Golf is a game of precision and accuracy. It’s all about hitting the ball in just the right spot because even if you hit it off to one side or another, there will be consequences. This article provides tips to never hit fat golf shots again.
If you can’t get your club on the ball correctly (which would happen with fat shots), then your shot will either go too far left or right and miss its target by a significant margin.
In addition, when you play from an awkward position like this, that means that not only are you going to have a difficult time hitting the golf ball cleanly but also getting it out of trouble as well.
The good news is that avoiding these fat shots is easier than most people think – all they need to do is follow some simple tips to never hit fat golf shots again.
What are Fat Golf Shots?
Technically, a fat golf shot is any time you hit the ball into the ground before it gets out of your swing. However, most people also use it to describe shots that don’t go anywhere near their target or have a lot of sidespin on them (which sends them veering off to one side).
The problem with both kinds is that they lead to bad consequences – if your ball goes farther than desired then you will lose distance and not be able to get onto the green; if your ball doesn’t travel as far as you expect but has an angle on it then there’s no telling where it will end up.
While avoiding these types of mistakes can seem like an impossible task, all players need to do is follow some simple ways of thinking about the shot and their movement. They should first consider whether it is more important to them that they hit a clean ball or conserve distance.
When it comes to these kinds of situations, you can either play your golf from a standard position (with your hands ahead of the clubhead) or from an open stance where you are leaning slightly forward with your weight back over the ball.
However, if you are playing from an open position then you need to ensure that there’s still some bend in your knees so that when you swing back and through, your follow-through doesn’t end up being too much like your setup.
#9 Tips to Never Hit Fat Golf Shots Again
#1. Secrets of the pros
The professionals are able to avoid hitting fat shots all the time because they focus on a few key details when they play.
First, they ensure that while there’s still some bend in their knees (which you want from an open stance), that their arms and shoulders are also kept low before they swing back and through.
Once this is done, what happens next is that they lead with their shoulders when they make contact with the ball – instead of their hands or arms (you can see Jack Nicklaus do this at 0:45 below).
#2. Change your grip
While many people think about changing their stance but don’t think about how it impacts where their hands go on the club, this is a big mistake.
The truth is that if you put your hands on the club in the wrong place then your swing will be either too long or too short.
And from either of these positions, it’s easy to hit fat shots because you end up trying to shorten the swing or using excessive follow-through instead of being able to wait until the right moment to make contact with the ball.
#3. Stop hitting from a tree
When people play golf, they often have trouble avoiding fat shots when hitting out of trees, tall grass, or other spots where there isn’t anything past their target area.
In situations like this, it’s crucial that players remember not just to lengthen their backswing but also not to bend at all going into the backswing (instead, they should just gently bend the knees).
#4. Keep it level
Regardless of whether you are hitting from underneath a branch or not, all players need to remember to keep their shoulders level before they swing back and through.
This is important because if your shoulders drop then it will be nearly impossible not to hit fat shots.
Instead, your arms will take over for the clubhead and end up making contact with the ball before you have a chance to stop them.
#5. Don’t rotate too fast
Another common cause of fat golf shots is that people get anxious about taking their time in order to make sure that they compensate for their longer swings by planning on rotating faster during the follow-through.
The problem with this is that by rotating too fast you end up putting yourself in a vulnerable position because if something is wrong with your swing then it’s much harder to react and make the fix. Rotate the right way so you can never hit fat golf shots again.
#6. Know when to be patient
While there are times when you need to hurry up your follow-through, most of the time players just end up trying to hit shots as hard as possible without thinking about what they’re doing or how they’re going to get their distances.
If you can’t think about what you want out of each shot (such as “I know I’m above my target line but I don’t care”) then it’s impossible for you to avoid hitting fat golf shots because everything starts on your backswing.
If that isn’t working correctly, then you are going to end up hitting fat shots no matter how hard you try not to.
#7. Get in line with the target
In addition to thinking about taking your time during the follow-through, players also need to think about getting their bodies lined up properly before they swing back and through.
The reason for this is that if your body position isn’t correct (and there’s a lot of ways that it can be incorrect) then it will have an impact on everything from where your center of gravity ends up being when you start backswing all the way through where you finish up when you make contact with the ball.
#8. Don’t lean too far forward either
If players get too much knee bend during their follow-throughs then they open up the possibility of hitting fat shots.
It is important to remember that when you are hitting, your body starts and finishes in a balanced position – if you lean forward too much, then you will end up starting off over-balanced which makes it more likely for this to happen as well.
Keep your head still
One of the most common causes of fat golf shots is that people start moving their heads before or during contact with the ball.
While this may be helpful when trying to make sure that you can line up properly, having your head move at any other time in your swing is not only unnecessary but also dangerous because it’s easy for it to get knocked around by a less than perfect swing.
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Tips to Never Hit Fat Golf Shots Again – Conclusion
There are many things that golfers can do to avoid hitting fat golf shots. Hopefully, the above tips will help you the next time that you are on the course.
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