Fat Shot Woes

[Sultana]

Only in my first 6 months of playing golf and I've had a block of lessons to aid my learning curve, but none of them can help me with my current problem.

Playing on a sodden golf course as many probably are at this time of year. Iron shots off the fairway, I'm taking a divot, but my ball only moves about 20 yards, I've tried moving the ball forward in my stance as explained in the latest Golf Monthly magazine, but I'm still hitting about half a dozen of these shots per round, which is obviously raising my score. How can I counter this happening on wet courses?

 

[chris661]

I tend to hit a fat shot if I leave my weight hanging back, as long as I get it moving to my front foot again it is all ok, maybe this will help but hopefully a know it all expert will be along

 

[GeneralStore]

I am no expert, but I am posting because from time to time I have a similar issue. As Chris said, your weight is behind the ball. As a rule, wherever your club makes contact with the ground is where your weight is.

In the dry months or on the range you can sometimes get away with it or it can sometimes not be as noticable because of your club bouncing off the ground/matt.

Moving the ball back in your stance can help, but obviously the correct answer is to get to the correct impact position. There are a few little tips to get the feeling for this:
1) Start your backswing with a slight bump of the hips towards the right (if you are right handed), it will get your hips and weight further back and make you then be more aggressive with the weight shift going forward
2) At the range, start in a normal stance and then on your backswing step with your left foot and put it next to your right and then on the downswing step again with your left foot and put it back into its correct position to start your downswing. Its a good drill to get an exaggerated feel for the weight shift
3) Keep your right leg 'strong' so your hips arent getting stuck behind you
4) Make sure you are taking your arms away nice and straight away from your body and keep the backswing slow and smooth

Like I said, I am no expert, but its my booboo at times as well...happens to me when I get tired

Good luck

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I'm not an expert by any stretch of the imagination but surely the further back in the stance you put it the more it encourages you to hit fat.

 

[sawtooth]

You could try swinging the club more and less hitting at the ball. This is something I've been working on and it seems to be working for me. It sounds obvious but I think if you finish off your swing properly you should find that you keep accelerating through the ball.

 

[chrisd]

If I stare the ball out from the takeaway to the strike I definitely hit less fatted shots.



Chris

 

[SocketRocket]

I'm not an expert by any stretch of the imagination but surely the further back in the stance you put it the more it encourages you to hit fat.

If your club is bottoming out behind the ball then moving the ball back will encourage striking the ball before the club hits the ground.

It does not sort out the problem though. Hitting fat can be caused by a number of errors: Dipping down , swaying, weight on back foot, reverse pivot.

The pivot problem is often due to straightening the right leg in the backswing, this pushes your weight onto your front foot. When this happens the weight is then thrown onto the rear foot in the downswing, this moves the bottom of your swing arc behind the ball so you hit it fat.

Make sure your right knee stays braced in the backswing and your weight stays inside your right foot. This will help to keep you stacked and centered.

 

[bobmac]

If your club is bottoming out behind the ball then moving the ball back will encourage striking the ball before the club hits the ground.

Dont do this myself. If it goes too far back, people can often feel they have to stay on the back foot and lean back causing the duff. So they put it further back and lean back more etc
One or two balls back from the middle is far enough for my liking, unless I'm playing an escape shot.

 

[SocketRocket]

Dont do this myself. If it goes too far back, people can often feel they have to stay on the back foot and lean back causing the duff. So they put it further back and lean back more etc
One or two balls back from the middle is far enough for my liking, unless I'm playing an escape shot.

Yes I agree. As I said moving the ball back may stop hitting it fat but does not solve the real problem.

 

[Sultana]

Played again today and tried to put more weight on my front foot which seemed to work because I shot my best round of golf since I started back in the summer.

 

[SocketRocket]

The root of the problem is to consider where your 'Sternum'is pointing at impact. If you extend a line down the centre of your chest then down to the ground then this will show you the bottom of your swing arc. If you bump your hips forward and leave your head back then your sternum line will point to a position way infront of the ball, in this case the clubhead can do nothing else but enter the ground behind the ball on it's way down. You may compensate by either lifting up or bending your elbows and this can also lead to thinned shots.

What you need to do is transfer your weight to the front foot in the downswing but let the front (left) hip turn back rather than bumb forward, this will keep your sternum more vertical at impact and create a swing arc that bottoms just ahead of the ball. The old image of turning while stood inside a barrell is a good one.