why am i hitting the golf ball fat

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In golf a fat shot – or a golf shot hit fat – is one that sees the club penetrating the ground before making contact with the ball. This is in contrast to a better shot that sees the clubhead making contact with the ball before it proceeds to penetrating the ground, as should happen in shots made with irons and wedges.

How do I stop hitting it fat in golf?

What causes a fat hit in golf?

Why do I keep hitting it fat?

Why am I hitting the ball fat and thin?

How do I stop Fatting iron shots?

Why am I hitting the ground before the golf ball?

Why do I hit behind the ball with my irons?

How do I improve my consistency in golf?

What does it mean when a golf club is farther behind the ball?

The farther behind the ball your club makes contact with the ground, the fatter and shorter the shot.

What happens when you try to kill the ball?

Also note that when a less experienced golfer tries to force a shot or “kill” the ball, they become much more prone to making a sharp transition at the top of the backswing and coming into the ball too steep. As noted above, this will tend to cause a fat shot.

How to fix a fat shot?

The best way to go about fixing the fat shot is to look at your own swing and try to determine why you’re hitting the ground before the ball. You can look at your own swing recorded on video, or you can get someone else to look at your swing and try and isolate the problem. Also note that it is impossible to eliminate fat shots completely — every ...

Why are fat shots called fat divots?

Fat shots are often steeper, so that the club produces a larger and deeper divot than normal. These divots are sometimes called fat divots, and that may very well be the origin of the term “fat shot”.

Why is my divot bigger?

Cause #2: Your swing path is too steep. If your swing is too steep, your club will tend to reach the ground quicker and your divots will tend to be larger. This problem is common in over-the-top swingers who also tend to have issues with slicing the ball.

Why is my swing arc bottom out?

Cause #1: The ball is too far forward in your stance. This is fairly straightforward. If your ball is too far forward, your swing arc will bottom out before you reach the ball and you will hit it fat.

What happens if you leave your weight on the back foot through the downswing?

If you leave your weight on the back foot through the downswing, you will tend to lean your shoulders and body backwards (away from the target) and your club will bottom out behind the ball, thus hitting it fat.

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.

How to hit a tennis ball with your back hand?

If that sounds familiar, let me give you two simple keys. First, make your initial move from the top a little bump onto your front foot. Feel like you’re shifting toward the target, so your chest is over the ball. Second, get to impact with the back of your top hand facing the target (left), not pointing upward. A good image is that you’re back-handing the ball, like a tennis stroke. If you get those two moves right, you’ll swing into impact with your weight forward and your wrists firm—two things every good ball-striker does.

Who were the two golfers in the 2003 Presidents Cup?

In the 2003 Presidents Cup in South Africa, two of the sweetest swingers at that time, Adam Scott and Stuart Appleby, were matched against two of the most unconventional, Jim Furyk and Jay Haas. As they warmed up, murmurs from the crowd suggested the “pretty” swings had it made. At one point, Jay said to Jim, “I bet those people don’t give us much of a chance.” Jim laughed, and the Americans went on to win, 6 and 5, one of the most lopsided victories in the history of the event. Don’t get me wrong, Adam and Stuart are tremendous talents. (I taught Adam for years.) But the only real barometer of a golf swing is the shots it produces.

Do golfers hit the ground first?

A lot of golfers never get over the instinct to lift the ball off the ground. They swing off their back foot or flip their hands through impact, both of which make the club bottom out too soon. As a result, they hit the ground first (fat shot) or catch the ball on the upswing (thin shot).

How to beat the fats in golf?

FIGHT THE FATS. Grab your 7-iron, take your address position, lift your right foot off the ground, and then hit balls while standing on your left foot only. With all your weight forward, you’ll make a descending blow and ball-first contact. To beat the fats, strive for this front-sided feeling when you play.

What is fat iron shot?

Fat iron shots are the scourge of the average player. The club hits the ground behind the ball, turf goes flying — and the ball goes nowhere. If you can get to the fat shot’s root cause — hanging back on your right leg through impact — you’ll fix it quickly.

Why do golfers hit fat shots?

One of the main reasons that golfers hit fat shots is they are desperately trying to get the ball in the air. Instead of keeping their upper body over the ball (where the sternum is directly above the ball at impact), they lean back through the contact.

Why do players lean back in the swing arc?

