Thin shots

[razer]

I hit a lot of thin shots and its driving me crazy. The trouble is I don't do it all the time and it seems like every time I go to have a lesson the problem mysteriously disappears only to return when I get back on the course. Its worse on the driver and long irons than the short irons so I'm obviously doing something fundamentally wrong. Without seeing a swing vid can anyone give me a few tips on rectifying the problem. I'm a 22 handicapper who can score 40 plus points on a good day but can also shoot 22 the following week when the "thinning" is prevalent. I never slice the shots, occasionally hook left, occasionally push right and hit the driver long and straight when it comes out of the middle of the club. It just doesn't come out of the middle as often as I'd like.

Any helpful suggestions would be much appreciated.

 

[JustOne]

Stop trying to get the ball airborne, the loft on the club face will do that. Feel a little more like you are trying to hit the ball just 4 inches off the ground, if you swing well it'll take off all by itself.

 

[the_coach]

when you have lessons, what are you working on specifically? any of the following? movement of your weight through the swing? rotation? maintaining height? getting some width in the backswing?

do you ever sky your driver, or 3 metal from a tee? (ball coming off the crown)
do you hit a bunch of fat shots, ground first with the irons?

couple of ways you can sort of 'thin' a shot.

 

[the_coach]

[video=youtube_share;Bzd4gnu8TDM]http://youtu.be/Bzd4gnu8TDM[/video]

 

[razer]

Hi Coach, so far the only one of those the pro has mentioned has been maintaining height and yeh I do sky the driver on occasion but not often enough to warrant a lesson (in my opinion anyway)

 

[the_coach]

would do a bunch of the pre-set impact drills each session, keeping level, keeping head behind the ball.

sky's likely with driver that on the downswing your moving upper body & head towards target, as this all gets nearer the ball, sometimes on top, even in front of, the angle of attack is a ways too steep & narrow, the face comes in pointing down to the ground, top edge of driver contact at impact so you get the sky.

at the range with an iron(8,7, or 6) make some easy practice swings with your eyes focused forwards forwards pick something same height as your eyes make a backswing you'll notice if you dip you won't continue to see what you focused on, top at the top then just gentle swing down just past impact if you dip again you'll notice straightway.
when you are staying level up to the top then down to ball. step up to ball make an easy 3/4 swing through this time looking at the ball but feeling the same thing to stay level you did in the drill.

just make sure during all swings focus is a level quiet head, will be some slight movement - but has to stay behind the ball until impact, make sure you are rotating to the top, but hips turn too so weight stays on inside of right foot.
rotate not sway off the ball, must be no lateral move to the trailside with the lower body as that puts the weight on the outside of the right foot & balance stability gets compromised. low point of the swing doesn't happen in the same place so miss-contacts.

 

[bobmac]

I'd like to be sure what the problem is before I comment.
There are 2 ways to miss-hit the ball.

The Top
This happens because the body gets too far ahead of the ball in the downswing making the angle of attack very steep. This can result in the leading edge hitting the top of the ball and driving it into the ground. Then the ball just bounces down the fairway.
The cure is to stop the body from getting passed the ball too soon.

The Thin
This is often the exact opposite of 'the top' where the body stays too far back behind the ball, the club bottoms out before the ball and the leading edge hits the equator of the ball and driving it low from the ground.
The cure is also the opposite from 'the top'
You have to get the body turning forward through the shot earlier.

Is your ball flight low or does it bounce down the fairway

 

[Dan2501]

My thin shots come when I don't complete a full shoulder turn, my hips fire and then my arms end up having to play catch-up. Adding a practice swing where I make sure I make a smooth full turn and time my sequence properly really helps. I rush to the top, and then rush even more on the way down and get a bit handsy. Thinking smooth, and getting that full shoulder turn really helps me remove the thin.

