Solid Hitting

Question
Hi Stanley, I am having problems hitting solid balls. Sometimes I top over, sometimes I hit the turf just before hitting the ball. I made some changes in my stance and things seem to work in someway but I do not know if these changes are correct. What I did was that I bend a little bit more my upper body, lets say that I am pointing almost 2 o碿lock. When I do this my arms are more perpendicular to the grown, so this is causing me to be a little bit far away from the ball. Taking this position in my stance helps me to coil and uncoil more properly and also forces me to translate my weight to my left foot in the follow through. Another thing is that with this posture, and my arms hanging more, the club head is not so flat over the grass, it points just a little bit up, it also promotes me to make a more flat swing.
Stanley, do you think I am in the correct direction or I磎 fixing a problem with another problem?
Thanks
Bernardo Hernandez

Answer
Hello Bernardo.  I am glad to hear from you.  having inconsistency with your irons is a problem that is common.  there are tips that can help you hit the ball solid but the REAL solution is to practice and be patient.  don't you wonder how the pros hit the ball so solid EVERY single time that they hit?  well their secret is simply time and practice.  I can tell that you want to master your irons quickly and is trying different things to help yourself.  but no, leaning 2'o'clock is something out of ordinary and you shouldn't be hitting the ball that way.  sometimes you need to change your setup in order to hit solid shots but what you are doing is a bit exaggerated and unnecessary.  stop doing this as this may lead to further problems in the future.  instead, try the traditional way of setting up.  don't lean foward or backward.  just be natural and don't think about hitting the ball solid.  just swing away and you have to trust your swing.  one thing that REALLY helped me is one picture that was stuck in my head.  have you ever seen a golf machine that is used to test clubs?  well it hits the ball in the same exact spot every single time.  its perfection.  and if you look at that robot, you don't see any dipping motion while swinging.  by that, i mean the angle of its back stays the same while it rotates in order to hit the ball.  so just think about this way.  make a level-shoulder turn.  so your back maintains it SAME angle while you hit the ball.  and DON'T ever try to HIT the ball.  that is one mistake that beginners make.  just SWING without much thought in your head and don't ever change the angle of your back.  in fact, some legendery players like gary player, jack nickalaus, bobby jones had gotten deeper into this concept by closing their eyes while swining.  you see...  golf is different from baseball.  the golf ball stays where it is and you KNOW where it is.  its your SWING that is hitting the ball not YOU.  you never adjust your body to hit the ball like baseball.  the golf ball stays there and in order to "hit" it solid you need to SWING the club in a way that will hit the ball and take a nice divot.  going back to the concept of gary player... he closes his eyes in order to emphasize the fact that he knows where the golf ball is and that he doesn';t need to see it in order to swing it.  because he is simply executing a swing that will hit the ball.  does this make any sense?  i know it may sound cnnfusing but perhaps you will get my meaning...  so.... lets keep this simple and summerize these things.
1. when you set-up, have a normal back angel that you find to be comfortable...  or...  have your buddy check your setu[ and ask him if it looks NATURAL.
2. after you set-up, you must NEVER change your back angle.  so if you had it at around 1 o'clock, then keep it at 1 o'clock throughtout the swing and all the way to your finish.  this is important.  just think about swinging your arm around your body...  of course as you get better and better, you will use your whole body to hit the ball.  but as of right now, use your arms and keep that back steady.  one way to keep your back steady is by straightening it.  don't bend over but just make it straight as a pole.  and imagine your pole simply rotates with a club stuck to it.  and that rotation makes the swing and eventually hits the pole.  that pole MUST stay in the same spot but JUST ROTATE.
3.  don't try to hit the ball but just swing.  and don't overthink.  don't have negative thoughts about chuncking it or hitting it thin.  just imagine you are tiger woods and that there is no way that you will miss the ball.  having positive mental thoughts can GREATLY help your swing.

if any part of my answer sounds confusing... then please don't be afraid to ask again.  i love to help and will be deligtted to answer your follow-up.