How to Stop Hitting It "Fat" and Start Compressing Your Irons
There are few feelings as demoralising in golf as the "fat" shot, or the "chunk". You make a swing that feels full of power, but instead of the crisp, satisfying "thwack" of a purely struck iron, you get a dull, heavy "thud." A giant slab of turf flies further than your ball, and you're left looking at a crater in the fairway and a shot that came up embarrassingly short of the target.
Hitting the ground before the ball robs you of all your power and consistency. It's a frustrating miss that can turn a simple approach shot into a battle just to get to the green.
So, what's actually happening? Put simply, the low point of your golf swing is occurring behind the golf ball. A good iron swing bottoms out a few inches in front of the ball, taking a divot after contact. When you hit it fat, your swing arc is reaching its lowest point too early. The club hits the ground first, loses a massive amount of energy, and then bounces up into the ball.
The cause isn't usually a single, glaring error, but a breakdown in the sequence of the downswing.
What usually causes that heavy strike?
- Hanging Back on Your Trail Foot: This is the number one reason for fat shots. Many golfers fail to shift their weight and pressure correctly onto their lead side during the downswing. Their weight stays on their back foot, which means the centre of their body-and therefore the low point of their swing-also stays behind the ball. From this position, hitting the ground first is almost inevitable. You can't hit the ball cleanly if your body is positioned behind it.
- "Casting" From the Top: "Casting" or "early release" is when you unhinge your wrists too early at the start of the downswing. Think of it like a fisherman casting a line. This action throws the clubhead out and away from you, causing it to reach the bottom of its arc way too soon. By the time it gets to the ball, it's already travelling upwards after having dug into the ground behind it. This is often a result of trying to generate power with only your hands and arms.
- A Ball Position That's Too Far Forward: Now, this might sound counter-intuitive, especially since the ball needs to be forward of centre for a good iron strike. However, if your ball position is too far forward for your specific swing, you may not have the ability to get your weight forward enough to reach it cleanly. Your body's centre remains behind the ball, and you end up reaching for it, causing the club to bottom out early. It's about finding the right spot for your swing, which for mid-irons is typically with the back of the ball about one iron head width from your lead heel.
- Losing Your Posture: If you slump or dip your upper body during the downswing, you lower the entire swing arc. Even if your weight shift is okay, this dip can drive the club straight into the ground behind the ball.
How to Achieve That "Ball-First" Contact
Fixing fat shots is all about improving your sequence and ensuring the low point of your swing is in the right place: in front of the ball.
Simple drills to eliminate fat shots
Chris Ryan shares two divot-line drills that train the low point to move ahead of the ball.
- Feel the "Pressure Shift": Before you even think about hitting the ball, learn what a proper weight shift feels like. A great thought is to feel the pressure move into your lead heel to start the downswing. This move pulls your body's centre forward, which in turn moves the low point of your swing forward.
- Feel Your Chest "Covering" the Ball: As you swing through impact, you should feel like your chest and sternum are rotating to a position that is over or even slightly ahead of the golf ball. Golfers who hang back often have their chest behind the ball at impact. This feeling of "covering the ball" is a powerful way to ensure your weight is moving correctly.
- Maintain Your Wrist Angles: To stop casting, feel like you're holding the angle in your wrists for longer in the downswing. A good image is to feel like you are "pulling" the butt end of the club down towards the ball, rather than "throwing" the clubhead at it. This preserves your power for the moment of impact and ensures the club is still travelling downwards when it meets the ball.
Start by making small, half-swings with a focus on these feelings. Put a line on the ground or a tee just in front of your ball and make it your goal to brush the grass or clip the tee after you've struck the ball. This will train your body to get the sequence right and move that low point to where it belongs. The result will be that compressed, pure iron shot you've been looking for.
Want to own contact again? The Chunked Chip: How to Stop Duffing It Around the Greens shows the short-game version of the same low-point miss, and From Thin to Win: How to Get Rid of Bladed Iron Shots keeps you alert to the opposite strike as you shallow out.
What are the quick questions golfers keep asking?
Q: Why do fat shots show up in the middle of a decent round?
A: The swing bottoms out before the ball-weight hung back or the lead wrist flipped.
Q: How do you train the strike to move forward?
A: Stick an alignment rod just behind the ball and swing without clipping it. Your low point will shift toward the target fast.