Favourite drills for conquering the fat shot. (/hitting the ground after the ball)

[Rhodri Spearing]

Hi all, I've been trying and trying for months without success to rid myself of my dreaded fat shot, but nothing has worked... I've tried shifting weight forward... lagging... aiming for a spot beyond the ball. But it just won't click...

So I was just wondering what helped you guys the most in getting to grips with 'hitting down'? Any particular drills which were particularly effective?

I'm working on the moment at delaying release by concentrating on completing a good body rotation on the downswing before moving the arms, but despite having a neutral grip I struggle to avoid slicing without really exaggerating my hip rotation. Trying to balance out rotation and lag/shaft lean is becoming a serious battle for me :S

[vangator]

Not sure I'd call hitting the ground AFTER the ball a "Fat" shot. Just a steep AoA. Many pros take "beaver pelts" with their irons. Now if you're talking about fat shots with your driver, then you've got a problem.

[Rhodri Spearing]

Not sure I'd call hitting the ground AFTER the ball a "Fat" shot. Just a steep AoA. Many pros take "beaver pelts" with their irons.

Now if you're talking about fat shots with your driver, then you've got a problem.

No, no you've misinterpreted my post. I meant I *want* to hit the ground after the ball (divot , rather) I very much hit the ground before the ball. Not an issue with the driver

[No Mulligans]

I've been fighting the same problem.  I think many things could cause having the bottom of your swing be too soon and hitting fat (and thin).

For me it's mostly about keeping my head steady (key #1), even though my weight goes forward on the down swing my head has a tendency of moving back towards my trail leg on my down swing.

What drill works for me, might not work for you as you might not have the same problem.  But focusing on a steady head from the start of the backswing through impact won't hurt.  I do this with a mirror and with my shadow to get the feel.  Along with the steady head focus, while swinging without a ball I like to see my club hit the grass/mat in front of where my imaginary ball was.  I do some quarter swings, then 1/2, then 3/4, then full all the time focusing on the steady head and making contact after the imaginary ball location.

You should do a swing thread with videos of your swing and ask this question there.  That way you'll get comments tailored to your particular swing.

[billchao]

You should do a swing thread with videos of your swing and ask this question there.  That way you'll get comments tailored to your particular swing.

+1

@Rhodri Spearing , there are too many causes of hitting the ball fat to be able to tell you what you should or shouldn't be doing. Start a swing thread so we can see exactly what's going on.

[mvmac]

Hi all, I've been trying and trying for months without success to rid myself of my dreaded fat shot, but nothing has worked... I've tried shifting weight forward... lagging... aiming for a spot beyond the ball. But it just won't click...

So I was just wondering what helped you guys the most in getting to grips with 'hitting down'? Any particular drills which were particularly effective?

I'm working on the moment at delaying release by concentrating on completing a good body rotation on the downswing before moving the arms, but despite having a neutral grip I struggle to avoid slicing without really exaggerating my hip rotation. Trying to balance out rotation and lag/shaft lean is becoming a serious battle for me :S

I'd recommend starting a swing thread and get advice more specific on what you need to do to improve your contact (could be moving your head around).

http://thesandtrap.com/f/4180/member-swings

In the meantime....

[deekay]

Hi All,

The first thing that really helped me with fat shots was realizing that I was often simply standing too close to the ball! This meant I had to lift my hands through the stroke to avoid hitting the ground behind the ball. What helps me is to take my stance with the ball just outside the toe of the club. Then I lean over a little more and slide the club in behind the ball. Just this simple set-up change made a big difference.

The second help was to focus on swinging "forward and up", onto a braced front leg. I thought that this would have me hitting it thin, but it didn't do that. Rather, it really helps me move forward through the shot. So for me the downswing is now all about swinging "up" onto that front leg.

Any thought of hitting down on the ball is death, causing me to chop down at it, making the problem even worse.

[Mr. Desmond]

The drills that Mike posted above will help.

So many issues may be involved, you really need a swing thread.

