Can't hit irons..... HELP!

[virtuocity]

Was out at the 9 hole today. Driving was excellent- missed only 1 fairway. Chip shots were OK.

On the fairway, things were a disaster, iron-wise. I topped the majority of them which ended up in 20-50 yard rolls down a soggy course.

What drills can I work on to get a consistent connection through (and under) the ball?

 

[bobmac]

The first thing is to decide whether its a top or a thin.
2 different problems with completely different cures

Top
the club strikes down heavily on the ball, forcing it into the ground and sends it bouncing down the fairway
Thin
The club bottoms out before the ball and hits it on the way up, catching it on its equator sending the ball flying down the fairway about 5 feet off the ground

 

[virtuocity]

The first thing is to decide whether its a top or a thin.
2 different problems with completely different cures

Top
the club strikes down heavily on the ball, forcing it into the ground and sends it bouncing down the fairway
Thin
The club bottoms out before the ball and hits it on the way up, catching it on its equator sending the ball flying down the fairway about 5 feet off the ground

Geez, I dunno.... All I know is that there are generally no divots.

 

[virtuocity]

Having thought about it- it MUST be a thin. Bobmac- send me the cure if you get a minute sir. Pill form is fine.

It's amazing how depressing it is.

 

[duncan mackie]

What drills can I work on to get a consistent connection through (and under) the ball?

I suspect the route cause to be associated with your choice of words here.

Trying to get the club under the ball and 'lift it up' is not a recipie for success with irons.

Trying to see the club head hit the ball is a good starting point - once it starts to feel like it's going wrong on the course the inevitable tendency is to be looking for where the balls gone (this time) earlier and earlier ie it's a negative spiral.

 

[Wolfman]

I agree if you are on your own the tendency is to look up for the ball before the ball has been struck

Slow things down and keeping watching where the ball sat after it has been hit

I now hit shots and seldom thin them but in my learning periods i too was playing too quick and looking up to early

 

[Whereditgo]

Best single piece of advice I have ever got was to "see the club head hit the ball".

 

[virtuocity]

You guys may be on to something.

I'm having problems getting my left hip out of the way and may be overcompensating by starting my follow-through before impact.

 

[virtuocity]

Bump.

Any further advice guys & dolls? Hitting the range tomorrow morning and want it to be productive.

 

[drutz]

I have the same problem and my pro has told me to slow my backswing down and sirprisingly it does work well. Still top/thin some but not as many as I used to.

 

[sydney greenstreet]

I could not hit Irons years ago and relied on my short game and woods i even had a 7 wood and was going to get a 9 wood because i always hit the irons fat, my problem was always trying to help the ball in the air until i watched a dvd on how to hit irons and instead of hitting under the ball it said hit through, here is an example and it helped me instantly.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzBhyX0WUMw&feature=autoplay&list=PL2D66276724B1AE9C&playnext=2

 

[virtuocity]

Was at the range yesterday to work on my irons. Things started off slow but then managed to pull off some good shots by:

-Slowing down the backswing
-Bringing the club round my body
-Extending my arms through the downswing
-Committing to a follow-through

Only main problem was distance but I'm not really worrying about that so much.

I'm wondering if the problems start to occur when I take it to the course. I feel like I'm not concentrating enough, rushing, worrying about where the ball is going etc.

My local 9 hole has a 140yard practice hole for rent. I'm going to take a dozen balls down there today and see how I get on, working on getting a pre-shot routine and making better connections.