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Fixes for thin shots and topping

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Chicken Wing

Many golfers fight “thin” shots, “skulled” shots and “topped” shots at some point — even the best golfers in the world.

All of these shots occur when the face of the club doesn’t “get down” to the bottom of the ball. There are various degrees of this of course, which is why we have three different names. But for clarity in this article, I’m going to call them all “thin shots.”

Thin shots often occur as a reaction to a previous “fat” shot. In technical terms, they happen because of a shortened radius of the left arm and club extension into impact.

There are plenty of reasons why golfers hit thin shots. A common reason (pictured above) is “the chicken wing,” or that golfers raise their “swing center.” If you watch an elite level player swing, you’ll notice that their left arm reaches a fully extended position into impact (Note: Lee Westwood is an exception). Many amateurs shorten their left arm to avoid hitting the ground, a make-up move that is often needed because of a golfer’s too steep plane or angle of attack.

Another common cause of thin shots is a very flat swing, which is characterized by the arms swinging too much around. Since the arms are swinging so much around, they cannot swing down to hit the bottom of the ball. Also, a path that is too much from the inside will cause the club to bottom out too soon and force golfers to RAISE their hands and handle of the golf club into impact.

Flat Swingtopping high hands from the inside

 A swing that is too flat (left) and a swing that approaches the ball too much from the inside. These are both causes of thin shots. 

But the most frequent cause of thin shots that I see, especially for better players, is what I call a “late” hit.

Late hits cause more thin shots than any of the moves above. If any part of the upper body moves “out” (pictured below) on the downswing before the arms come down or are dropped onto a lower plane, the golfer will rarely get to the bottom of the golf ball. Very often, the reaction to getting ahead is to try to throw the club at the ball at the very last second in a last ditch effort to get the arms extended. At that point some well-meaning, but not always well-informed friend will tell the golfer,  “You’re casting!”

topping way ahead of it

It is my belief that a golfer must get their arms down, period. That’s why many golfers struggle when they are given advice to “get off the right side” or “get through the ball.” It is often misunderstood, because the interpretation of those tips is to move the body ahead in the transition, which puts them into the LATE position I described. Many golfers simply haven’t been taught that they have to drop their arms, which brings the golf club with them as they try to “get through” the ball.

I teach many new players and many mid-to-high handicap players to “get their arms down first.” A great drill to help golfers learn this is to have them put their feet together and swing, which allow them to feel the arms and club coming up and down. Now at some point, learning to get the arms down will lead to fat shots and some hooked shots. When that happens, golfers need to start working on adding some body turn through the ball, which I will cover in a future article. But not until they learn to swing the arms!

I have seen more good results from this progression — getting the arms down and then adding turn — than any other. Certainly the full golf swing is a combination of the vertical (the arms and club) and the horizontal (the body rotating), but if you are hitting a lot of “late” thin shots, start thinking about an earlier release and getting the club down sooner.

Often, the way to detect your own fault here is the direction of the topped shot. A thin shot that starts left of the target is late one, and a thin shot that starts to the right is due to a path that comes too much from the inside, which forces the lifting of the hands.

I know this change in thinking will help many get to the bottom of the golf ball more often.

One final note: Check your posture. Another leading cause of thin shots is a posture that is too bent over, which can cause golfers to “bail out” at impact. Make sure you’re standing tall so that your arms have room to swing.

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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Dennis Clark is a PGA Master Professional. Clark has taught the game of golf for more than 30 years to golfers all across the country, and is recognized as one of the leading teachers in the country by all the major golf publications. He is also is a seven-time PGA award winner who has earned the following distinctions: -- Teacher of the Year, Philadelphia Section PGA -- Teacher of the Year, Golfers Journal -- Top Teacher in Pennsylvania, Golf Magazine -- Top Teacher in Mid Atlantic Region, Golf Digest -- Earned PGA Advanced Specialty certification in Teaching/Coaching Golf -- Achieved Master Professional Status (held by less than 2 percent of PGA members) -- PGA Merchandiser of the Year, Tri State Section PGA -- Golf Professional of the Year, Tri State Section PGA -- Presidents Plaque Award for Promotion and Growth of the Game of Golf -- Junior Golf Leader, Tri State section PGA -- Served on Tri State PGA Board of Directors. Clark is also former Director of Golf and Instruction at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort. Dennis now teaches at Bobby Clampett's Impact Zone Golf Indoor Performance Center in Naples, FL. .

25 Comments

25 Comments

  1. Toniantoniohealth.com

    Feb 5, 2019 at 8:20 am

    So you don’t need to contribute the image authors manually

  2. ToMaHaWK

    Jul 8, 2017 at 10:20 am

    if you are hitting a lot of “late” thin shots, start thinking about an earlier release and getting the club down sooner. <—- These Tip Fix Thin Shot For Me!

  3. ToMaHaWK

    Jul 7, 2017 at 9:26 am

    Thank you for sharing these Tips, Very Helpful

    I have suffer from thin shot for along time and i got injured (left elbow – Backhand) because of “Late Hit”

    I find many way to fix it but I can’t, I had consulted with Professional but can’t fix my problem. Until I found your article!

    Now I have fun with golf again! Thank you so much!

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    I love the game of golf , thanks for sharing .

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  16. doej

    Apr 20, 2014 at 9:49 pm

    This is one of the best tips I’ve heard in a while. As 4cap, my miss is that I get late, get stuck, etc…

    I feel like my arms are always trailing.

    Thanks Dennis.

  17. leftright

    Apr 16, 2014 at 8:48 pm

    If you top the ball a lot..quit. You have no talent and should take up something else. You are holding up the golf course.

    • nobogeyshere

      Apr 17, 2014 at 6:06 am

      @leftright – great attitude. This is a site for people to learn. People like you are the entire issue with the world.

