Why is Jack Nicklaus' centered turn bad?
In short, swaying is bad, because it means the bottom of your golf swing is moving all over the place during your swing, which is makes it impossible to hit the ball with consistent contact — hence the chunked iron shots. As we wrote about here, weight shift happens in ...
Is hip slide bad?
Why hip slide is bad. If you’re reading this, you’ve probably heard about the concept of ‘shifting your weight’ in the golf swing. You set up to the golf ball, turn over to your trail side on the backswing, and then back to your lead side on the downswing. It sounds pretty simple, because in many ways it is. Shifting your weight like this is ...
What happens when you chunk a golf shot?
When you chunk a golf shot, only to realize that the ball has only traveled a short distance, it can be demoralizing. It can also cost you extra strokes to your scorecard and slow down group play, making others wait on you.
What is chunky golf?
We will help you stop the chunk golf shot. The two significant errors that impact a lot of golfers are; (1) hitting the ball thin or (2) hitting the golf ball fat. When golfers talk about hitting a ball fat (chunky), it means hitting the turf under the ball, taking a big chunk of turf out of the ground, leaving a massive divot in the ground.
How to avoid hitting behind the ball?
Practice Drills to Avoid Hitting Behind the Ball. Just trying to fix your head in a stable position might not necessarily do the trick most times. A major influencing factor is a good practice routine with drills that work on your backswing and downswing. Golf swing drills can help cure a chunk golf shot.
Why does the loft of a golf club slow down when hitting the ball?
When you hit a fat shot, the clubhead slows before the impact with the ball due to the resistance it encounters with the ground before hitting the ball.
How to hit a golf ball properly?
The fact is, that the proper way to hit a golf ball (with iron or wedge) is to strike down on it; that is, you first hit the ball, followed by the ground. The hit creates what is known as a backspin which allows the ball dimples to create lift, ...
What does "fat golf shot" mean?
What is a Fat Golf Shot? First, let’s discuss what it means to hit the golf ball chunky, heavy, or fat. These are various phrases which mean the same thing in the golf swing. For non-golfers, hearing this statement (fat, chunky) might imply something funny like the size or weight of the golfer.
When to strike the ball before the ground?
When you strike the ball first before the ground, it allows the clubhead to travel as far as possible along with the ball, transferring maximum energy into the golf ball. Preferably, you want the divot after the golf ball, not before it.
What Causes Fat Golf Shots?
A fat shot is basically you having the lowest point in your swing before the ball. You bottom out your swing and golf club before the ball, causing your swing to be fat when you hit the turf before the ball.
The Science Behind Fat Shots
In golf, a fat shot is an improper golf shot, similar to a hook or slice, in which the swing path moves from inside the target line to outside the target line.
Why do golfers hit fat shots?
Most fat shots occur when: The golfer fails to transfer weight from the right side to the left (for a right-hander) during the downswing. The swing arc moves to the right and the club bottoms out before reaching the ball. The swing is too steep, causing the club to impact the turf before the ball.
What does it mean when your golf club hits the ball fat?
Hitting the ball fat is one of the worst feelings in golf. As soon as your club digs in to the turf, you know that the shot is going to come up short of your target. You don't even want to look up to watch the ball fly, because you know the end result is not going to be a good one.
Why do fat shots lead to missed greens?
Not only do fat shots usually lead to missed greens, they can also lead to penalty strokes if there is a pond or other hazard waiting short of the target. It is hard to work on correcting the problem of hitting fat shots because there can be a number of causes at the root of the issue.
Why are golf clubs fat?
Clubs that are too long can lead to fat shots simply because you won't have enough room to swing them down to impact without first catching the turf behind the ball. Golf clubs can be adjusted either longer or shorter based on your needs, so visit a professional club fitter to have your set checked.
What does it mean when you swing down toward the ball?
When you are swinging down toward the ball, you need to trust in your swing completely. When that trust starts to waver, you may slow down the movement of the club in an effort to 'guide' the club face to the ball.
Why is my golf swing so steep?
The swing is too steep, causing the club to impact the turf before the ball. The ball is too far forward or too close to your body. If the ball is to the left of the spot where your swing naturally bottoms out, you'll either hit it thin or fat. Standing too close to the ball creates an overly upright (steep) path.
Why is it important to keep your level at the same level throughout the swing?
