NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. — Earlier this week I watched one of the kind of little miracles that pop up from time-to-time on the driving ranges of professional golf.
After a few wedge shots, Tommy Fleetwood pulled his 8-iron and started hitting three-quarter, hold-off finished shots. I witnessed five consecutive shots where the club path was in the zero range, and the clubface to that path was within a degree of zero every time.
If it’s not obvious let me be clear, that consistency is very difficult to do.
Ever curious how good and consistent these guys are?
Watched Tommy Fleetwood hit five of these punchy 8-irons with his Trackman.
These were his face-to-path numbers on each of those shots.
0.1
-0.1
1.0
0.4
0.7Pretty good! pic.twitter.com/rHVc7GAYWv
— LKD (@LukeKerrDineen) May 12, 2026
How does he do it? There’s no one simple answer, but talking with Fleetwood on the PGA Championship’s Range Show, which airs on YouTube at 12 noon every day through Sunday, co-host Smylie Kaufman dropped some knowledge the rest of us can use.
Chatting with his co-host Charlie Hulme, Smylie said to study Fleetwood’s follow through position on these shots…
“I think you just need to start watching Tommy Fleetwood with his short irons. Instead of your hands finishing over your left shoulder … he finished with his hands low, his right arm across his chest and the club is vertical to the ground. It’s just the best way to have the most control of the clubface, and keep the ball flight low.”
Those are the three checkpoints.
- Hands low
- Right arm across chest
- Club pointing to the sky
It produces a low, mini-shot designed for maximum clubface control. Fleetwood always starts with a few of those to get the feeling, before moving through the bag.
You can see that clip from the Range Show, and more, right here…
MORE GOLF DIGEST PGA CHAMPIONSHIP COVERAGE
PGA Championship 101: Answering all your frequently asked questions
How to watch the 2026 PGA Championship
Power Rankings: Every player in the PGA field, ranked
Tee times for Friday’s second round
Why the PGA at Aronimink is a great fit for Philly’s everyman sports culture
What tour pros do before a major to prep
Video: Every hole at Aronimink
Bryson’s uncertain future
The crazy story of Walter Hagen and the lost Wanamaker Trophy
The most ‘PGA’ moments in PGA Championship history
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
