Angle of Attack

Before I took lessons I was more of a sweeper of the ball off the ground. Now I like to strike the ball, hit down on it a take a divot. I have found that in order to do this on my 6 through SW shots it is necessary for me to put more weight on my front foot at the setup. If I don't do this I have a tendency to top the ball or hit it thin. Are there any other things I can do to get my angle of attack correct. I do start with my hands in front of the ball on setup for these clubs.

Tops and thins are usually caused by excessive movement in the spine angle where you raise up and drop back down in the waist. Without seeing your swing, try this first. Have someone stand facing you holding a club on you nose. Then swing. See if they notice you going up and down. If so, this is the probable cause. You liked your solution of putting more weight on the front foot because that kept your lower body quiet and that helped reduce the movements. But this does reduce possible range of motion. You want full range and a steep angle that is consistent. So the real solution is to get the weight on the back foot at the top and still being able to transition it to the front without the spine raising and lowering. It is simply first the knowledge that you are doing this and that is enough to work on. If it is not your spine that is doing it, the next possible culprit is your back leg. You setup with it in a flexed position. It can raise up out of this and straighten as you take the club back and put weight on it causing the same results as the spine movement. So this solution is to keep the back leg in it's setup position throughout the swing to impact where you can then let it relax to a balanced finish. To drill this one, have that same person crouch and stand behind you and hold a driver's head (with the cover on) and hold it in the back of your knee. You will feel this there and know if you are straightening it up. It should feel like you are squatting down a little as you take the club back.

Hope this helps!