Hitting a big chunk of turf before the golf ball is one of the most frustrating feelings in the game. That jarring, dull thud followed by watching your ball weakly plop just a few yards ahead is enough to ruin anyone's rhythm. If you're tired of laying the sod over your shots, you’re in the right place. This problem, which golfers often call grounding the club, hitting it fat, or chunking it, stems from a simple flaw: the bottom of your swing is in the wrong place. This article will show you exactly why it happens and give you practical, easy-to-follow steps and drills to create that pure, crisp contact you’re looking for.
In every golf swing, the club travels in an arc. The very bottom of this arc is called the "low point." For crisp, powerful iron shots, you want this low point to occur slightly after the golf ball. The club should descend, strike the ball, and then take a small divot from the ground in front of where the ball was. This is called "ball-first contact," and it's the signature of a great iron player.
When you ground the club or hit it fat, your swing’s low point is happening a few inches behind the golf ball. The club bottoms out early, digs into the turf, loses a massive amount of energy, and then bounces up into the ball. The result is a short, weak shot with zero satisfaction.
So, why is your low point behind the ball? It almost always comes down to one (or more) of these common issues:
The good news is that these are all fixable. We'll start with the easiest and most immediate changes you can make: your setup.
A good setup doesn’t just make you look like a confident golfer, it primes your body to execute the correct sequence. Many golfers fix their fat shots just by making a few simple adjustments before they even take the club back.
Where the ball is positioned between your feet has a massive influence on where the club will bottom out. A common error I see among players who hit the ball fat is having the ball too far forward in their stance for an iron shot.
Placing the ball in the middle encourages you to strike down on it at the proper point in your swing arc, rather than trying to "sweep" it from a forward position, which often leads to hitting the ground first.
Where is your pressure at address? Many amateurs set up with their weight favoring their back foot, thinking it will help them "lift" the ball. This is a myth that leads directly to fat shots. That golf club has plenty of loft to get the ball airborne, you don't need to help it.
For a standard iron shot, feel like your weight is distributed 50/50 between your feet. If you really struggle with fat shots, try shifting your weight slightly forward, maybe 55% or 60% on your lead foot (the left foot for a righty). This subtly pre-sets the intention to move through the ball and have your low point forward.
The final setup key is to avoid the "reverse C" posture. This is where your spine and upper body tilt away from the target at address. It’s a natural-feeling position for many, but it places the center of your swing - and therefore your low point - well behind the golf ball.
Instead, feel as though your upper body is stacked right on top of your lower body. Hinge from your hips, push your bottom out slightly, and let your chest face down toward the ball. Your spine should be relatively straight but tilted over. Your head should feel like it's over the ball, not behind it. This centered position is the athletic foundation for a powerful and repeatable swing.
Once your setup is solid, the real magic happens in the transition from backswing to downswing. This is where you program the low point to be in front of the ball.
The number one killer of clean contact is starting the downswing with your arms and hands. Players who do this will almost always cast the club and hit the ground behind the ball.
The downswing should start from the ground up. Before your arms have even finished going back, the first movement should be a small, subtle shift of pressure into your lead foot. Imagine you are in a narrow cylinder, as talked about in the swing guide. You rotate to the back of the cylinder in your backswing. To start the downswing, you want to shift your lead hip and press your lead foot into the ground, moving toward the front side of that cylinder.
Once that gentle forward shift has occurred, your body can begin to unwind and rotate powerfully. This “shift and turn” sequence automatically moves the entire swing arc forward, all but guaranteeing you’ll make contact with the ball before the turf. It’s the engine of solid ball striking.
Casting is when you unhinge your wrists prematurely from the top. Players do this because they are trying to generate speed with their hands, but it has the opposite effect. It dumps all the clubhead’s energy far too early, resulting in a weak hit that digs into the ground.
To stop casting, you need to feel like you are leading the downswing with the butt end of the grip, not the clubhead. Feel as though you are pulling the handle down toward the ball, keeping that angle in your wrists for as long as possible. The clubhead should feel heavy and passive, simply trailing your hands and body rotation.
When you do this correctly, the unhinging of the wrists happens naturally and explosively right at the bottom of the swing, through impact. This is what an efficient release looks like, creating maximum speed and compression where it counts: on the ball.
Understanding these concepts is one thing, but feeling them is another. Here are a few simple but powerful drills you can do at the range to eliminate fat shots from your game permanently.
This is the classic, undeniable-feedback drill.
If your low point is behind the ball, you will hit the towel, sending a plume of fabric into the air. To clear the towel, you are forced to shift your weight forward and get your low point ahead of the ball. Start with small, slow swings and gradually build up speed as you get the hang of it.
This one doesn't even require a ball at first.
This drill trains your body and mind to relocate the low point. After several swings, place a ball on the line and repeat, focusing on that same feeling of striking forward across the line.
This drill trains a dynamic and full weight transfer past the ball.
It is physically impossible to do this drill while leaving your weight on your back foot. It forces you to get 100% of your pressure and momentum moving through the ball, which is a fantastic antidote to fat shots.
Stopping yourself from grounding the club behind the ball is a matter of managing your swing's low point. By applying these changes to your setup and making a conscious effort to lead the downswing with your lower body, you can shift that low point forward to create consistent, ball-first contact. Dedicate some practice time to these drills, and that unsatisfying thud will soon be replaced by the crisp, piercing fizz of a perfectly struck golf shot.
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