thin and fat shots

Question
hello michael,
I am a ten handecap, lefty golfer. I can hit my driver perfect every time of the tee. But my iron shots are terrable. I can not stop hitting the ball fat. If i am not hitting the ball fight i am hitting it thin. I need your help. do you know any drills i cound try and do.
thank you very much

Answer
Matthew,

I can tell that you are very frustrated with your situation. I will explain what is happening with your iron shots and then give you two possible reasons why.

First the club is bottoming out (reaching it's lowest possible level) before the club gets to the ball. Sometimes you hit the ground first(fat) and when the club doesn't hit the ground it's ascending into the ball creating a thin shot. Hope this makes sense.

The most probable reason would be that your weight is still on your back  
(left foot for left handers) thus the club is bottoming out prior to the ball. DRILL: Try swinging the club while maintaining 85 of your weight on your right foot throughout a three quarter swing. With the weight on your front foot at impact, the club will be descending allowing the club to make contact with the ball and then taking a divot. If after ten to fifteen swings, your contact improves, then you know that you have to shift your weight to your front foot prior to the club passing through the impact area.

If this isn't the reason, then I would have to assume that the ball is too far forward in your stance. Try moving the ball back in your stance and see if this improves the contact.

Remember fat and thin shots are caused by the same problem. The club reaches it's lowest level prior to impact. Hopefully one of the two suggestions above will help solve the problem. When making contact when using irons, it's essential that the club is descending into the ball. This will ensure solid contact and provide backspin which controls the ball.

Let me know if this helps.

Michael Hoffman
PGA Professional