What up 5i fam?! We are thrilled to introduce a new series ‘5i Tricks of the Trade’, dedicated to helping all our ballers make their practice time as efficient — and effective — as possible. As we go on this journey, we will hear from different Five Iron instructors from all across the 5i universe to learn more about the tricks and tips that they put into play to get the best performance out of their players. From simple swing or practice tips to simulator tutorials, every episode aims to offer another way to help us all get better together.
Our first 5i Trick of the Trade covers a quick and clever way to warm up for your practice session: it is called “The Ladder Drill”. With “The Ladder Drill”, we utilize Trackman’s Virtual Golf function to Practice On Course. Simply choose a course and drop the ball close to the hole in the fairway — think 20-40ish yards away. From here, focus on just hitting a couple of small shots onto the green (hopefully). As you start to hit quality shots, slowly pull the ball farther and farther away from the hole (10 yards at a time), allowing you to slowly increase your swing size and speed.
“Why would I do this and not just grab my 7 iron for full hacks,” you ask?
There are a couple of reasons…
1) When you start your session with full swings, it can be difficult to pick up on exactly what is off if an issue arises, whether that be contact misses or directional misses. Starting with small shots makes it much easier to stay aware of your specific misses and what might be causing them. Think about it as if you are trying to take in the scenery as you drive along a winding highway in the fall when the leaves start to change. At 5pmh, you can see the detail of the leaves and the colors on the trees, but at 100 mph, it all starts to become a blur.
2) I would argue that your performance from 50 yards is just as, if not more important, than your performance from 150 yards. Short shots from 30 to 100 yards require precise touch and distance control, and that needs to be practiced frequently on its own. Compare this to your full swing iron shots where the iron set itself is a system that manages distance control for you. If you spend a short amount of time warming up this way in each session, you can always have a decent touch on your short wedge shots. This is a perishable skill — if you don’t use it, you lose it!
💡 Once you’ve moved out to the 100 yards-ish range, you are at full swings now. Either stay on course and keep adding yardage as you practice to targets or it’s time to head back to the Trackman Performance Studio.
I hope this warm up strategy gets your engine going!
Check back in soon for more 5i Tricks of the Trade where we get a little better while having A LOT OF FUN!
PEACE <3
Dan McCracken
NYC Director of Instruction
@danmccrackengolf
