Hitting an 8-Iron with Paul Casey

When you find yourself within striking distance of the pin, the 8-iron can be a versatile club to have in your bag. But you don’t want your approach shots coming up short of the green and costing you strokes.

Fortunately, professional golfer Paul Casey considers the 8-iron to be one of his favorite clubs. Follow along as he breaks down three key components to a successful swing: his setup, ball position and posture.

IRONING OUT THE DETAILS

When preparing to hit his 8-iron, Casey says his setup is based around one very important piece of equipment: the golf ball. He likes to set his club down behind the ball and then go from there.

“Now, that determines the distance from my golf ball and then [I] build my stance around that,” he explains. “I keep the golf ball pretty central because it’s an 8-iron.”

Next, Casey says he focuses on having an “athletic” posture with a little bit of tension in his lower body, such as his thighs and waist area.

“But then that tension sort of gets released the further up I get,” he notes. “Because I don’t want tension in my shoulders. I certainly don’t want tension in my arms and my hands.”

Now that his stance is ready and he’s built his setup around the golf ball, Casey says it’s time to take one last look at your target and start your swing.

Looking for more tips from Casey to help your game this season? Learn more as he breaks down his advice on ball striking and shot shaping. Plus, get to know him a little better as he sits down for a round of our rapid-fire questions.