Irons from fairway versus the tee

So, I am not sure if this is a common problem or not. There is a major difference between my ball striking on par 3's versus irons from the fairway, including wedges. I am a 4 handicap primarily due to my driving and solid short game. My long irons through my wedge game is probably that of a 10 handicap or worse. But hitting irons or wedges from the tee is not an issue at all. In general, par 3's are my strongest scoring holes.

Last year I switched up how I hit my driver (tried to get a little more weight back to increase my angle at the ball) which really helped my driving. So I am thinking that this swing thought has bleed into my iron swing as well? So having the slightly teed up ball on par 3's allow me to hit up at the ball slightly. Obviously this wont work on the fairway.

Has anyone had similar issues to this before? Do you think this is just a result of poor weight transfer forward on the downswing?

I'm the opposite.  Put the ball on the tee and I hit my irons worse.

I know it's mental.

I have no problem hitting irons regardless of whether the ball is on a tee or not.

I hit all my irons shots with a descending strike to the ball regardless of whether it is on a tee or not.  Perhaps you should try to "trap" the ball rather than trying to strike it on a slightly ascending path.

Ok, now we need someone that hits both poorly

and someone that doesn't play golf at all

and we'll have the entire design space filled

I will take this slot.  I hit both poorly....

If you want to go out on a limb, I will take the next slot as well.  After all, I can't play until at least April.

Same the tee just ensures a perfect lie.

+1. I tee it up maybe 1/8 inch or so just to avoid fat and thin shots, but not so high that the ball contacts too high on the face making for weak shots I may tee it up just a little higher for my 5 iron (longest iron I have) if I need to hit it high and hard for those extra long par 3's. I like hitting lower tee shots with irons when I can. They go straighter, less wind effect and less susceptible to pulls (for me).