Problem with hitting short irons fat

[bps23]

Little background - currently a 4 hcp with ~115 mph swing speed. 6'1 190lbs Played in high school but wasn't good enough to play in college.

 

For the longest time, I've had an issue shifting my weight toward the ball instead of clearing my left hip and turning through properly while staying behind the ball through impact. This has caused me to come over the top/get steep at times and hit big pulls that fly 10+ yards too far, etc. I've taken a few lessons this year in an attempt to fix that(among other problems) and it's helping, but I have a bad tendency to hit behind and/or scoop the ball now, especially on my short irons and wedges. My long irons and woods are better than ever, though. My instructor changed my setup a tad to get my left shoulder higher and head further behind the ball at address, and I'm now consistently hitting nice high draws that start to the right of the target. However, in order to not hit my wedges fat, I have to almost feel that I'm lunging at it a tad on the downswing to hit down on it and hit ball first.

 

Outside of ball position and moving it further back in my stance(currently play all irons in the middle of my stance), is there any other swing thought/drill that can help me correct this problem to make more consistent solid contact with my short irons? Thanks

 

[elthrill]

You have to get the handle of the club around your body low and left. Your hands have to track really close to your nutsack and then right around your lead hip. This takes rotation. Your lead hip has to turn behind you and your chest has to get open. But you have to stay centered and rotate around the fixed axis of your spine. If you are hitting it fat you are probably sliding. Stay centered.

 

Think low hands. Youll figure this out with practice. When it clicks youll hit the ball so damn pure. But it takes several weeks to get this. High hands will always lead to throwing the club which will be steep and fat. You cant play for $hit like that. Hands are low and are pulled up through the hitting area by the rotation of the body which creates down force into the ball without steepness. Its beautiful once it clicks. Most never get it and play golf for a lifetime casting and wonder why they can put decent swings together.

 

The only advice i can give you is keep your hands low and close to you in your backswing as long as possible as u turn to the top. This will set you up to come down in a position with your hands close to your body.

[bps23]

Will give it a try. Thanks

 

[elthrill]

this is the most thorough explanation of the way the hands really work in a golf swing. when i got this my wedges and short irons went from ok to really good. But this wont work unless you are rotating properly. you have to rotate and not slide.

[GungHoGolf]

elthrill and CR are spot-on with this. Was a major epiphany for me when I understood it.

 

CRs last little drill in that video is something I do every practice session... it’s very close to George Gankas’ “no-throw” drill (which he told me to do around “10,000 reps” of when I had online lessons from him), and the best way, for me at least, to engrain what impact should feel and look like to me.

 

-Ron

[bps23]

Hit a bucket last night and it started to click. Still really inconsistent, but to be expected with a big change like this. I now need to learn to take the hands out of my swing and release the club with my body - my misses last night were two-way, and some of them were huge hooks from flipping through it. I've always been too handsy and timing-dependent. Thanks for the help.

 

 

[elthrill]

make sure your backswing is not getting too far inside. clubhead has to stay outside hands on the takeaway. hooks, especially really big hooks are often caused by your club getting too far inside on backswing. i see this alot and i dealt with it also when i went away from a arm swing and moved to a pivot based swing. Just make sure your clubhead stays outside the hands on the way back and you'll make sure to avoid this issue. this is a really good video to understand how to start the backswing (or turnaway as I prefer to call it).....

 

 

 

[TheCityGame]

I'm a low handicapper who has had (still has?) issues with wedge contact. I've gotten a lot better in that regard.

 

This is a very good video on the difference between pros and amateurs and how they hit their wedges. If I were to summarize the "feel" difference I have implemented, I'd say something like, "I feel my upper body shifting towards the target in the back swing". He gets into "negative sway" in this video. Seriously, watch it. . .

 

 

 

[Nard_S]

I've found it helpful to get tailbone more forward in back swing but critical that pressure stays on builds on trail foot. The feel of "falling down" is sought otherwise your just losing it wrong way. Find this is easier to do with a long club over a wedge but with a wedge done right, good impact flows.

[johnnybogey]

Nevermind

[johnnybogey]

Nevermind