Heel shots are caused because you either move the center of your plane out towards the ball during your swing or you start too close to the ball at address
Although you might not know it you have the ability to control the distance on each of your clubs, use the numbers game to figure out how long you should make your backswing to hit each club whatever distance you want
Turn your 8-iron into a sand wedge by opening the face and playing the ball like a normal greenside shot