What Causes You to Chunk a Golf Shot?

Hitting the ground before the golf ball, taking a divot the size of a dinner plate, and watching your shot fly a fraction of its intended distance is one of the most frustrating experiences in golf. The dreaded chunk, or fat shot, can ruin a scorecard and shatter confidence. But here’s the good news: the cause of a chunk is almost always related to a few simple, correctable fundamentals. This article will show you exactly what causes you to chunk a golf shot and give you practical drills you can use today to start making clean, ball-first contact every time.

Understanding the Chunk: The "Two-Ball" Problem

The simplest way to understand a chunked shot is to think about the two a'balls' you're trying to interact with: the "little ball" (the golf ball) and the "big ball" (the Earth). Your goal with every iron shot is to have the clubhead strike the little ball first, and then brush the turf or take a shallow divot on the target side of where the ball was. A chunk is simply what happens when you get this sequence backward - your club hits the big ball first.

Every golf swing moves in an arc, like a hula hoop tilted at an angle. This arc has a bottom point, known as the "low point." For a clean iron shot, that low point must occur after the golf ball.

When you chunk a shot, your low point has shifted and is happening behind the golf ball. Your club bottoms out in the turf before it ever gets to the ball, resulting in a loss of power and a pile of dirt. The rest of this guide is dedicated to Pinpointing exactly why your low point might be behind the ball, and how to fix it.

Cause #1: Your Swing Center is Shifting Away From the Target

One of the most common reasons for a chunk is a shifting swing center. Think of your swing center as an imaginary point in the middle of your chest or on your sternum. In an ideal swing, this center rotates, but it does not move side-to-side (laterally) very much. A chunk-prone swing often involves a significant lateral shift of this center away from the target during the backswing - an action commonly known as a "sway."

When you sway back, your entire swing arc moves with you. The low point that was supposed to be at or just ahead of the ball is now miles behind it. Unless you make an equally perfect compensating lateral shift back toward the target in the downswing (which is incredibly difficult and inconsistent), you are almost guaranteed to hit the ground first. You’re simply too far behind the ball at impact.

How to Fix it: The Alignment Stick Drill

This simple drill gives you immediate feedback on whether you are swaying. It trains you to rotate around a stable center instead of sliding away from it.

• Step 1: Set Up Your Guide. Take a golf alignment stick (or another golf club) and stick it in the ground just outside your trail foot (your right foot for a right-handed golfer). The stick should be angled slightly in, toward your body.
• Step 2: Get into Position. Take your normal address position so that your right hip is just touching or is a half-inch away from the alignment stick.
• Step 3: Make Your Backswing. Start making slow, smooth backswings. Your goal is to rotate your hips and shoulders without pushing your hip firmly into the alignment stick. You should feel your glutes engage and your body coil, almost like you're loading a spring, but you shouldn't feel a big lateral push into the stick. If you feel your hip smash into it, you're swaying.
• Step 4: Turn It Into a Full Swing. Once you get the feel of rotating without swaying in your backswing, you can start hitting shots. Focus on feeling your weight shift forward toward the target in the downswing so your lead hip moves toward the target as your body unwinds. This combination of a stable backswing rotation and a proper forward weight shift moves your low point correctly ahead of the ball.

Cause #2: An Early Release of the Club (Casting)

Imagine casting a fishing rod. You bring the rod back and then, to flick the line out, you powerfully unhinge your wrists at the last moment. In golf, doing this too early is called "casting" or an "early release." It means you are losing the angle you’ve created between your lead arm and the club shaft right at the beginning of your downswing, essentially throwing the clubhead at the ball from the top.

When you cast the club, you are throwing away all your stored power and, more importantly for this discussion, you are unhinging the club so it reaches its maximum length far too early. The bottom of your swing arc happens much earlier and therefore moves behind the ball, leading to a classic chunk. Players who maintain their wrist angle (often called "lag") for longer in the downswing can deliver the clubhead with a descending blow, a forward-leaning shaft, and a low point after the ball.

How to Fix It: The Pump Drill

This drill helps you get the feeling of storing your power and releasing it at the right time - at the bottom of the swing, not the top.

