You're Correct!

A thin golf shot is one where the sharp leading edge of the club head makes contact with a point slightly underneath the back centre of the golf ball.

This causes a shot that sends vibrations up the shaft of the golf club and deadens the fingers on a cold day and means that the golf ball travels low and fast not too far off the ground. Generally, the ball travels as far as normal but with no height or control.

One of the reasons for the cause of this shot is that there is too much tension in the arms. Too much tension causes the golfer to pull up through the hitting area and catch the ball on the way up instead of on the way down at impact with the ball.

To strike downward through the ball correctly and stop thinning the golf ball, follow this practice tip.

• Take some practice swings with a tee pushed low into the ground where the ball would normally be.
• When swinging focus on a point two inches in front of the tee peg and aim to strike the ground at this point and miss the golf tee altogether.
• While doing this, for right handed golfers, focus on the right hand - the palm in particular. Let the right hand turn over the left hand through the impact zone and feel the palm of the right hand push the club head gently down into the ground. Use the tee peg stuck in the ground as a visual aid to get the timing right so that the downward motion caused by the right hand occurs just after the tee peg.
• When you are consistently hitting the ground just in front of the tee peg, try it with the ball instead. Again, do not try to hit the ball but focus on the ground two inches in front of the ball and feel the palm of the right hand gently push the club head through the ball and into the floor.

Use the hands correctly to strike the ball sweetly every time and avoid the thin shot.

Putting the ball back in the stance positions the ball in the downward arc of the swing and so should minimize a thin shot. However, this can produce the opposite as the golfer who swings steeply into the ball may pull out of the shot more to avoid slamming down into the ground. The result is either a thin shot, or worse, a topped shot.

The most used instruction in golf and possibly the worst instruction in golf. Keeping the head down will more than likely make you turn the body through the ball less, giving the golf club less room through the ball and cause you to pull up and thin more shots than before.

Hitting too high? Hit downward more! Hit harder! All this will do is make you hit into the ground or pull up more. This problem is about quality, yes hit downward, but gently and in the right place rather than randomly and aggressively.