension at setup and at impact.
- Note the differences—poor compression often shows lead wrist extension (+ values).
- On the next swing, focus on increasing lead wrist flexion at impact (targeting 0° or slightly negative).
- Repeat and compare wrist angles shot-to-shot to monitor improvement.
Front Foot Pressure Drill
Poor weight distribution throughout the swing can also cause problems with compression.
The Front Foot Pressure Drill teaches you to keep your weight forward during the swing. Many amateur players move too far away from the ball in the backswing, which throws off the low point.
This drill can be done starting with half swings, making it easier to make first contact.
- Video Timestamp: 3:15
Front Foot Pressure Drill – Step by Step
- Place 70–80% of your weight on your lead foot at setup.
- Maintain this forward pressure throughout the swing.
- Focus on turning around your lead leg.
- Make a few dry swings and note where your club contacts the ground—it should be after the ball.
- Hit shots using this same pressure and check ground contact for consistency.
- Combine with HackMotion to track lead wrist flexion and ensure you’re not casting.
Stick Drill for Shaft Lean
If you want another way to use an alignment stick during your practice session, this is a great option. For this one, you will grip your alignment stick and the club to see if you are flipping your wrist before impact.
The wrist flip is a common motion for players, and it is typically done as a last-ditch effort to square the clubface.
The goal is to keep the stick away from hitting your body and hold your wrist angles into the impact position.
- Video Timestamp: 5:34
Stick Drill for Shaft Lean – Step by Step
- Attach an alignment stick down the back of your iron shaft using tape, or just grip both at the same time.
- Address the ball with the stick just brushing your lead side.
- Swing slowly and focus on keeping the stick off your lead side through impact.
- Keep your lead wrist flexed and trail wrist extended during the downswing.
- Make punch-style shots, gradually increasing speed.
Arm Structure Smart Ball Drill
This drill helps keep the arms and body together throughout the golf swing. When your arms and body are not in sync, the chance of hitting thin or fat shots is greatly increased.
For this one, it helps to have an inflatable ball between your forearms. The goal is to keep that ball in place throughout the swing and ensure that connection is always there.
- Video Timestamp: 6:20
Arm Structure Smart Ball Drill – Step by Step
- Place an inflatable ball (Smart Ball or equivalent) between your forearms.
- Make slow, controlled swings while keeping the ball in place throughout the motion.
- Focus on squeezing your elbows together during the downswing and into the follow-through.
- Note the effect on lead wrist flexion—keeping the arms together supports better wrist angles.
- Begin without hitting a golf ball, then progress to hitting short shots (e.g., punch shots) while maintaining the ball between the arms.
- Use HackMotion to track lead wrist extension moving toward flexion at impact.
Final Thoughts
Compressing your irons consistently takes practice, but these six drills will help you develop the proper wrist angles, forward shaft lean, and ball-first contact needed for solid strikes.
Practicing with HackMotion provides real-time feedback and guided drills to help you feel and refine the correct wrist positions, making it easier to compress the ball and strike your irons more consistently.
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