How to Stop Hitting Fat Shots: Master Your Angle of Attack

Are you struggling with hitting fat shots? You're not alone. Many golfers experience this frustrating issue, which can dramatically affect both distance and accuracy. In this lesson, we'll share a professional coaching session that addresses one of the most common causes of fat shots: incorrect angle of attack.

Understanding the Problem: Positive Angle of Attack

One of the biggest mistakes amateur golfers make with their irons is hitting with a positive angle of attack (hitting up on the ball). This causes inconsistent contact, reduced distance, and those dreaded fat shots that barely travel anywhere.

The key numbers to remember:

• Optimal angle of attack for a 7-iron: Around -3 to -4 degrees
• Optimal angle of attack for a sand wedge: Around -10 degrees

Professional golfers consistently achieve these negative attack angles, allowing them to compress the ball properly and maximize both distance and control.

The Root Cause: Excessive Shoulder Tilt

Our student Preston was experiencing this exact issue. Despite having good alignment and path, his TrackMan data showed he was hitting up on the ball, even when trying to hit down!

The culprit? Excessive shoulder tilt at impact.

As our instructor identified, "When you tilt back, your head goes backwards, not forwards. The farther your head gets behind the ball at impact, the more you're going to bottom out behind the ball."

This backward movement creates several problems:

• The club bottoms out behind the ball
• You hit fat shots or thin shots
• You add unwanted loft to the club
• You lose distance and accuracy

The Solution: Level Shoulders and Forward Movement

Here's how to fix this problem:

1. Focus on Shoulder Position

While some shoulder tilt is natural (since your right hand is lower than your left on the grip), excessive tilt causes major issues. At impact, your shoulders should be only slightly tilted, not dramatically dropped on the trail side.

2. Practice the Hand Slap Drill

Try this simple drill:

• Hold your left hand out at shoulder height
• Follow through with your swing motion
• Let your right hand slap your left hand
• Feel how level your shoulders become

As our instructor explains: "If you follow through with your right hand and slap that hand, that's what I want you to feel like on the way through."

3. Use Chipping to Find the Feeling

Start with short chip shots to ingrain the correct feeling:

• Play the ball back in your stance
• Position the handle forward
• Feel your shoulders more level at address
• Focus on hitting down and through
• Check that your head stays more forward at impact

Even these gentle chips should create a negative attack angle of -4 to -6 degrees.

4. Watch Your Balance

If you're often off-balance after your swing, this could be another symptom of the same problem. As our instructor confirmed to Preston: "Is that why I'm like off balance a lot? Yes, it is."

Results You Can Expect

When Preston applied these adjustments, his TrackMan numbers immediately improved:

• Attack angle changed from positive to -4 to -6 degrees
• Shot distance increased by over 10 yards
• Ball flight became more penetrating
• Contact became more consistent

One particularly good shot with his sand wedge achieved a -6 attack angle with a +3 club path – numbers that any professional would be happy with!

Key Takeaways

Remember these essential points:

1. Maintain more level shoulders at impact
2. Allow your head to rotate forward through impact
3. Feel like you're hitting down into the ground after the ball
4. Practice with short chips first to find the feeling
5. Use the belly button drill – feel your hips and shoulders level on the finish

Next time you hit the range, focus on these simple adjustments. You'll be amazed at how quickly your ball striking improves, and those fat shots will become a thing of the past.