Thin & fat shots are no fun and a frustrating part of the learning process. The good news is that you won’t have to endure these dreaded shots much longer. Let’s examine the top culprits:
Culprit No.1 Head Gets Ahead
Culprit No.2 Poor Impact
Culprit No.3 Improper Sequence
Let’s examine Culprit No. 1 » Head Gets Ahead
If your head gets ahead of the ball through impact, you’re done.
If your head initiates the downswing and gets ahead of the ball, you will top the ball. This means you will hit the top half of the ball sending it…well…not very far down the fairway.
Culprit No.2 Poor Impact
DON’T LET THE CLUBHEAD WIN THE RACE! Don’t allow the clubhead to win the race, my pro would tell me. The clubhead is ahead of my hands here. When the club wins the race, your front wrist will cup, which produces the dreaded scoop-factor!
Anything other than your hands leading the way through impact will not produce the best results, typically FAT shots.
SOLUTION: My hands have beat the club to impact. This is the key to solid strikes. The pros do this so well. We can learn to do this too with drills, lessons, and practice!
A Forward Shaft Lean is a term used to describe the position of your hands in relation to the clubhead just before impact.