How to Stop Hitting Fat Shots in Golf: The Complete Fix Guide (2026)

You make a smooth swing, watch your ball dribble 40 yards, and see a divot the size of a hamburger fly past it. That's a fat shot, and it's one of the most common, most distance-killing misses in golf.

Good news: fat shots aren't random. They come from a handful of specific swing flaws, and once you know what's actually happening at impact, you can fix it in a few practice sessions. Here's exactly why you're hitting fat and how to stop.

What Is a Fat Shot in Golf?

A fat shot (also called a chunk, chunked shot, or hitting it heavy) is when your club hits the ground before it reaches the ball. The clubhead digs into the turf, loses speed, and only catches the ball with whatever energy is left. Result: huge distance loss and a deep divot behind where the ball was.

The opposite is ball-first contact, where the club hits the ball first and takes a divot in front of it. That's the single most important skill in iron play, and it's the difference between a 7-iron that flies 150 yards and one that flies 90.

Why Do I Keep Hitting Fat Shots? The 7 Root Causes

Every fat shot has the same root cause: your swing's low point (the bottom of your arc) is behind the ball instead of in front of it. Seven different flaws push the low point in the wrong direction. Find yours and you can fix it.

1. Weight Hanging Back on Your Trail Foot

The #1 cause of fat shots for amateurs. If your weight stays on your back foot through impact, your low point shifts behind the ball. You feel like you're helping the ball into the air, but you're actually scooping.

2. Early Extension

Your hips thrust toward the ball in the downswing instead of rotating. Your spine angle rises, your hands lift, and the club often bottoms out behind the ball as your arms collapse to compensate.

3. Casting From the Top

You release the angle between your lead arm and the club shaft too early. The club unhinges before reaching the ball, so the bottom of the arc happens early. Casting is a major distance leak and a top cause of fat shots.

4. Ball Position Too Far Forward

Easy fix. If the ball sits too far forward in your stance, your low point happens behind it by design. For most irons, play the ball in the middle of your stance, moving slightly forward for longer clubs.

5. Trying to Lift the Ball

Golf clubs are designed to launch the ball when you hit down on it. When you try to scoop, you flip the wrists, raise the club, and hit fat. Hit down. The loft does the rest.

6. Reverse Pivot

Your weight goes toward the target on the backswing and away from it on the downswing. That's backwards, and it guarantees your low point ends up behind the ball.

7. Excessive Lateral Sway

If you slide your hips toward the target without rotating, you stall before impact and dump the club behind the ball.

How to Diagnose Your Fat Shot Pattern

You can't fix what you can't see. Most golfers have no idea where their club is actually bottoming out. The fastest way to find out is a golf swing strike mat, which shows you exactly where the clubhead enters the turf on every swing.

Our Golf Swing Strike Mat uses pressure-sensitive turf that marks every contact point. Hit ten balls and you'll see your pattern instantly. A cluster behind your impact line means you're hitting fat, and now you know what to fix.

5 Drills to Stop Hitting Fat Shots

Drill 1: The Line Drill

Draw a line on the ground perpendicular to your target line. Place a ball on it and swing. Your divot should start after the line, never before. Simple, effective, the gold standard for training ball-first contact.

Drill 2: The Towel Drill

Place a small towel about 6 inches behind your ball. Swing without touching it. The towel forces you to bottom out in front of the ball.

Drill 3: Weight Shift Step Drill

Start with feet together. As you swing back, step your trail foot back. As you swing through, step your lead foot toward the target. This exaggerated motion trains the weight shift that stops the hang-back.

Drill 4: Pump Drill for Casting

Take the club to the top. Pump down halfway with the wrist hinge intact. Pump again. On the third pump, swing through to impact. Trains the feeling of holding the lag instead of casting.

Drill 5: Strike Mat Feedback Loop

Hit 10 balls on a strike mat. Note where the marks cluster. Change one thing (weight shift, ball position, wrist hinge) and hit 10 more. Compare the patterns. This is how tour pros train, and it compresses weeks of work into one session.

How Long Does It Take to Stop Hitting Fat Shots?

Most golfers can dramatically reduce fat shots in 2 to 4 weeks with deliberate practice and real feedback. The key word is feedback. Hitting balls without it is just grooving whatever you're already doing, good or bad.

Three 20-minute sessions a week with a strike mat will beat two hours a week without one. It's not how much you practice. It's whether your practice is showing you the truth.

Are Fat Shots Worse With Certain Clubs?

Yes. Mid and long irons (5 through 8) demand the most precise low-point control, so they're the worst offenders. Wedges are forgiving because of bounce, and drivers are hit off a tee so the ground isn't a factor. If you're hitting wedges great but chunking 6-irons, you have a low-point problem, and a strike mat will confirm it in five minutes.

Frequently Asked Questions

What causes fat shots in golf?

The bottom of your swing arc is behind the ball instead of in front of it. Main causes: weight hanging back, casting, early extension, ball too far forward, and scooping.

How do I know if I'm hitting fat?

Your divot starts before the ball was, you lose 20 to 50 yards on a mid-iron, and your ball flight goes lower than normal. A strike mat confirms the pattern instantly.

Why do I only hit fat shots with my irons?

Irons need ball-first contact with a downward strike, so low-point control matters most. Drivers are hit on the upswing off a tee, so low point doesn't matter the same way. Chunking irons but striping drivers means you have a low-point problem.

Can a golf training mat fix fat shots?

Not by itself, but it shows you exactly what's happening at impact, which is the missing piece for most amateurs. Combine it with the drills above and you compress months of guessing into weeks of seeing.

Should I take lessons or buy a training aid?

Both. A lesson diagnoses the root cause. A training aid lets you practice the fix between lessons. Lessons alone fade fast. Aids alone can groove the wrong move. Use them together.

The Bottom Line

Fat shots aren't a mystery. They're a low-point problem. Once you see where your club is actually bottoming out, the fix becomes obvious. Use the drills, get real feedback, and most golfers can kill the chunk in a few weeks of focused practice.

Ready to see your strike pattern on every swing? Check out the Pin High Golf Swing Strike Mat, the same training aid we tested with members at Links365 Private Golf Club. Free shipping on orders over $75.