Say goodbye to chunked shots for good with this easy fix

There are three ways you can hit a fat shot. In no particular order: 1) unduly swaying off the ball in your backswing; 2) hanging back as you swing back down (as if you’re hitting a driver and not an iron); and 3) heeding the bad advice of keeping your head down or keeping your eyes on the ball through impact.

The first two are surefire ways to move the bottom of your swing arc behind the point of contact, thus the fat shot. The third fault? I ask: How do you keep your eyes on the ball when it’s rocketing off your clubface at more than 100 miles per hour? Keeping your head down and watching the ball are two ways that make it easy to catch it fat.

The easy fix

Stay centered as you turn and load up in the backswing. Then apply pressure to your lead foot and stand up a little bit as you swing through the hitting zone. You don’t have to jump out of your shoes. Stand up enough to create some room for your arms and hands to swing freely under your chest and create that ball-first-turf-second contact all great iron players do. 

A little posting on the lead leg with a centered body — that’s the ticket!

E.A. Tischler is a GOLF Top 100 Teacher who teaches at Olympia Fields CC in Olympia Fields, Ill.