What Is a Chunk Shot in Golf?

Nothing grinds a round to a halt quite like a chunked iron shot. You make a confident, powerful swing, only to watch a huge patch of turf fly farther than your ball. It’s a frustrating, deflating feeling that every golfer, from beginner to seasoned player, has experienced. This article will break down exactly what a chunk shot is, the most common reasons golfers hit them, and most importantly, give you a set of simple, actionable drills to eliminate them from your game for good.

What Is a Chunk Shot in Golf?

A chunk shot - often called a "fat" shot - is simply what happens when your golf club hits the ground before making contact with the ball. Instead of a clean, crisp strike where the club face compresses the ball against the turf, the club plows into the ground first. This collision with the earth kills your clubhead speed, sending a shockwave up the shaft and causing the ball to travel a fraction of its intended distance, if it moves at all.

Think of it like this: a perfect iron shot strikes the ball first, then takes a shallow divot of grass just ahead of where the ball was resting. This is known as "ball-then-turf" contact. A chunk shot is the opposite: "turf-then-ball." The club bottoms out behind the ball, resulting in that disappointing thud and a less-than-stellar result.

The Problem of the "Low Point"

At the center of nearly every chunk shot is a concept called the "low point." Your golf swing is a circle, or an arc, that moves around your body. The low point is the very bottom of that arc, where the clubhead is closest to the ground. For a great iron shot, the low point must happen after the ball.

When you chunk a shot, your low point has shifted and is now happening before the ball. The club bottoms out too early, digs into the ground, and by the time it reaches the ball, all its energy is gone. So, the ultimate goal isn't just to stop scooping or lifting, it's to get your swing's low point back to where it belongs - just in front of the golf ball.

Common Causes of a Chunk Shot (&, How to Spot Them)

Understanding the "why" behind your chunked shots is the first step toward fixing them. While several issues can cause your low point to fall behind the ball, they typically stem from a few common swing faults. Let's look at the most frequent culprits.

1. Poor Weight Shift (Hanging Back)

This is arguably the number one cause of the chunk shot for amateur golfers. An effective golf swing involves a transfer of weight from your trail foot (right foot for a righty) in the backswing to your lead foot (left foot) in the downswing.

• What It Looks Like: Instead of shifting their weight forward towards the target on the downswing, many players "hang back," leaving their weight planted on their back foot. Your body's center of mass stays behind the ball, and guess what comes with it? Your swing’s low point.
• How to Spot It: Look at your finish position. Are you falling backward or feel off balance? Is your trail foot still flat on the ground instead of being up on its toe? If so, you're likely not shifting your weight correctly. Picture a major league pitcher throwing a fastball, their entire body drives forward. The golf swing requires a similar forward momentum.

2. Early Release or “Casting”

In a good golf swing, the angle between your lead arm and the club shaft is maintained for as long as possible in the downswing. This is often called "lag." An early release, or "casting," is when you unhinge your wrists prematurely from the top of the swing.

• What It Looks Like: It’s like trying to crack a whip but starting the 'crack' motion right at the beginning. You are actively throwing the clubhead at the ball with your hands and wrists instead of letting your body rotation pull the club through. This action throws the bottom of the swing arc way behind the ball.
• How to Spot It: Your shots feel powerless despite swinging hard, and you produce huge, deep divots when you chunk it. There's no feeling of "compression" or a powerful snap at impact. A video will show your club and lead arm forming a straight line far too early in the downswing, well before you reach the ball.

3. Excessive Swaying

A good golf swing is a rotation around a stable axis (your spine). A poor swing often involves excessive lateral movement, or swaying back and forth.

• What It Looks Like: During the backswing, the player’s hips and upper body slide away from the target instead of turning. While a small amount of lateral motion is natural, excessive swaying makes it very difficult to get your body back to the correct impact position consistently. If you sway too far back, you have to make a huge compensatory sway forward, and the timing is almost impossible to get right every time.
• How to Spot It: Film your swing from a face-on view. Draw a line from the outside of your trail leg at address. In the backswing, do your hips slide well outside of that line? That's a sway. Another sign is that your head moves a significant amount side-to-side during the swing.

4. Ball Position Too Far Forward

Sometimes, the fix is much simpler and happens before you even start your swing. Poor ball position can easily lead to a fat shot.

• What It Looks Like: The player sets up with the ball too far forward in their stance for the club they are hitting. For a mid-iron (like a 7 or 8-iron), the ball should be positioned near the center of your stance. If you place it where you would for a driver (inside your lead heel), you are effectively asking your club to travel much farther before hitting the ball.
• How to Spot It: With your club in its address position, bring your feet together. The ball should be right in the middle of your two feet. Now, take your normal stance width, with the lead foot moving a little less than the trail foot. The ball should end up just forward of center. If it's way up by your lead foot, you're making a clean strike much more difficult.

Two Drills to Get Rid of Chunks for Good

Enough with the theory - let's get to work. These drills are designed to give you the feel of proper impact and will directly attack the root causes of the chunk shot.

Drill #1: The Towel Drill (Your New Best Friend)

This is a classic for a reason. It gives you instant, undeniable feedback on your low point control.

How to do it:

1. Take a small hand towel and place it on the ground about 6-8 inches behind your golf ball. If you're on a grass range, you can also just draw a line in the turf with your club.
2. Set up to the golf ball as you normally would.
3. Your one and only goal is to hit the golf ball without htting the towel.
4. Start with small, easy 50% swings to get the feel. Your brain's self-preservation instinct will kick in. To avoid smashing the towel, you will be forced to move your weight forward and shift your swing’s low point ahead of the ball.
5. As you get comfortable, gradually build up to fuller, more powerful swings. Hitting ball-then-towel is okay, hitting towel-then-ball is the feedback you needed.

This drill helps correct a poor weight shift and an early release simultaneously by giving you a powerful visual cue and consequence.

Drill #2: The Step-Through Drill (Forces Weight Transfer)

If you know you hang back on your trail foot, this drill will physically force you to transfer your weight forward through the ball.

How to do it:

1. Start with your feet together, with the ball in the middle.
2. As you start your backswing, take a small step forward with your lead foot (your left foot for a righty), planting it at a normal stance width.
3. Swing down and through the ball. As you complete your follow-through, allow your trail foot (right foot) to release and take a full step forward, walking toward the target.
4. You should finish in a balanced "walking" position, standing entirely on your lead leg before the trail leg steps through.

It's impossible to do this drill correctly while hanging back. It promotes a dynamic, athletic sequence where your body leads the swing and pulls the club through impact rather than your arms pushing it. It syncs up your body rotation with your weight transfer beautifully.

Final Thoughts

A chunk shot is a direct message from your swing: your low point is in the wrong place. By understanding the common causes, like poor weight shift or casting, you can start to diagnose your own fault. Using simple feedback drills like the towel drill or step-through drill will ingrain the feeling of a proper, ball-first strike and help move the bottom of your swing arc forward.

When you're practicing on the range or playing a round, it can be hard to know if a poor shot was caused by your swing or just a tough lie. On-the-spot feedback is helpful for building confidence and making smarter choices. At Caddie AI, we designed our app to be that instant second opinion. You can snap a photo of any tricky lie and get a clear, practical recommendation on how to play it, helping you commit to the shot with confidence instead of guessing.