Nothing kills the confidence from a perfect practice swing like the dull thud of a fat golf shot that barely dribbles forward. Taking a divot the size of a dinner plate behind the ball is frustrating, to say the least, but it’s one of the most common issues golfers face - and thankfully, one of the most fixable. This tutorial will break down exactly why you hit fat shots and give you practical, step-by-step drills to train your body to make that pure, ball-first contact you’re looking for.
Hitting a shot “fat,” “heavy,” or “chunked” comes down to one simple biomechanical flaw: the low point of your golf swing arc is happening behind the golf ball instead of slightly in front of it. An ideal iron shot makes contact with the ball first and then takes a shallow divot on the target side of where the ball was. When you hit it fat, your club hits the ground first, digging into the turf and losing the vast majority of its speed and energy before it ever gets to the ball. The result is a weak shot that travels just a fraction of its intended distance.
But what’s causing your low point to bottom out in the wrong place? While factors like a faulty setup can contribute, the problem almost always boils down to two key culprits during the downswing:
The great news is that both of these are habits, and habits can be replaced. Let’s get to work on ingraining the right feelings and movements so you can leave fat shots in the past.
The absolute foundation of a pure iron strike is getting your weight to shift forward through the shot. When your weight moves forward correctly, it automatically moves the low point of your swing forward, allowing you to hit the ball first and then the ground. The mental image should be hitting down on the ball, with the ground contact happening on the target side.
Instead of thinking about a dozen complicated swing thoughts, focus on a single feeling: your chest and belt buckle should finish facing the target. If you can achieve that, you absolutely have to shift your weight forward. Let’s train that feeling with a couple of incredibly effective drills.
This is arguably the most famous and effective drill for curing fat shots because the feedback is instantaneous and impossible to ignore. It forces you to get your low point in the right spot.
This drill actively prevents you from hanging back on your trail foot by forcing you to move through the shot in a dynamic, athletic-feeling way. It’s fantastic for golfers who feel locked on their back foot.
If you've mastered your weight shift but still hit an occasional shot heavy, the culprit is likely "casting," or throwing the club from the top. Many golfers do this subconsciously, thinking it will generate more power, but it does in fact the opposite. Real power and clean contact come from lag - the feeling of the clubhead “trailing” your hands on the way down, created by maintaining the angle in your wrists.
This drill helps you feel what it’s like to store energy and release it at the right time - through the ball - rather than wasting it at the start of your downswing.
Sometimes, you can be predisposed to hitting a fat shot before you even start your swing. An improper setup can make a good weight shift or a proper release very difficult to achieve. Here are two quick checkpoints.
For mid-irons (like a 7, 8, or 9-iron), the ball should be positioned in the very center of your stance, directly underneath the buttons on your shirt. A ball position that is too far forward in your stance for an iron shot forces your swing to bottom out early, behind the ball. Moving it even one inch back toward the center can make a significant difference. Your longest irons and hybrids can move slightly forward of center, but not by much.
A common fault is tilting your spine too far away from the target at address. While a slight tilt is natural, too much will pre-load your weight onto your back foot, making a proper forward shift much harder to achieve. Feel like your weight is distributed 50/50 between your feet at address. Your upper body should be tilted forward from your hips, but your spine shouldn't be leaning dramatically away from the target. An athletic, centered posture is your foundation for a powerful and consistent swing.
Stopping fat shots comes down to controlling the low point of your swing, which is achieved by getting your weight forward and maintaining your wrist angles during the downswing. By focusing on that feeling of "ball, then turf" and using the line drill, step-through drill, and pump drill, you can retrain your habits and start compressing the ball for consistently pure strikes.
When you're out on the course and struggling to self-diagnose, instant feedback can be a game-changer. That's where I find Caddie AI so helpful. If you’re hitting shots heavy and can't figure out why, you can describe the situation and the fault, and get expert advice in seconds right on your phone. It might give you a simple swing thought or remind you of a drill to refocus on, helping you get your round back on track without the frustration of guessing.
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