Inconsistent Iron Contact

[NuclearMike]

When the last Pope decided to step down one of the Houston Texans tweeted, "Popin' is hard!"  That was good for a laugh, but it just made me think that "Golfin' is hard, too". When I have an iron in my hands I feel like I'm making it harder than it has to be. I usually have no problems hitting my driver, 3 wood, or hybrids, but the inconsistency in my iron game is driving me crazy.  I'll go from hitting the ball fat with huge deep divots to sweeping to topping the ball, all during the same practice session.  Does anyone have a drill that will help me to develop a consistent body position to stop me from dropping my right shoulder or standing up during the swing?  It feels like I continually overcorrect and go from one extreme to the other when I swing.

[JonMA1]

I'm a pretty crappy player to be giving advice, so take it with a grain of salt. I don't have any drills but these videos just helped me get out of my slump (at least for a while):

http://thesandtrap.com/t/61376/5sk-video-thread/72

I have the same problem you describe and I was starting to think I just can't hit what I'm aiming at. For most of the last year, I kept going back in forth from having a pretty decent long iron swing to being completely inept at getting the ball off the ground - very bad tops and fat shots.

So I was checking out the 5sk promo video's last night and I noticed something in Eric's backswing and the way his shoulders rotate - specifically his left shoulder almost rotates downward as his right should goes up and back. This is what it feels like when I hit my shorter irons (which I usually have better results from). Also, they made the point of feeling like your driving your left foot down as you shift your weight to it on the downswing. Of all the hours of YouTube video I've watched, I don't think I'd ever heard that.

So this morning I went out in the yard to work on that, starting with a very slow swing. It was better but still not right. I think I then discovered the cause of my slump - I was flipping my wrists without realizing it.

This is the best I can do to describe the fix. On the downswing just before impact, I release my hinged wrists and kind of "lock" my wrists, arms and shoulders as a single unit, letting my body rotate everything as one. This is what keeps my hands in front of the ball at impact and prevents them from flipping.

The results were nice high fades. It's a great feeling when you haven't been able to hit like that for a couple of weeks. At least I now have a chance to work on direction, side spin, distance, etc., where I didn't before.

Sorry about the long-winded reply. I hope you find the answer.

[Valleygolfer]

I would say you should start with slowing things down and shortening your back swing. This helps steady your head and gives you some control. Maintain focus on hitting the ball. Your eyes are leaving it during the swing.