Ideally, you would like to keep everything at roughly the same level throughout the swing, because moving up and down will make it much more difficult to achieve solid contact at impact. If you lose your level and drop your entire body down during the golf swing, hitting the ball fat is the likely outcome.
What factors affect where your club bottoms out?
Factors that affect where your club bottoms out in the swing include weight distribution, ball position, posture and release . Let's explore each of these individually. Weight Distribution - If your weight or center of gravity is leaning back behind the ball, that's where your club will bottom out.
When should the club head catch up to your hands?
Lastly, the club head should not catch up to your hands until the moment of impact. As long as the club head trails your hands it is still descending. The moment it catches up to your hands it bottoms out and then will start its ascent. Your rear wrist should remain bent backwards until impact.
What happens if you hit the ball too far forward?
Ball Position - If you have the ball positioned too far forward in your stance, your club will hit the bottom of its arc before it gets to the ball. Release - If you are releasing the club head to soon and allowing it to catch up to your hands before you get to the ball, you will bottom out too soon.
Does hitting the ground before the ball hurt?
Hitting the ground before the ball hurts! It hurts you physically, but it really hurts your score as you lose significant distance. A thin shot can advance and not put too much of a damper on your score, but when you meet earth before you meet ball, it's never a happy ending. We've all been there.
How to hit fat golf shots?
If you are hitting fat golf shots, the first place to start is with your address position. With your mid irons, the ball should be positioned slightly forward of middle in your stance so that your sternum is over the ball. Importantly, your hands should be a fraction ahead of the ball. This will encourage the downward angle ...
What is fat golf?
Hitting fat golf shots is one of the most frustrating faults in the game. It doesn’t matter how forgiving your irons are, if you are striking the ground before the ball, some technical swing changes are needed. Here, we will look at where hitting fat golf shots comes from and offer some pointers for how to improve your ball striking.
Where should weight be in golf?
The basic key here is that your weight should move towards your back foot in the backswing and then towards the target in the downswing. For some golfers, there is a desire to lean back through impact to help the ball into the air.
When hitting irons, should your divots start after the ball?
When hitting irons, your divots should start after the ball. For the best possible iron contact, you should aim to strike the ball and then the ground. This is a useful image to have in mind for any player who is struggling hitting fat golf shots.
Why does my golf club face close?
If your stance is too closed, meaning your front foot is too far forward, it can also cause your club face to close at impact. A good stance allows for a controlled and athletic swing, but a poor stance forces you to reach or adjust your swing when the ball is too close or too far away.
Why does my shot go left of the target?
There are a variety of reasons that your shot could end up going left of the target whether you drew the ball too much or did not fade it quite enough. The problem with the pulled shot is that the ball starts left of the target, in a direction that you did not think you were aiming. It is like everything else went right except for the direction ...
What are the different types of pulled shots?
3 Types of Pulled Golf Shots. In each of the 3 types of pulled shots, the ball starts left. The pull/fade is the least bad of the shots, but you never want to pull the golf ball consistently. 1. Pull Fade/Slice. A pull fade/slice is when the ball starts left and then moves back toward athe right. You may be thinking that this is what you want your ...
What happens if your golf club shaft is too short?
If your shaft is too flexible or not flexible enough, you can pull the ball. Also, if your clubs are too short and make you reach or too long and force you to put the ball too far forward in your stance, you have the wrong clubs. I would suggest getting fitted for clubs and allow the golf pro to tell you which clubs fit best with your height, power, and swing.
What is the first move in golf?
Your first move when you start the swing, your takeaway, usually dictates how your downswing will go. Many golfers, when they are struggling with their golf game, immediately try to fix what is wrong at the top of their swing or during their downswing.
What does it mean when a golf club is pointed in the right direction?
Alignment sticks (or a golf club pointed in the right direction) can show you the natural direction the ball should be taking based on where you are aiming. If you are aiming left, you may not actually be pulling the ball, you may just be hitting a good shot aimed in the wrong direction.
How to get a better grip on a golf club?
If your grip is too strong for your swing, you may just have to move to a more neutral grip. Simply rotate your hands backward on the club until the “V” shape between your thumb and index finger are pointing straight down or slightly backward. A strong grip helps players who slice the ball or who desire to draw the ball, but it can also cause your club face to be closed at impact.