      By the way, how long have you been on tour?

      • leftright

        Apr 17, 2014 at 11:24 am

        It is not about wanting to play, it is about can you play. Too many people take up the golf course, playing when they should not be playing because they have money, know someone and in turn we have 5-6 hour rounds. If someone has little or no talent for the game then not unless they want to play later afternoons or by themselves or “with their wives” then don’t show up on Saturday morning with true golfers. Yes, this is the issue with the world and probably why you are some progressive/liberal ideologue that think everyone deserves everything, no matter what. If that guy who tops the ball frequently can play Saturday morning and not hold up play (which he cannot) then more power to him…but he has not earned the priviledge (it is not a right like you liberals think)to tee it up at those time no more than I deserve to tee it up in the US Amateur at my ripe age. Golf for the masses may sound good but it undermines the integrity of the game which is being destroyed by people like your guy Obama playing and paralyzing golf courses while paralyzing America in the process.

        • lco21

          Apr 17, 2014 at 11:33 am

          If it bugs you that much, join a private club and stop playing on public courses.

        • Double Mocha Man

          Apr 18, 2014 at 7:10 pm

          RightRight… you almost had me until you got to the part where you rant on a sitting president. Some of your points were mildly valid but you spoiled it by going all political.

  18. Anne

    Mar 22, 2013 at 1:13 pm

    This is what you taught me to do @Nemacolin! So helpful… Thanks

  19. Dennis Clark

    Mar 21, 2013 at 10:10 pm

    something easy until you get the sequence…7/8 iron. The thing to do is gradually widen your stance after you feeel the arms swinging down and gradually add some turn through

  20. Cody

    Mar 19, 2013 at 5:37 pm

    Do you recommend a certain club when practicing the feet-together drill?

    • michael

      Mar 22, 2013 at 2:15 pm

      as long as its a covert the drill will work just fine.

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Instruction

Clement: Stop ripping off your swing with this drill!

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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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How a towel can fix your golf swing

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This is a classic drill that has been used for decades. However, the world of marketed training aids has grown so much during that time that this simple practice has been virtually forgotten. Because why teach people how to play golf using everyday items when you can create and sell a product that reinforces the same thing? Nevertheless, I am here to give you helpful advice without running to the nearest Edwin Watts or adding something to your Amazon cart.

For the “scoring clubs,” having a solid connection between the arms and body during the swing, especially through impact, is paramount to creating long-lasting consistency. And keeping that connection throughout the swing helps rotate the shoulders more to generate more power to help you hit it farther. So, how does this drill work, and what will your game benefit from it? Well, let’s get into it.

Setup

You can use this for basic chip shots up to complete swings. I use this with every club in my bag, up to a 9 or 8-iron. It’s natural to create incrementally more separation between the arms and body as you progress up the set. So doing this with a high iron or a wood is not recommended.

While you set up to hit a ball, simply tuck the towel underneath both armpits. The length of the towel will determine how tight it will be across your chest but don’t make it so loose that it gets in the way of your vision. After both sides are tucked, make some focused swings, keeping both arms firmly connected to the body during the backswing and follow through. (Note: It’s normal to lose connection on your lead arm during your finishing pose.) When you’re ready, put a ball in the way of those swings and get to work.

Get a Better Shoulder Turn

Many of us struggle to have proper shoulder rotation in our golf swing, especially during long layoffs. Making a swing that is all arms and no shoulders is a surefire way to have less control with wedges and less distance with full swings. Notice how I can get in a similar-looking position in both 60° wedge photos. However, one is weak and uncontrollable, while the other is strong and connected. One allows me to use my larger muscles to create my swing, and one doesn’t. The follow-through is another critical point where having a good connection, as well as solid shoulder rotation, is a must. This drill is great for those who tend to have a “chicken wing” form in their lead arm, which happens when it becomes separated from the body through impact.

In full swings, getting your shoulders to rotate in your golf swing is a great way to reinforce proper weight distribution. If your swing is all arms, it’s much harder to get your weight to naturally shift to the inside part of your trail foot in the backswing. Sure, you could make the mistake of “sliding” to get weight on your back foot, but that doesn’t fix the issue. You must turn into your trial leg to generate power. Additionally, look at the difference in separation between my hands and my head in the 8-iron examples. The green picture has more separation and has my hands lower. This will help me lessen my angle of attack and make it easier to hit the inside part of the golf ball, rather than the over-the-top move that the other picture produces.

Stay Better Connected in the Backswing

When you don’t keep everything in your upper body working as one, getting to a good spot at the top of your swing is very hard to do. It would take impeccable timing along with great hand-eye coordination to hit quality shots with any sort of regularity if the arms are working separately from the body.

Notice in the red pictures of both my 60-degree wedge and 8-iron how high my hands are and the fact you can clearly see my shoulder through the gap in my arms. That has happened because the right arm, just above my elbow, has become totally disconnected from my body. That separation causes me to lift my hands as well as lose some of the extension in my left arm. This has been corrected in the green pictures by using this drill to reinforce that connection. It will also make you focus on keeping the lead arm close to your body as well. Because the moment either one loses that relationship, the towel falls.

Conclusion

I have been diligent this year in finding a few drills that target some of the issues that plague my golf game; either by simply forgetting fundamental things or by coming to terms with the faults that have bitten me my whole career. I have found that having a few drills to fall back on to reinforce certain feelings helps me find my game a little easier, and the “towel drill” is most definitely one of them.

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Clement: Why your practice swing never sucks

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You hear that one all the time; I wish I could put my practice swing on the ball! We explain the huge importance of what to focus on to allow the ball to be perfectly in the way of your practice swing. Enjoy!

 

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