How to cure the "topsies" and the "chunkers"?

My biggest problem is easily my ability to make proper contact with my irons on a ball on the grass/ground. I have no problem driving and hitting off a tee. My putting is also pretty good, but I am constantly frustrated with my lack of ability to make proper contact with my irons from the fairway. I would say on my mishits, I top the ball about 70% of the time and chunk it (fat shot) about 30% of the time. It's ruining the game for me and I am at my wits end because when I do hit the ball cleanly it usually goes at the target (no slices or hooks). Can anyone recommend any drills for proper contact or things I should look for when analyzing my swing videos? I am assuming both problems are related and due to some kind of movement during my swing.
I was considering trying the "stack & tilt" method, since the body remains more in place during the swing and that my help my problem. Should I just see a teacher and hope they can work it out with me? Any ideas are welcome! Thanks.

Topping the ball:

One of the sources of "topping" the ball comes from inconsistent body height. That is, your ball to shoulder height changes throughout your swing. Commonly, you here instructors say "keep your head down." The idea behind that advice is to keep your body height level.

Often times, players adjust their body height--i.e. look up to early--in order to help the ball up. We see this with high-handicap players on fairways because players try to ensure that they hit the ball and send it flying. However, we don't want to hit at the ball, rather we want to swing through the ball.

One way to stop topping the ball:

A drill which might help to fix the tendency to lift the ball, or to adjust body height, is to hold your club across your shoulders with your arms crossed. Then, while practicing your body rotation, think about maintaining a level body height. It helps to have someone watching you as you do this. Have that person tell you when your body height changes significantly.

Hitting fat:

When players hit fat, the tendency is to take a divot behind the ball and to lift the ball into the air. Again, this happens because players are trying to help the ball up rather than swinging through the ball.

One way to stop hitting fat:

If you're practicing on a grass range (this is the best place to practice this drill because it is difficult to know and therefore to cure fat shots on range mats), then use aerosol chalk to spray a line extending through the middle of your stance at address. Your clubhead should rest along this line. Then, use your pitching wedge and try making some punch shots. You want to make a divot in front of that line. The goal is to keep that line intact. You don't want to get rid of it or hit behind it. In order to promote making a divot in front of that line, you want to think about proper weight transfer, i.e. shifting your weight from right to left as your make your through the downswing.

I hope this helps. Tell me if they work for you. These are just two tips I think are helpful in curing those problems. They certainly aren't the only ones.

my problem was hip sway
sliding my hips during weight transfer
that will change where ur swing bottoms out

Topping and chunking can be directly related and one of the earlier replies hit in on the head when they said you are changing levels.

Also, it could be you arent transitioning your weight to your front foot correctly. If you are hanging back to long... you chunk it or possibly hit it on the upswing because your club never bottomed out thus topping it. If you sway forward too much that could cause you to top it as well.

My suggestion is to start with 50%-75% swings and get a feel for hitting it cleanly. Most high handicappers (me included) most likely overswing most of the time so the reduction in swing could be advantageous.

Your hands must be in front of the clubhead ('clubhead lag') during the downswing to insure crisp iron contact. That will occur if there is a smooth overlap between the backswing and downswing called the 'transition'.

Start turning your hips just BEFORE you stop your backswing at the top. That sets wrist cock, generates maximum clubhead lag and drops the club onto a lower plane called the 'slot'. A good transition turns your arm/club into a passive pendulum in the downswing.

When you say 50% swing, so you mean 50% effort on a full swing or only taking a half swing in length? thanks for the help!

I'm in the same boat as you. Consistancy is something I definately lack. I can be having a great round and then I'll chunk one really bad and it sends me into a downward spiral. Once I chuck one I tend to repeat it. I get totally frustrated and start to play like garbage.

Man, I feel like this topic was written just for me!

I'm very good with the driver, and good enough around the green and on it to make you think I'm better than a 20-25 handicapper. Where I kill myself is in the fairway. I cannot get from there to the green except by accident.

Not only do I top and chunk, I also have the issue of divots -- I don't take one. If I take a divot, it's because I hit behind the ball, chunked it, and hit the divot further than I hit the ball. On nearly every "good" shot I manage to hit from the fairway, whether it's with an iron, a wood or a hybrid, I pick it clean off the grass. If my swing gets vertical at all, it's an automatic top/chunk and can be quite painful for my wrists and back.

I would dearly love to fix this flaw about myself.

Jess

I have the same exact issue. I can hit an iron great off a tee, but off the grass, its a different story.

How I cured my "chunks" / "topsies" on shorter irons

first tip:
Focus on keeping you weight evenly distributed to your front foot, this was a VERY un-natural thing for me, a good start it to make sure your front heel does not leave the ground. (30 years of hardball and softball)

Sways were a killer for me at around a 7 iron through my wedges

2nd tip:
At ball address, once you feel comfortable in your stance, loosen your hands to almost zero friction with the club directly behind the ball, I found that at times, the club would "want" me to adjust my hands very slightly.

3rd tip:

If you cant play a ball back in your stance yet, dont! Take practice swings and find out were the club consistently bottoms out in your swing, place the ball in this location. This same tip can also fix the topsies if your ball is too far forward.

4th tip:

Dont overswing, with lots of practice you will hone your ability to really crank up as needed. Overswinging can give you topsies and chunkers