• Step 1: Get to the Top. Take your normal setup and make your full backswing, stopping at top.
• Step 2: The First "Pump." From the top, start your downswing motion, but only bring the club down until your hands are about waist high. The key here is to feel like you are maintaining the wrist hinge you created. Your hands should be leading the clubhead. Now, return to the top of your swing.
• Step 3: The Second "Pump." Do it again. Start down, stopping at waist high while keeping that angle in your wrists. From this halfway-down position, you should really feel how your hands are ahead of the clubhead. Return to the top.
• Step 4: Swing Through. After two pumps, initiate the downswing for a third and final time, but this time, continue all the way through and hit the golf ball. The goal is to replicate that feeling of saved-up energy and let it all release through the impact zone, not before it. You'll feel a much more powerful and compressed strike.

Cause #3: Hanging Back on Your Trail Foot

This issue is a close cousin to swaying, but it is focused on the downswing. Even if you have a perfect backswing rotation, failing to shift your weight onto your lead side as you swing down will cause a chunk. Golfers who do this often look like they are "falling backward" at the finish, with most of their weight still on their trail foot (the right foot for a righty).

When your weight stays back, your body’s center of gravity - and thus the low point of your golf swing - stays back with it. You are effectively trying to hit the ball while leaning away from the target. Think about it: it's nearly impossible to move the low point forward if your entire body is still behind the ball. A powerful, clean golf shot has a dynamic weight shift where the pressure moves from your trail foot to your lead foot through impact, finishing with maybe 80-90% of your weight on your lead leg.

How to Fix it: The Flamingo or Step-Through Drill

This exaggeration drill forces you to get your weight moving forward and is one of the quickest ways to feel a proper weight shift.

• Option A (Simple): The Flamingo Finish. Simply hit shots with one single thought: hold your finish with all of your weight on your lead foot until your ball lands. Your trail foot should be up on its toe, balanced easily, almost like you could lift it off the ground completely. If you are wobbly or falling backward, your weight never got forward.
• Option B (Exaggerated): The Step-Through. Set up to the ball normally. Start your downswing and as you swing through impact, allow your trail foot to come off the ground and take a step forward, toward the target, so you finish walking after your shot. You simply cannot do this drill without shifting your weight forward. It ingrains the feeling of moving your momentum completely through the golf ball.

Cause #4: Incorrect Ball Position

Sometimes, the fix is much simpler than a swing motion. It could just be your setup. Your swing arc has a naturally recurring low point that is based on your body and dimensions. If you place the ball too far forward in your stance for that particular club, you may find your swing bottoming out on the turf before it ever has a chance to reach the ball.

For example, if you place a 9-iron - a club that should be played in the very center of your stance - way up off your lead heel like a driver, your club is going to naturally hit the ground where the center of your stance is. This results in yet another chunk. While many golfers error on the side of playing the ball too far back, putting it too far forward is a common and often overlooked cause of fat shots.

How to Check It: The Alignment Stick Checkpoint

Never eyeball your ball position. Use a guide to stay consistent.

1. Lay an alignment stick on the ground, pointing at your target. Place your ball on this line.
2. Lay a a second alignment stick perpendicular to the first one, creating a "T" shape. This second stick should be positioned in the middle of your stance, pointing at your belt buckle.
3. For your short irons (PW, 9, 8), the ball should be positioned directly on that center stick.
4. For your mid-irons (7, 6, 5), the ball should be just an inch or two ahead of the center stick.
5. Hit some shots using this visual guide. Often, golfers are shocked to find their perception of "center" was off, and correcting this basic setup point instantly cleans up their contact.

Final Thoughts

Eliminating chunked golf shots really boils down to controlling the low point of your putting. By managing your weight shift to prevent swaying or hanging back, maintaining your wrist angles to avoid casting, and checking your ball position, you can systematically remove the major causes of hitting the ball fat. Be patient, work through these drills, and you’ll start enjoying the satisfying feeling of pure, ball-first contact.

And when you're out there on the course and face a tricky lie in the rough or find yourself in a spot where you just don't want to make things worse with a chunk, that's where we built Caddie AI to be your partner. You can get an immediate, smart recommendation for thousands of situations, including taking a photo of your ball's lie to get an unbiased, strategic suggestion on the best way to play the shot. Our goal is to remove the guesswork on the course, so you can swing with confidence and make smarter decisions.