One thing I've done, besides all of the above video drills and more, is a steady head with my eye focused right in front of the ball and not wavering from it. Focus.

[Keep It Simple]

I am going to guess your downswing plane is too steep.  To fix this you have to feel your hands are "deeper" at the top of the swing (less beside you, more behind you).  When practicing low shots (ball back in stance, hands leading the clubhead more than usual) if I get too aggressive and don't keep the swing plane in mind I have a tendency to steepen the downswing too much.  As soon as my divots start to get deep I know I have to get my hands back a little more at the top.  It should only be a minor adjustment.

[deekay]

Disappointed there aren’t more comments here. Chunking shots badly is so destructive to your enjoyment of the game (and so embarrassing!) that it must be one of the most common reasons why many folk give up the game after only a few attempts.

There are many things which can cause you to hit the ground before the ball; standing too close to the ball, improperly fitted clubs, swinging too much from the inside, swaying (and staying) back, etc, etc.

Perhaps the instructors here could share the most common causes they have observed, and what was most helpful to their students....

[mvmac]

 

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Disappointed there aren’t more comments here. Chunking shots badly is so destructive to your enjoyment of the game (and so embarrassing!) that it must be one of the most common reasons why many folk give up the game after only a few attempts.

 

Perhaps the instructors here could share the most common causes they have observed, and what was most helpful to their students....

Most videos or threads about the swing deal with it in one way or another. And as other have said you can't just give advice by guessing what the player is doing wrong, could be one of many things, swaying, not getting the weight forward, slow arms on the downswing. I don't want to give someone advice on a piece that would just be wasting their time.

Short answer is, if your contact needs to improve, focus on Keys 1-3.

[Mr. Desmond]

I will tell you what I see a lot on the range.

Golfers getting  armsy and handsy, which leads to fat shots;

Hurrying the swing; which leads to

Not sequencing properly.

Tell yourself not to hurry

From the top don't worry about the arms

Get the weight going

Keep the arms-body connection

and turn..

But there are so many issues, you could be

coming from the inside too much

flipping

who knows.... so that's why it is difficult to help out.

[vangator]

I think we've all had this problem at some point. What has really helped me is to keep my head still and ROTATE my shoulders instead of shifting my weight to my right side (like all the instruction used to say). I keep a little tension on my right leg and knee which naturally causes my weight to shift to my left side during my swing. I really don't think about shifting my weight any more. That's a good thing because I'm thinking about so many other things.

[Odogesq]

Hello! I struggle with fat shots. One drill that helps me is to take my regular stance with a short iron and place the ball off my left heel instead of the center of my body. By playing the ball so far forward in your stance, it almost forces you to shift the weight to the left side and hit down on the ball in order to strike it. This is a great drill to over exaggerate. The feeling of what its like to hit down on the golf ball.

[DrvFrShow]

You should have seen the foot long beaver tail I took on Sunday. It happened when I didn't make the same swing I made when I was at my lesson and when I made solid contact on earlier more successful shots.

I blame the hot dog - it wasn't fat-free.

[jcjim]

When I was starting out I had some fat iron shot problems...the way I dealt with it was I learned to pick shots

and not rely on the ground as much...then some time later I simply adjusted to hitting without fat shots..

Another thing to check is do you have a V type of swing or a U type of swing..V being a steep swing and

U being a more shallow swing..

V type swings tend to create more fat shots...

The vast majority of the tour players have U type swings...their heads travel along the ground toward the

target longer greatly helping to create the divot in front of the ball...

[mvmac]

The vast majority of the tour players have U type swings...their heads travel along the ground toward the

target longer greatly helping to create the divot in front of the ball...

I hope you mean the club head .

[Rhodri Spearing]

Thanks for the comments all, sorry I haven't been replying. You're right, it's probably a little pointless starting this thread without offering a swing video, so I've posted up my swing on in the Members Swings section. Please do take a look I'll welcome any advice right now my game is that bad!