 

[woody69]

I am by no means an expert, but if you start thinning or topping shots, go back to the basics. Most likely something to do with ball position

 

[razer]

would do a bunch of the pre-set impact drills each session, keeping level, keeping head behind the ball.

sky's likely with driver that on the downswing your moving upper body & head towards target, as this all gets nearer the ball, sometimes on top, even in front of, the angle of attack is a ways too steep & narrow, the face comes in pointing down to the ground, top edge of driver contact at impact so you get the sky.

at the range with an iron(8,7, or 6) make some easy practice swings with your eyes focused forwards forwards pick something same height as your eyes make a backswing you'll notice if you dip you won't continue to see what you focused on, top at the top then just gentle swing down just past impact if you dip again you'll notice straightway.
when you are staying level up to the top then down to ball. step up to ball make an easy 3/4 swing through this time looking at the ball but feeling the same thing to stay level you did in the drill.

just make sure during all swings focus is a level quiet head, will be some slight movement - but has to stay behind the ball until impact, make sure you are rotating to the top, but hips turn too so weight stays on inside of right foot.
rotate not sway off the ball, must be no lateral move to the trailside with the lower body as that puts the weight on the outside of the right foot & balance stability gets compromised. low point of the swing doesn't happen in the same place so miss-contacts.

Coach, many thanks as that is a drill I can easily understand and relate to,

 

[razer]

I'd like to be sure what the problem is before I comment.
There are 2 ways to miss-hit the ball.

The Top
This happens because the body gets too far ahead of the ball in the downswing making the angle of attack very steep. This can result in the leading edge hitting the top of the ball and driving it into the ground. Then the ball just bounces down the fairway.
The cure is to stop the body from getting passed the ball too soon.

The Thin
This is often the exact opposite of 'the top' where the body stays too far back behind the ball, the club bottoms out before the ball and the leading edge hits the equator of the ball and driving it low from the ground.
The cure is also the opposite from 'the top'
You have to get the body turning forward through the shot earlier.

Is your ball flight low or does it bounce down the fairway

I get a very low ball flight so I assume I am in the "thin" rather than the top bracket

 

[Lump]

I get a very low ball flight so I assume I am in the "thin" rather than the top bracket

I'd class you as a "top" with a low ball flight, you'd get a high /launch flight if you were a "thin" player.

When you thin the ball does it go off like a dart or bumble along the ground?

 

[the_coach]

when you next hit some shots, focus on staying a little ways more centered, less lateral movement either away or towards target & stay level.

don't jump any at the ball with upper body/head sliding leftwards towards target from the top.

feel you keep your nose pointed back of ball, feel the transition weight is downwards into lead foot not to the outside of lead foot towards target, right shoulder turns downwards from the top & you're more staying a ways more centered as you rotate through impact to a balanced finish.

this start down move from the top try it a little ways more the same pace as the backswing finished so no real 'attack' from the top. start down easier & you'll pick up enough speed, just a case of trust. should give you a better quality of strike.

see how you go.

 

[razer]

The thin shots don't do along the ground. A thinned 7 iron will still go 150-160 yards (if theres nothing in the way!) but at a foot off the ground. So they go off like a dart

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Why is it you only hit a thin on a freezing cold winter day and never on a warm summer one and that it kills your hands and the arms take an age to stop reverberating. Thinned some at the range today and they hurt like buggery

 

[bobmac]

The thin shots don't do along the ground. A thinned 7 iron will still go 150-160 yards (if theres nothing in the way!) but at a foot off the ground. So they go off like a dart

I only wanted to make sure we were talking about the same problem as some people call a top a thin and vice versa.
The first thing Id ask you to do is try and imagine where your weight is at impact. I suspect it could be lingering on the back foot.
Take a look at the top players on Youtube and see where their bodies are at impact and compare yours, if you can get a video of your swing.
The majority of top players at impact already have the weight moving forward with the right heel off the ground.
The idea will be to start taking divots AFTER the ball which I assume you dont do very often.
If you do take divots after the ball sometimes, then it will be a height issue, you're standing up and gaining height as you come into the ball.
My money however is on the weight lingering on the back foot.