Instruction
Fat shots, and how to fix them
Every golfer has hit that one pure shot, that magical moment when all goes right and the club and ball meet in perfect harmony to produce the perfectly struck shot.
It’s a moment that’s almost completely unique to golf. People can play basketball their entire lives, and never know one moment like Michael Jordan. But every once in a while, a golfer can hit a golf shot just as pure as Tiger Woods or Adam Scott.
“Solid” is a term golfers hear a lot when it comes to impact, but what does “solid” actually mean? Well, most of the time when a golf shot is hit solid there were a few things working correctly at impact: Contact is on or very near the sweet spot, the face angle is relatively square face and the club is moving with sufficient speed. But what most golfers actually mean when they say they hit a shot “solid” is that the golf club descended into the golf ball at the correct angle, or had the correct angle of attack. Angle of attack is defined by FlightScope as:
The angle in the vertical plane relative to the horizontal at which the club head is delivered to the ball.
The most common angle of attack problem average golfers run into is hitting behind the ball, which are called “fat shots.” What you may not know, however, is that there are two kinds of fat shots: steep fat shots and shallow fat shots.
Steep fat shots are obvious: golfers dig a trench behind the golf ball. But shallow fat shots are different and much less obvious. I call shallow fat shots “drop kicks,” which are very similar to what happens when a football kicker scuffs the ground with his cleats before kicking the ball. In a shallow fat shot, the club come in, brushes the turf and then hits the ball usually on the way up. In both cases, golfers hit the ground before the ball, but they are caused by two different angles of attack and require two different corrections.
Above: Many tour players, including Tiger Woods, have fairly steep angles of attacks with their fairway woods to ensure ball-first contact.
Consider these two shapes when thinking about the two kinds of fat shots: a “V” shape, which creates a steep fat shot, and a “U” shape, which creates a shallow fat shot. You can also think of the swings as downhill (steep), or uphill (shallow). Here’s what you need to know if one of these shots is plaguing you.
If you are too steep, I recommend the following corrections:
- A wider stance with a lower right shoulder at address (for a right-handed golfer).
- A much fuller shoulder turn in the backswing with a greater weight shift to right side (for a right-handed golfer).
- A wider backswing, pushing the club well away from you.
- A feeling of staying more behind the ball as you start the downswing.
- A more “lateral” lower body motion (sliding the hips more than turning them) into impact.
- A feeling of flattening the shaft on the way down.
- An earlier release point.
If you are too shallow, I recommend the following corrections:
- A narrower stance with more level shoulders at address (possibly even a feeling of having a little more weight on left side).
- A feeling of “staying on the ball” with little to no weight transfer from left side.
- A narrower, more upright takeaway with your arms not getting too far out from body.
- A feeling of moving the body forward as you start down.
- A definite “turning” of your hips through the ball (no sliding).
- A feeling of keeping the club above the hands longer.
- Possibly a little delay in your release (be careful here; many will be treading on thin ice!).
Of course, center contact is also important for golfers to get the “well struck” feeling, but many will find that correcting their angle of attack may help that issue as well. If I had to generalize, I’d say that flat swings produce shallow angles of attack and upright ones produce steeper angles of attack. Remember, an upright or “steep” backswing does not mean that a golfer will necessarily have a steep angle of attack. And a flat, more around takeaway doe not necessarily produce a shallow angle of attack, either. This article is describing the movement of the club into the ball, not away from it.
The great Jack Nicklaus had an upright backswing but a fairly shallow angle of attack, while Lee Trevino had a somewhat flat backswing and came in to the ball fairly steep. But we are not talking about the greats of the game: just ways you may improve your ball striking.
One more thing: If you are steep today, there is little to no chance you will be shallow tomorrow. These things take time. And guidance.
Good luck!
As always, feel free to send a swing video to my Facebook page and I will do my best to give you my feedback.
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Instruction
Clement: Laid-off or perfect fade? Across-the-line or perfect draw?
