Top 10 reasons you can’t stop chunking the ball
- Crowded posture. Proper posture is one of the most important fundamentals to good contact. ...
- Ball position too forward. Ball position is one of the most important fundamentals. ...
- Flat footed forward swing. ...
- Stance too wide. ...
- Club not sitting properly. ...
- Getting Too Steep. ...
- Excessive shaft lean. ...
- Deceleration on the downswing. ...
- Not using the club’s bounce. ...
Full Answer
How to deal with chunked golf balls?
THE MAIN CAUSE. With beginners I have noticed there are two main things that cause the dreaded chunk: Players stand too close to the ball and have no way to get outta the way on the way down. This also really helps to hit Chunk’s skinny cousin: Skull. No rotation in any form causing a steep angle of attack.
Why are my golf shots chunking?
The club may make a bit of a digging feel into the ground but the ball will already be gone. This allows you to use lower-lofted clubs, producing more roll and distance. Even though they have a sharper leading edge, it will contact the ground after the ball producing a crisp, low and running chip or bump and run.
Is chunking the ball bad for your game?
· Our friends and partners over at GOLFTEC have delved into the data of millions of golf swings taken at their facility in one of the largest golf swing studies ever conducted, and discovered to an...
Why do some golfers hit the ball fat?
Weight Distribution - If your weight or center of gravity is leaning back behind the ball, that's where your club will bottom out. 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.
Why do I keep chunking the ball in golf?
To put it simply, a chunk shot is that aggravating golf shot where the club hits the ground before it hits the ball. In most cases, the leading edge of the club digs into the turf, creating a divot. Turf flies, and your ball takes a few pathetic skips forward. It's heartbreaking.
How do you not chunk the ball?
Another insurance policy you can take out against chunked shots is to keep your sternum and head target side of the golf ball. By getting into good posture and placing your upper body and club shaft evenly forward of your ball, this will produce a bottom of your arc that happens after your golf ball.
Why do I chunk my pitch shots?
0:595:42Stop Chunking Pitch Shots - Pitching from Soft Wet Ground - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipAnd the other thing that can happen is you actually hit the ground too far after the golf ball andMoreAnd the other thing that can happen is you actually hit the ground too far after the golf ball and you get this shot that squirts out too low and too fast. And you make a mess. Too.
Can a strong grip cause fat shots?
Fat shots. One of the other signs of an overly strong grip is the tendency to hit the ball fat, especially on short iron shots. As mentioned above, a strong grip makes it easy to release the club on the way down, and an early release could cause you to stick the club in the ground behind the ball.
Where do you look when hitting a golf ball?
The most common advice given on this subject is to look at the back inside quarter of the golf ball. This is to facilitate an inside/out swing. For every ball and stick sport we play be it baseball, tennis or golf, the goal is to strike the inside back quarter of the ball for ultimate power and control.
How do you stop chunking chip shots?
To recap, if you want to put an end to chunked short shots you have to put an end to digging. Make sure your ball position is centered and stop trying to hit down so much. You'll see better results around the greens.
Why do I keep Skulling my wedges?
Skulling the ball often results from a golfer lifting up just before impact - raising his hands, or raising the upper body which in turn lifts the hands. And that can be caused by a feeling of trying to help the ball get into the air - a sense that you need to "scoop" the ball up to get it airborne.
How do you stop pitch shots from thinning?
4:115:32The Real Reason You THIN Pitch Shots & How to Stop It - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipSo we want the backswing. And follow through to be the same length. So for this shot around aboutMoreSo we want the backswing. And follow through to be the same length. So for this shot around about halfway. And then around about halfway full of follow-through soft hands turn through.
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.
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.
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.
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.
What is a chunk shot?
To put it simply, a chunk shot is that aggravating golf shot where the club hits the ground before it hits the ball. In most cases, the leading edge of the club digs into the turf, creating a divot.
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.
How does weight shift happen in golf?
As we wrote about here, weight shift happens in the golf swing naturally during the takeaway, but as you lift the club to the top of your backswing, your weight begins to move back towards the target — and keeps moving towards the target all the way until impact. Keeping your weight more centered like this prevents swaying, and keeps the bottom of your golf swing consistently ahead of the ball.
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 ...
Why does shifting your weight sound so simple?
It sounds pretty simple, because in many ways it is. Shifting your weight like this is a very intuitive product of the way humans move — you do it as you walk without even noticing.
Does Golf.com make a fee?
All of our market picks are independently selected and curated by the editorial team. If you buy a linked product, GOLF.COM may earn a fee. Pricing may vary.
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.
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.
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.
Why is it important to have a clubface at address?
The reason this is important is because the more twisted the clubface is at address, the more likely one side would dig into the ground at impact.
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.
Why does my club strike the ground first?
Why does your club strike the ground first? Simply put, the bottom point of your arc is behind the ball rather than in front of your ball as it should be. It's really that simple! When hitting most shots in golf you want CBG (club, ball, ground) contact in that order. Obviously some shots are different such as sand, where we actually want club, ground, ball contact as we intentionally hit the sand first.
What happens when your weight is leaning back behind the ball?
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.
What factors affect where your club bottoms out in the swing?
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.
What does "you club" mean?
You club is hitting the ground behind the ball.
What happens if you release the club head too soon?
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.
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.
Is it bad to hit the ground before the ball?
Fat, heavy, chunky, behind, chili dip...whatever you want to call it...it's not good. 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. A big wind up, 100% of our effort and strength and then thud! The earth flies farther than our ball.
What does it mean to hit the fat ball?
As you already know, hitting the ball fat requires hitting the ground before you reach the ball. For a right-handed golfer, that means hitting the ground to the right of the ball, as you are looking down from above.
What happens if you hit the ground before the ball?
If you hit the ground just slightly before the ball, you’ll only hit the shot a bit fat, and your ball might make it most of the way to the target. On the other hand, if you hit the shot a couple inches fat, the ball might not get off the ground at all.
How to move away from fat shots?
So, to move away from fat shots, what you need to do is move the bottom of your swing a little bit to the left. One way to move in that direction is to adjust where you are looking at address.
How to break the habit of scooping your shots?
To break the habit of trying to scoop your shots, spend a few minutes in the short game practice area hitting short one-handed pitch shots. These shots only need to be a few yards in length, as the important part is not the shot itself but the technique you use through impact.
What does loft do in golf?
The loft of the club will do the job of getting the ball airborne, as long as you achieve a clean strike down through the hitting area. Keep this lesson in mind when you go back to hitting full shots with both hands on the club.
Can fat shots be frustrating?
Fat shots can be frustrating, but there are steps you can take to reduce their frequency. We hope these drills are helpful, and have fun out there!
Can you erase chunked shots in golf?
You’ll never completely wipe out the chunked shot from your golf game, as this is a mistake that can even happen to the best players. With any luck, these drills will reduce the frequency of your fat shots, and you can see improved numbers on the scorecard as a result.