This causes the sternum to move away from the target and the lowest point in the swing arc moves back too - causing the player to strike the ground before the ball.

How to practice flatter swing?

To practice this flatter swing motion, try to hit from a side hill lie where the ball is above your feet. This will encourage a flatter swing plane.

What happens when you get to the top of the backswing?

2. By the time they get to the top of the backswing, their torso and pelvis have “re-centered” back over the ball.

Do fat shots recenter late?

Inevitably, they’ll often re- center too late, which causes inconsistencies and fat shots.

Why do golfers' heads move?

Many top golfers' heads do move a little downward and to the right in response to the targetward thrust of the lower body. But if the motion becomes accentuated, they--and you--will surely catch the ground before the ball.

Why is it important to learn one swing?

That's why it's critical to learn one swing, and adjust your grip or stance, rather than changing your swing.

What does it feel like to chunk a golf shot?

All golfers know the pain of chunking golf shots. You take a powerful backswing, you feel like you’re about to hit a quality shot, then you swing down and feel the club hit the ground. When you look up, you see a huge piece of turf traveling down the fairway. Meanwhile, your ball has only gone a few feet. The chunk shot is a common problem.

How to swing a golf ball with your feet together?

An easy way to do this is by standing with your feet together and the ball aligned with the center. Then, step your lead foot forward and your trail foot back and equal distance. Second, notice the pressure on your feet as you take your swing.

Why is the low point of a golf swing important?

This is significant because the low point of your swing follows the pressure in your feet. If most of your pressure is still in your back foot when the club comes back down, the clubhead is going to hit the ground well behind your golf ball. You wind up chunking the shot.

Why is chunk shot so common?

The chunk shot is a common problem. But it’s not common because it’s hard to overcome. It’s common because so few amateur golfers have gotten the right advice for preventing heavy shots.

How to start pressure on a golf club?

You should start with most pressure on the lead foot, shift to the trail foot on the backswing, and shift pressure back to the lead foot as you swing through. You can find more tips on pressure in the feet here. Third, check the butt end of your club at setup.

What does the tilt in the club do to the clubhead?

And what does that do to your clubhead? It forces the leading edge to tilt down towards the ground. When you swing through, the tilt in your club causes the leading edge to dig into the ground.

Where should the ball be in your stance?

You want the ball in the center of your stance. Maybe slightly forward of center, but only slightly. You can learn more about the importance of ball position in iron shots here. To get proper ball position on your irons, simply start with your feet together at address, ball right between your feet. Then, simply take your lead foot ...

Why does my hip hit the ground before the ball?

If you stance is significantly wider, it can often cause your hips to move too much side to side and your hip seeks being over each foot. As your hips move too much side to side , this can often cause the club to hit the ground before the ball if you do not recenter yourself exactly the same amount.

Why does my golf club get stuck in the ground?

If you crowd your club and stand so close that your arms do not have enough room to hang and swing can often result in your golf club getting stuck into the ground. Being too crowded, effectively makes the club too long relative to your body, so it has nowhere to go but into the ground.

What is the aiming line on a golf club?

The aiming line on a golf club is the leading edge and the more lofted the club the more crooked the top line may look. Often golfers will not set the club properly on the ground as a compensation — they hit slices, for instance, so they set the club closed at setup.

How to make good contact in golf?

1. Crowded posture. Proper posture is one of the most important fundamentals to good contact. Giving yourself enough room to bow from your hips so that your hands can hang below your shoulders puts you into a balanced position that allows you to be athletic throughout your swing.

When you set your golf club on the ground behind your golf ball, is it important that you set it properly?

When you set your golf club on the ground behind your golf ball, it is important that you set it properly. This can often look odd to golfers when it is correct, in particular for the more lofted clubs in your golf bag. The aiming line on a golf club is the leading edge and the more lofted the club the more crooked the top line may look.

How to know if your golf club hits the ground?

You can easily check this by taking a practice swing and seeing where, relative to your feet, your club hits the ground. If your club hits the ground centered in your stance, it would be greatly to your advantage to place your golf ball there. 3. Flat footed forward swing.

How to keep a club from getting stuck in the ground?

When you make your forward swing, you want to be athletic and just let it go and keep going. This often also helps to pull the trailing heel off of the ground. This athletic momentum, where the clubs stays in motion, can also keep the club from slowing down where it may get stuck.