Dreaded fat shots are some of the most frustrating shots in golf.

Sometimes you will hit a great drive setting yourself up for an easy 100-yard shot into the pin. In your mind, this ball is going to land about ten feet from the hole setting you up for an easy birdie.

However, if you hit the ball fat, chances are your shot ends up about fifteen yards ahead of you.

Hitting fat shots can be stopped. A few tweaks to ball position, address position, and even spine angle can have you hitting the ball clean and crisp once again. Here are my 5 best tips to finally stop hitting the ball fat.

What Causes a Fat Shot in Golf?

A fat shot is caused by taking a divot behind the ball as opposed to in front of the ball. This can happen for various reasons, including improper weight transfer, too much head movement, and even the wrong mental picture of what it takes to hit a golf ball up in the air.

Hitting fat shots is a very common mistake in the game of golf. Many players would rather hit the ball thin than fat.

How Does This Compare to Hitting a Thin Shot?

When you hit a fat shot, the golf club hits behind the ball before it makes contact with the ball. Hitting a thin shot means you strike the golf ball only, or even partially up towards the middle of the ball. Fat shots are often hit as the club is still moving downward, and thin shots are hit as the club moves up.

5 Tips to Stop Hitting Your Golf Balls Fat

If you have a tendency to hit the ball fat, here are some things you can do to prevent that from happening. The common causes of hitting the ball fat can usually be fixed with a few sessions at the range.

Keep Your Head Stationary

One of the most common causes for hitting behind the ball is that your head moves up and down or side to side in your golf swing. If you look at videos of great players, you can see that there is, in fact, a bit of head movement.

However, most of the time, the head stays level, and it can return to the same exact position when it’s time to strike the ball. For many players, this head movement becomes a significant issue. As they turn back, the head dips down, and then it needs to move up at impact.

As you might have guessed, this movement up never happens. Therefore the club strikes into the ground too far.

If you can learn to keep your head stationary and focus on it, staying right over the golf ball, you will be less likely to hit the chunk.

Check Ball Position

Ball position is so often overlooked by amateur golfers. It’s kind of boring to work on ball position in your golf swing; we get that. However, it’s incredible how one tiny golf ball positioning can make or break your ability to have the clubhead strike in the proper position.

Ball position that is pushed too far forward towards the left foot (for right-handed players) can become a problem. Instead, it makes sense to have the ball just a bit closer to the center.

As we talked about, a fat shot can come from hitting the ground before the ball, and if the ball is too far up in the stance, you will strike grass first. Use a series of alignment sticks to help you

map out the proper feet position and ball position.

Move Weight Towards Left Foot

The goal of every golf swing is to finish with your weight forward on your left foot, standing square to the target with a full rotation. However, most players get stuck on their back leg. This leaves them feeling like they can’t get full distance, and it often results in hitting fat shots.

Sometimes golfers get lazy and have a bad swing habit that keeps their weight back. Others have a tendency to overswing, and it becomes too much effort to get the weight forward.

One of my best tips here is to start with a little bit of weight on the left foot. Don’t load up so that 90% of the weight is on the right foot at setup. Take a few swings like this and see if you can feel that weight making its way to the left side a little easier.

Play with this balance and transfer until you can find a happy medium that allows for a cleaner and crisper transfer of weight.

Mental Perception Changes

Are you one of the golfers that believe you need to lift the ball up in the air? If you are, you need to get that thought out of your mind. One of the reasons golfers hit a fat shot is because they think they need to lift the shot up in the air with their hands.

Don’t do this!

If you hit the golf ball at the bottom of the swing arc and take a divot directly after the ball, the launch, ball flight, and distance will be perfect. Start to get a mental picture in your head of what the proper impact position looks like.

Golf clubs and golf balls are designed in such a way that you can quickly get the ball up in the air by striking down and through it. Don’t overcomplicate the process by trying to lift the ball yourself.

This concept is really easy to learn when you practice chipping. Start taking some more compact chipping type golf swings and notice how much easier it is to hit a clean and crisp golf shot if you can keep your hands forward as opposed to flipping them to get the ball up in the air.

Narrow Stance with Room to Swing

We talked about ball position, but there are some things about the stance and setup that are also important for golfers to understand and implement. Hitting fat shots is not always caused by the swing. Sometimes the way you address the ball has you set up for hitting a fat shot.

The first step here is to take a narrow stance. If your stance is really wide, you may have a tough time transferring the weight. There are not too many downsides to a more narrow stance as long as you have some balance and stability.

In fact, many golfers that are struggling with their swing will take a narrow stance to see if they can control things and get it back to the standard position.

Next, make sure that you have enough room to swing the club. If you stand too close to the golf ball, you will hit behind it. As your hands come through the impact position, they get too close to your leg, and it causes you to hit behind the ball.

Play around with different distances to the golf ball. The longer the club, the further you will stand from the ball. In addition, make sure that you can fully transfer your weight and get to the forward position with all of your weight on the left side.

Brittany Olizarowicz

Britt O has been playing golf since the age of 7. Almost 30 years later, she still loves the game, has played competitively on every level, and spent a good portion of her life as a Class A PGA Professional. Britt currently resides in Savannah, GA, with her husband and two young children.

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The putter grip is the area of the golf game where we can get a bit more creative. The standard golf grip does not have to continue down to the putter; you can change things up and go with something a bit more unique.

Fat putter grips are becoming increasingly popular both for amateur golfers and professionals. We are here to answer your questions as to why this is happening and whether or not it’s time for you to make the switch.