Some call the image on the left laid off, but if you are hitting a fade, this could be a perfect backswing for it! Same for across the line for a draw! Stop racking your brain with perceived mistakes and simply match backswing to shot shape!
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Instruction
The Wedge Guy: The easiest-to-learn golf basic
My golf learning began with this simple fact – if you don’t have a fundamentally sound hold on the golf club, it is practically impossible for your body to execute a fundamentally sound golf swing. I’m still a big believer that the golf swing is much easier to execute if you begin with the proper hold on the club.
As you might imagine, I come into contact with hundreds of golfers of all skill levels. And it is very rare to see a good player with a bad hold on the golf club. There are some exceptions, for sure, but they are very few and very far between, and they typically have beat so many balls with their poor grip that they’ve found a way to work around it.
The reality of biophysics is that the body moves only in certain ways – and the particulars of the way you hold the golf club can totally prevent a sound swing motion that allows the club to release properly through the impact zone. The wonderful thing is that anyone can learn how to put a fundamentally sound hold on the golf club, and you can practice it anywhere your hands are not otherwise engaged, like watching TV or just sitting and relaxing.
Whether you prefer an overlap, interlock or full-finger (not baseball!) grip on the club, the same fundamentals apply. Here are the major grip faults I see most often, in the order of the frequency:
Mis-aligned hands
By this I mean that the palms of the two hands are not parallel to each other. Too many golfers have a weak left hand and strong right, or vice versa. The easiest way to learn how to hold the club with your palms aligned properly is to grip a plain wooden ruler or yardstick. It forces the hands to align properly and shows you how that feels. If you grip and re-grip a yardstick several times, then grip a club, you’ll see that the learning curve is almost immediate.
The position of the grip in the upper/left hand
I also observe many golfers who have the butt of the grip too far into the heel pad of the upper hand (the left hand for right-handed players). It’s amazing how much easier it is to release the club through the ball if even 1/4-1/2″ of the butt is beyond the left heel pad. Try this yourself to see what I mean. Swing the club freely with just your left hand and notice the difference in its release from when you hold it at the end of the grip, versus gripping down even a half inch.
To help you really understand how this works, go to the range and hit shots with your five-iron gripped down a full inch to make the club the same length as your seven-iron. You will probably see an amazing shot shape difference, and likely not see as much distance loss as you would expect.
Too much lower (right) hand on the club
It seems like almost all golfers of 8-10 handicap or higher have the club too far into the palm of the lower hand, because that feels “good” if you are trying to control the path of the clubhead to the ball. But the golf swing is not an effort to hit at the ball – it is a swing of the club. The proper hold on the club has the grip underneath the pad at the base of the fingers. This will likely feel “weak” to you — like you cannot control the club like that. EXACTLY. You should not be trying to control the club with your lower/master hand.
Gripping too tightly
Nearly all golfers hold the club too tightly, which tenses up the forearms and prevents a proper release of the club through impact. In order for the club to move back and through properly, you must feel that the club is controlled by the last three fingers of the upper hand, and the middle two fingers of the lower hand. If you engage your thumbs and forefingers in “holding” the club, the result will almost always be a grip that is too tight. Try this for yourself. Hold the club in your upper hand only, and squeeze firmly with just the last three fingers, with the forefinger and thumb off the club entirely. You have good control, but your forearms are not tense. Then begin to squeeze down with your thumb and forefinger and observe the tensing of the entire forearm. This is the way we are made, so the key to preventing tenseness in the arms is to hold the club very lightly with the “pinchers” — the thumbs and forefingers.
So, those are what I believe are the four fundamentals of a good grip. Anyone can learn them in their home or office very quickly. There is no easier way to improve your ball striking consistency and add distance than giving more attention to the way you hold the golf club.
