Nothing can be more frustrating than chunking the ball over and over, especially when your buddies are already on the green. Even the occasional chunk can shake your momentum, so it's better if it never happens at all.
Drew Danko has been seeing more and more fat shots lately. He's been trying to pinpoint the source, but has yet to figure out what the problem is. Today, I'm going to outline some different reasons why golfers chunk the ball and how to avoid them.
Don,
I've been practicing your swing theory for several years now with good results. However, no matter what adjustments I make I still hit several fat shots each round. I'm 6 foot, in good shape but not strong, 74 years old and typically play weekly from the senior tees where I usually shoot between 82-86. When I practice in my backyard I always use alignment rods and focus on all my lines to insure they are parallel. So I don't think alignment is the problem.
From a technical/mechanical standpoint I'm curious about why the pros seldom hit fat shots. What is it they are doing that I'm not? I study your swing and what
really confuses me is that you do not hit fat even though you tilt backwards toward your rear leg when you bump. My attempts to bump seem to contribute to the dreaded fat shot. It is not a consistent problem, but occurs with enough frequency to ruin a round. Thanks for any insights you might share.Drew Danko
Dandridge, TN
Make sure to watch the video today, as I give a handful of reasons why golfers suffer the dreaded chunk shot. After watching, you might want to think about recording your own swing so you can watch it back on your television or smartphone. This will help you see what's most likely causing the problem.
Keep it vertical!
The Surge
If you can't view the YouTube video above try CLICKING HERE. You must allow popups from this site for the link to work.
Comments
Chunky monkeys
Fat city is never fun. I can feel for Mr. Danko as I have likewise sacrificed a few strokes lately to the Chunky Monkey. Surge did give us quite a list but I think I must be losing my knee levelness and or not pre-loading right sufficiently in my set up for the irons on occasion. I'm sure what I do sometimes is what Jonny Miller calls, "sway and stay" not returning to and finishing on the front foot. I will be taking a closer look at the solutions myself for the next time out.
Why don't we hit fat practice swings
Hi,
I wonder why I occasionally chunk shots but never hit fat practice swings. While I try swinging just the same with a ball as without a ball, I can do two perfect practice swings just to pull out a divot like ploughing a field trying to hit the ball.
Any ideas?
Thomas
No fat practice swings
Thomas,
If you are like I was for years (and still am occasionally), you are more relaxed with your practice swings and then add more tension as you try to "swing harder at the ball." There in lies the problem. Don has frequently related a story about DJ at a clinic: A student asked Don what he did when he wanted to hit the ball farther. DJ said that he would keep his lower body quieter and swing faster toward the target. Note that he said "quieter and faster," not harder. It is important to maintain a consistent amount of tension in the swing, starting with the grip; Don says 3 on a scale of 1-5 - not too loose and not too tight, but just right! His favorite saying is "Feel the swing; Swing the feel." You need to make your swing to hit the ball "feel" the same as your practice swing. For myself, this is a constant work in progress.
Good luck, and keep it vertical.
Kevin
Hitting Fat
Thomas, I practise a lot on a mat at home and have to force my self to hit the mat which is laid over brick paving. I think your main problem is that your still mentally hitting down and not up. The PPGS is hitting up, it's about the only thing i can do well. Think about throwing the club over your shoulder, just like tossing a towel, "try it you'll like it" LOL.
Fat Shots
Thomas, I feel your pain. I'm one of those hackers that has always fought hitting "at" the ball rather than thru the ball. Perfect practice swings because of no ball, nothing to hit "at". As soon as the ball is there everything changes and I tend to "go after it". One of the suggestions below of "feel the swing and swing the feel" is the key for me. If I pretend there is no ball I can make the practice swing over the ball and it works. Easy for me to say, but not easy to do. I've had some success doing that, but it does take working at it.
Fat
Most people I see consistently hitting fat shots are trying to help the ball into the air instead of just swinging through the ball and letting the loft of the club do it's job.
There's a fine line between what Surge calls nipping the ball off of the ground (which is good) and helping the ball into the air (which is bad).
Helping it into the air inevitably leads to flipping at the ball, reverse weight shift, and early release...And all result in fat shots.
There is no ball to help into the air on a practice swing.
In the Air
Steve, I agree what you say about trying to lift the ball, my point was about focusing on the finish. As we all know the PPGS mantra is hands perpendicular to the ground, both at the BUS and FUS, get this right then at the mid point which is at ground level, the club face should be square at the ball, most of the time, subject to ball position, bumping, on on on, etc, etc, LOL.
Up
Yep. Misunderstood is the difference between "swinging up" (which is good) and hitting up on the ball (which is not only bad but virtually impossible with a ball on the ground).
Plenty of people on the blog over the years have misunderstood that we can be swinging up and still have the club impact the ball before it's lowest point.
Of course all of the people consistently hitting it fat, that I was referring to, don't use the PPGS but the problem is the same no matter which swing we use. We've all done it at times. For me it's when I go brain dead when hitting a shot that has to be high enough to clear a tall tree and don't resist the urge to lift it.
My wedge shots
I hate to do this, because I know I'll get ripped in pieces. But a couple weeks ago, I shot this video of my interpretation of the PPGS golf swing. My main thought was keeping it vertical (which I don't do). Please laugh at me at my expense, 'cause I deserve it. I know the swings were bad, so no need to rip me. Just HELP ME!!! Jeff P.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4rgaaklr94
Wedge shots
Jeff
You should get another video from face on were we could see ball position and what the body is doing.
Wedge Shots and vertical swing
Jeff,
Your first swing was the most vertical and looked fairly decent. After that, you seemed to get faster between shots which, IMHO, caused your swing to get a little off. I would suggest you take some time between shots to get yourself in the Master Setup Position (MSP) and properly aligned with your target. Your alignment seemed to change with each shot and was likely the cause of the changes in your swings. I don't know what your normal routine is, but I have found that taking the time to go through my setup routine every time makes for better swings and much better results.
Keep at it and it will all click for you.
Kevin
Swing
Nothing wrong with it. Just like all the rest of us that I've seen (EXCEPT Surge, DJ, Nicklaus, and a few other pros) having to make a choice between "vertical" at the top or the correct shaft angle on the way down.
We can all do one or the other fairly easily but have trouble putting them together. Problem with ONLY having the vertical aspect is that there is less power (MUCH less power) and more trouble with the longer clubs. Problem with ONLY having the correct shaft angle on the way down is pretty much all of the potential problems and pitfalls Surge talks about every day.
It's why we keep working and sometimes have to exaggerate an aspect of the swing to ingrain a different aspect.
For example: I had to get my wife to hit some balls a few weeks ago with an extremely closed stance and an extremely closed club face to "fix" another problem, and it worked perfectly. Then once she got that feel she was able to go back to a convention stance.
Wedge Shots
Jeff, I'll leave the technical breakdown to those much better at it than I. But from this old hacker"s point of view, you were more vertical than most and definitely closer than I am. Also, your T finish looked pretty good to me. Definitely not as bad as you think.
irons
I noticed that my thumbs pointing up on my backswing is good but when I point my thumbs down in the hitting zone I notice that the toe of my club pointing downward. Is it a fitting problem or a swing problem on how I point my thumbs down in the hitting zone??