Why Some Golfers Use Fat Putter Grips

The three main reasons that golfers use fat putter grips are to loosen grip pressure, make their path more consistent, and keep their hands and wrists out of the putting stroke.

Lowers Grip Pressure

Golfers that use a larger grip tend to have lower grip pressure. The grip is larger, making it harder for players to wrap their hands, so the grip pressure is considerably lower.

When grip pressure is high in the putting stroke, it can lead to issues with the path and the direction of the putter head. I’ve struggled with this in my game, and when I can be conscious about lighter pressure in the hands, it pays off.

More Consistent Path

Consistency in putting is key. If you can keep the path relatively the same each time you putt it, your chances of lowering your score are much higher. However, to be a consistent putter, you must make sure that you are confident in your path and that you repeat it.

With the proper fat putter grip, it becomes easier to get the feedback you need to keep the putter on the appropriate path.

More Use of Larger Muscles

Some putters are great feel putters, and they can use their hands and wrists to get the ball in the hole. However, the one thing we know about this type of putting stroke is that it is very inconsistent.

Golfers that can incorporate their larger muscles will notice it’s much easier to get the golf ball in the hole. Using shoulders and arms as opposed to hands and wrists makes a big difference.

Are Fat Putter Grips Better?

Fat putter grips are better for golfers that struggle with grip pressure, too much hand and wrist action, and inconsistency in their putting stroke. There are, of course, downsides to a fat putter grip as well.

The weight of your putter can get thrown off a bit when you switch to a fat putter grip. In addition, players with small hands may find that they don’t have enough control with the fat putter grip in place.

The good news is that putter grips come in all different sizes and widths. For golfers with slightly smaller hands, a midsize putter grip could work better than a true fat putter grip.

The 4 Best Fat Putter Grips

There are hundreds of fat putter grips on the market. As the grips have become more popular, more golfers have become interested.

Let’s dive into our top picks…

SuperStroke Traxion (Best Overall)

Pros

• Tour proven design
• Significantly helps with consistency on the course
• Incorporates the larger muscles in the putting stroke
• Tacky feel that does fade

Cons

• Heavy putter grip, you may need to have a professional install it for you

The SuperStroke Traxion is the best overall fat putter grip on the market.

In fact, this putter grip is not just popular among amateur players; it is something that professional golfers will use as well. SuperStroke puts a lot of time, effort, and money into the engineering that goes into these golf grips.

When feel and playability matter to you, the SuperStroke Traxion will need to be on the top of your list. The only negative that you sometimes have to be aware of with the SuperStroke Traxion is the weight. To pack in all the technology they needed, this putter grip weighs in at 65 grams.

One of the technologies that really stands out on the SuperStroke Traxion is the Advanced Spyne Technology. It almost feels like a guide where you can put your hands on the back of the putter. I like having this reminder in place.

Flat Cat Tack Putter Grip (Best for Grip Pressure)

Pros

• Made for a comfortable and tacky feel
• Improved feedback and control
• Highly consistent

Cons

• High priced putter grips, not much variation in price from one model to another

Flat Cat is another brand that has made a strong name for itself when it comes to fat putter grips. This is meant to be a squared-off putting grip that allows players to grip the club in a variety of ways.

With all of the Flat Cat models to choose from, we picked the Flat Cat Tack to be on our list. I like the tacky feel this putter grip provides, and it certainly helps to lower overall grip pressure, and it holds up quite well over time.

Another feature that Flat Cat incorporated into this putter is the Easy Glide Cone technology. This helps you take the putter in and out of the golf bag without damaging the grip. When you pay for the fat putter grips, the last thing you want to experience is damage!

Champkey CT Pistol (Best for Those on a Budget)

Pros

• Pistol shape for better control
• Known for its lightweight design
• Very fair pricing

Cons

• Not quite as thick as the Super Stroke

Champkey is a value golf brand that has been doing a great job of giving golfers the technology they need for a very fair price. The Champkey CT Pistol is the best budget fat grip on the market. If you haven’t already noticed the high pricing on these putter grips, it’s certainly a thing.

An essential putter grip may be in the $5 to $8 range. The high end fat grips start at around $12 and increase to close to $30. Of course, this is more material included, but it’s also just the fact that these grips are very popular right now.

Champkey CT Pistol is made with a comfortable polyurethane material that feels good in the hands and has just enough tack to keep from slipping on the club. In addition, this is a lightweight design that helps to lower your grip pressure. If you happen to struggle with putting but want to make a quick improvement to your stroke, this one is a good choice.

Winn Pro X Putter Grip (Best Premium Option)

Pros

• WinnLite Technology for a lighter overall feel
• Stable during the putting stroke
• Easy to keep the putter in the palm of your hands
• High-quality tacky texture for lower grip pressure

Cons

• Winn grips tend to wear out because the grip material is softer
• Priced higher than other options on the market

The Winn Pro X Is the best premium thick putter grip on the market. Winn takes a lot of time to ensure that its technology is better than others on the market. In addition, they look for the surface texture to be comfortable yet tacky.

With the Winn Pro X putter grip, you will be able to keep the face of the putter on the proper path, as the grip is designed to eliminate movement in the stroke. This rectangular feel takes a bit of time to get used to, but it does keep your hands in the position that you want them for your entire stroke.

If you have the Winn Dri Tac grips on your golf clubs, you may find that this Winn Pro X is an excellent complement to that.

Brittany Olizarowicz

Britt O has been playing golf since the age of 7. Almost 30 years later, she still loves the game, has played competitively on every level, and spent a good portion of her life as a Class A PGA Professional. Britt currently resides in Savannah, GA, with her husband and two young children.

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