More from the Wedge Guy
- The Wedge Guy: Golf mastery begins with your wedge game
- The Wedge Guy: Why golf is 20 times harder than brain surgery
- The Wedge Guy: Musings on the golf ball rollback
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Instruction
Clement: Stop ripping off your swing with this drill!
Not the dreaded headcover under the armpit drill! As if your body is defective and can’t function by itself! Have you seen how incredible the human machine is with all the incredible feats of agility all kinds of athletes are accomplishing? You think your body is so defective (the good Lord is laughing his head off at you) that it needs a headcover tucked under the armpit so you can swing like T-Rex?
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Nick Westenberger
Dec 18, 2013 at 2:15 pm
This was a great article; I am a shallow swinger and I think you’re right on with your analysis. A couple of questions for clarification, when you say” A feeling of moving the body forward as you start down”; do you mean moving toward the target? One of my problems has been leaning toward the ball resulting in a “S” at times. Additionally, could you expound a little more on what you mean by “A feeling of keeping the club above the hands longer”?
Thanks, Nick
Dennis Clark
Dec 19, 2013 at 3:33 pm
Shallow often results from the upper body “hanging back.” Try getting it more over the lower, a feeling of straighter, and more covering the ball. DO NOT let your upper body stay too far behind. This is all IF you are shallow.
Pingback: Stop Hitting Fat Golf Shots - Golf Tips from Perfect Pitch Golf
tyler
Dec 14, 2013 at 1:33 pm
Well I can’t explain it, but when I follow the tips from the “If you are too steep” section and keep my left shoulder higher than my right, get a wider stance and shift my weight more to the right I make much more solid contact! When I try to narrow my stance and stay more “stacked” I hit it fat nearly every time. I’m a “heavier”, but strong/athletic guy (6′ 260 Lbs). Is the first approach “If you’re too steep” more for heavier guys because we can’t change direction and get our weight moving forward as quickly as lighter guys so we need to “wind up” and have a bit more momentum?
jonathan
Dec 15, 2013 at 9:08 am
I’m a heavier guy in the midsection, and my big problem is I can’t hold the lag because my elbow will get stuck within my body. By going with a wider stance, which causes me to bend my knees more (take a wide stance and keep your legs straight. you’d look like the idiot on the driving range!) and i can bend more at the hips, and give myself more room to swing the golf club.
Christopher Colson
Dec 12, 2013 at 7:56 pm
Very well thought out article! I am a 3 handicap who doesn’t get to golf as much as I used to. I have a pretty steep downswing and had great success with my ball striking this fall after watching an old Trevino video in which he stressed that some lateral movement by the lower body was necessary. The only downside I found was that my misses with my longer clubs became a bit more severe and were always the same, a 20 degree (approximate) block that didn’t curve in either direction. Any suggestions on what may be causing this? Thanks again and great article! Keep it up…
Dennis Clark
Dec 12, 2013 at 8:42 pm
Without seeing it its difficult but… In your effort to use more body you may be getting past the ball. Or with too much focus on body you may not be swingng your arms through. Also check your grip. If you are using more body you may want to strengthen the top hand a bit. Good luck. Send a video if you’d like
Christopher Colson
Dec 12, 2013 at 10:04 pm
Thank you kindly. I appreciate your input. I will definitely try a stronger left hand grip next time at the range. Happy Holidays!
Dennis Clark
Dec 12, 2013 at 7:26 pm
Not sensitive at all. Yes the thing S&T offers the average golfer would be getting steeper by moving the bottom of the arc forward. Where I have a challenge with it at times is if you are already steep, it can exacerbate the problem. Glad you enjoyed the piece
Martin
Dec 12, 2013 at 7:20 pm
Great piece of work! Very interesting! When you describe the fix for shallow fat shots it sounds a lot like something in the area of what Sean Foley or the Stack and tilt-teachers would teach as a standard swing. Would you agree on that and what would you say about the philosophies I mentioned or is that sensitive, on teacher commentating other teachers? Thanks!