dropping shoulder

[I KyotE I]

So I am in the market for new clubs. (side note:I was thinking of players or dare I say blades to force me into a better swing). I am somewhat of a good iron player so I don't think it would be hard to get. My biggest flaw in my iron play isn't that I miss hit directly...but more the fact that every so oftin I dig. And I mean DIG. I WOULD hit it sweet but I am trying to get to China kind of dig. After going to the range today I realized that I drop my right shoulder. I was wondering if anyone has any advice on how to fix the dropping of my shoulder?

[PingGKEN]

You know, I have this same problem. I played on Saturday and there were numerous times when I was "digging a hole to china". 5 inches behind the ball 7 inch long deep divot. Each time I can safely say that I never remember seeing the club come in contact with the ball. I firmly believe if I keep my eye on it for a split second longer, slow that tempo down a tad, it forces me to keep my head / upper body at the same height throughout the swing. This is something I am going to focus on next time I am out.

What do others have to say about this problem?

[jjb333]

I agree that if you really keep your head down while maintaining a better tempo, you'll make better contact with the ball instead of 5 inches behind it. As far as digging, I take huge divots but they start after hitting the ball, which isn't a problem.

[thegolfcaptain]

If you've never visited golf.com,you may find it interesting. There you can view a ton of video tutorials from top golf instructors. They categorize the videos so its easier to browse through. Check it out and you may find something that is helpful to you.

Specifically if you feel like you are dropping your shoulder, it may be that you are not properly lifting your lead hip. Try to focus on follow through and making sure your chest is pointed directly at your target when you finish your follow through. Also, make sure your head stays down at impact. Some of the best advice I ever got was from an Arnold Palmer tutorial which mentioned that you should keep your head as still as possible throughout the swing. If your head remains still, your shoulders will be in the same position as they were when you started your backswing. That alone has helped me tremendously with consistency.

[PingGKEN]

  thegolfcaptain said:

If your head remains still, your shoulders will be in the same position as they were when you started your backswing.

I think keeping my eye on the ball and making sure I "remember hitting it" will force me to keep the upper body level. The mind can tell if you are unnecessarily moving around up there if you keep your eyes focused on one spot (be it the ball, the ground ahead of it, the back of the ball, etc.)