Collin Morikawa doesn’t just hit pure iron shots — he engineers them. And one of his go-to drills? It’s not some $300 gadget or tech-fueled training aid. It’s a glove. On a lanyard. Around his neck.
Yep, that’s it.
This simple, almost homemade-looking drill might not look flashy, but it’s the secret sauce behind one of the most precise iron games in professional golf. And the best part? You can try it today. No launch monitor, no private coach, no excuses.
Let’s break it down — glove first.
The Glove + Lanyard Drill (Yes, Really)
Morikawa describes it like this: “I’ve got a glove and I’ve got a lanyard… All you have to do is hook the glove up to the lanyard, and there’s your tool.”
Here’s the catch: if the glove drops during your swing, it means you’ve lost connection between your arms and body. And that’s where a lot of us go wrong. The hands start flying solo, the torso gives up, and poof — there goes any hope of clean, compressed contact.
This drill trains your arms and torso to move as one. It promotes connection. Consistency. And the kind of ball-first, turf-after strike that makes other players at your club go, “Wait — what did you just hit that with?”
No lanyard? No problem. Just stuff a towel under your left armpit. Same idea, same benefit — just with a slightly higher chance of weird looks at the range.
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The Drill That Teaches Impact (Not Instagram Finish Poses)
Next up is what Morikawa calls his Punch Shot Drill. It’s not about power. Or distance. Or hitting some picture-perfect finish position that looks good in slow motion.
It’s about one thing: impact.
“Punch shots can take a full backswing… but finish halfway,” he says. “All you want to do is make contact.”
That’s it. No full follow-through. No trying to look like a tour pro. Just stop at waist height and focus on smacking the center of the ball.
For amateurs (especially those who get distracted by mechanics), this is a gem. It strips away the noise and brings your attention to the only thing that really matters: where the club meets the ball.
One-Handed Swings: The “Are You Serious?” Drill
At the BMW Championship, Morikawa was seen hitting iron shots with just his lead hand. One-handed. On purpose.
It sounds like something you’d do as a joke when your buddy bets you a beer. But Morikawa uses it to dial in his timing, rhythm, and feel. It’s brutally tough — but incredibly useful.
This drill forces your lead arm to control the club and guide it properly through impact. It strengthens your swing muscles. And it teaches your body to stay connected and coordinated.
Bonus? You’ll start appreciating just how much your trail hand might be messing things up.
Work the Ball Like Morikawa (Yes, You Can)
Shot-shaping feels like wizardry for most of us. But Morikawa simplifies it with an alignment stick and one goal: start the ball on different lines.
He’ll aim at a stick and play different trajectories around it:
- For a draw: start it right and bring it back left
- For a fade: start it left and curve it back right
- For straight shots: finish right around your ear
He even changes his finish height depending on shot shape:
- Draw? Finish around shoulder height.
- Fade? Finish near the top of your head.
It’s a visual and physical cue that’s easy to replicate — and way more useful than trying to decode your swing on a slow-mo app.
Why He Doesn’t Just Pound Balls on the Range
Here’s where it gets interesting. Morikawa doesn’t grind on the range for hours.
He grew up playing at a course where there was no full range — just a net. So he learned by playing and hitting shots in real-world conditions. That’s how he developed feel, creativity, and adaptability.
Even on mats, he’d stand with one foot off or create awkward lies to mimic course conditions. “We’re never going to get a flat lie,” he told his dad. “We’re always going to have to adjust.”
It’s a philosophy most of us could learn from. Don’t just practice to look good — practice to get better where it matters: on the course.
Visualization: The Skill No One Practices (But Should)
Morikawa talks a lot about seeing the shot before hitting it. And no, it’s not just for putting.
When working on his iron play, he visualizes the trajectory, the shape, and even the finish position before making a swing.
Most of us? We hit and hope.
But if you take a few extra seconds to actually see the ball flight in your mind, your body tends to follow. It’s simple, quiet, and weirdly effective — even if you’ve never played competitive golf.
Final Thoughts
There’s a reason Collin Morikawa’s iron play makes golf nerds giddy. But it’s not just talent or tempo. It’s how he practices.
A glove and lanyard to fix connection. A punch drill to focus on impact. One-handed swings to develop feel. And a mindset that values adaptability over perfection.
You don’t need to swing like a Tour pro to benefit from these ideas. You just need to care enough to try them.
And hey — next time you hit a crispy 7-iron that checks up nicely, you’ll know why.