The better mistake - fat or thin?

[pjsnyc]

I was debating this question with a playing partner the other day. I feel that hitting it thin is a better mistake since you are still hitting the ball first and at least advancing the ball (unless its a greenside shot, ugh).

What do you think?

[DavidFehertysBike]

Thin is much better than fat. You can play with a thin shot. I hit a thin 6 iron yesterday that still made the green. Thats not happening with a fat shot.

[Zeph]

Neither!

Well, there are no general rule here, it depends on the situation. If you are 110 yards from the hole and blade the ball with the PW, chances are you'll fly the green and be in a lot more trouble than if you chunked it and landed short.

Of course, if you are lucky, the ball might end up on the green. Still, I prefer a fat shot, since it has no chance of flying anywhere and I'll just get a new shot, most likely still on the fairway or rough, a bit closer to the pin. A thin shot can go anywhere. So, if I had to decide for the rest of my life of golf if I wanted all my mistakes to be fat or thin, I'd go with fat. If you are far from the hole, chances are slim you'll make the green with a thin shot. Bunkers, water, undulation, lots of obsticles in the way.

A chunked shot also have limited directional options. If your swingpath is not extreme either way, the ball will go pretty much straight and you will still be on fairway or rough. With the club open or shut, a thin shot can go in any direction. Hazard, bunker, heavy rough, rough, woods etc.

[iacas]

Thin to win.

My handicap dropped a stroke last year during a stretch in which I hit virtually every shot one groove thin. Ball went straight and nearly the same distance as I was expecting.

[CarlSpackler]

I would say that thin is usually better unless it is a flop shot or a short bunker shot. Last Sunday, I thinned my PW to the front fringe on a par 5 and still made par. If you blade a 60* into the next zip code, double is an almost certainty unless you hit the recovery shot of the century on your next.

[pjsnyc]

Hmmmm. Perhaps I shoulda made it a poll...

[iacas]

Hmmmm. Perhaps I shoulda made it a poll...

If you didn't, what's that thing at the top I see?

[pjsnyc]

I guess sometimes its the mental aspect of it too. I feel much better after a thin shot than I do after a fat one that sends a divot flying further than the ball. I tend to play my next shots better when I thin it.

Thin to win - I like that

Edit - iacas - thanks for the poll

[Elvisliveson]

I guess sometimes its the mental aspect of it too. I feel much better after a thin shot than I do after a fat one that sends a divot flying further than the ball. I tend to play my next shots better when I thin it.

I have made countless pars coming off a thin shot that made the green, that just doesn't happen for me with my fat ones.

[PiKapp23]

I remember reading something a few years ago about Jack Nicklaus winning a tournament where he said he hit the ball 'thin' the entire tournament. Of course I'm sure his idea of 'thin' is still a pretty good shot, but nonetheless I found it interesting. As others have said:

Thin to Win.

[trumps4]

No question for me. Thin is much more acceptable. I gradually grew to despise fat shots when I first started playing the game. For me, there is no worse feeling in golf than being 60 yards out with wedge in hand thinking birdie followed by a "chucked" 30 yarder. It makes my blood boil just typing that!

[CG031]

I think it depends. With a wood, hybrid, or long iron - thin is by far better. With a wedge (PW or GW or SW) I'd prefer fat probably becausae I've had a few times where I hit a thin GW and it went O.B. over the green, or into a water hazard and I had to re-play the shot, or take a drop from behind the green with a penalty.

[Leftygolfer]

Thin is so much more playable. It is the better miss. I have never made a birdie hitting it fat, but have hit it too a foot hitting it thin.

[bunkerputt]

Thin by a large margin. I think I read this in "The Elements of Scoring" by Raymond Floyd. Hitting it thin may "feel" bad, but the ball behaves in a serviceable way. It's a lower trajectory with more roll-out, but at least you are advancing the ball in the direction of your target. Plus, noobs don't know you mis-hit it when they watch you. A fat shot gives it all away. Even thin shots around the green often really aren't that bad. Yesterday I was playing a 50 yard pitch over a pond that I caught thin. It flew the pin, hit the green, skipped, and rolled to the back fringe. Compare that to a fat shot that dropped in the pond. I'm with Iacas, I've had some really great rounds where I didn't pure a single shot.

[pjsnyc]

...Hitting it thin may "feel" bad, but the ball behaves in a serviceable way. It's a lower trajectory with more roll-out, but at least you are advancing the ball in the direction of your target. Plus, noobs don't know you mis-hit it when they watch you. A fat shot gives it all away...

Not that I care what noobs think, but I'll admit I nodded when someone thought i pulled off the 'stinger' (or at least my version of a stinger).

[hamletsdead]

I was debating this question with a playing partner the other day. I feel that hitting it thin is a better mistake since you are still hitting the ball first and at least advancing the ball (unless its a greenside shot, ugh).

Gotta say that I err on the side of hitting it thin -- which is what I end up doing on my (hopefully increasingly seldom) "off" ballstriking days. It may not fly high and pretty, but it goes straight, and usually fairly close to the proper distance.

[whip_it_out]

Thin, blading a 7 iron to 6 feet is how I play the game.

[pjsnyc]

Also would like to add - you'd be surprised at how much spin is still imparted on the ball when you thin it. If only I had a dime for every time I thought it was gonna just zoom across the green but ended up biting enough to stick.