Fat hits

[Larry]

I have completed Day 31. I am noticing a good many fat hits with irons. I wonder if I am getting too low on downswing, or maybe I’m too steep, or maybe this swing requires shorter clubs than I have. I can choke down some, but not sure that’s the correct way to deal with this. Advice appreciated.

[Bernie]

I played for the second time since starting the program after lesson 51 a couple of days ago. I had played once (before the “pressure lessons”), after lesson 16. I also had trouble with 150-190 yard long iron shots being hit fat, at times almost 2 inches fat. I suspect this is due to my old swing creeping in, where I had the ball further back with a more vertical swing and deep divot. When I remembered to focus on the “surf to level” movement these long iron shots were much better. I’d say two thirds of my long iron shots were good, but one third were up to 2 inches fat and resulted in a “gopher killer” low shot that only went about 100 yards. I suspect eliminating this will just come from repetition of the proper movements as taught by Tathata, but I’m open to any suggestions as well.

[Tathata Staff]

Larry and Bernie,

Thank you for the questions, it’s great seeing your progress through the program.

One of the first things to check when hitting it fat is your backswing and if you are 1) staying absolutely centered. If your lower body, upper body or head has moved toward or away from the target during your backswing, this can cause fat and mishit shots (especially if your upper body is moving away from the target during your backswing).

The next place we would recommend checking is in your downswing and your “Snap to Level” movement. Be sure as you do this you are moving 2) down and toward the target. If you don’t move far enough forward toward the target in this part of the swing it can be very easy to hit the ground before the ball and hit the shot fat. As you do this and finish the “Snap to Level” movement, be sure that your front knee is closer to the target than your front foot and your front hip is even with your front foot to ensure you are moving far enough forward toward the target. Be sure again that your knees, hips, shoulders and arms are parallel to the target line and that your front knee, hip, shoulder and hand are further from the ground than your back knee, hip, shoulder and hand.

Those two things to check should help you hit the ball before the ground. Now, to make sure we aren’t taking too large of a divot, here are a couple more remedies that might help.

As you finish the “Snap to Level” movement, although you have gone down and toward the target at the start of the downswing, we should 3) finish in a position where our rib cage is lifted at the end of this movement. Do you feel that? It is important that the back is not rounded and leaning too much over the ball at this point but that the rib cage is lifted and the back is slightly concaved as you are pushed back into your glutes as well here. This should dramatically help any sense of taking too big of a divot.

Another thing to check is your 4) “Thrust Through Impact” movement. As we finish the “Snap to Level” movement just before impact, remember it is very important to thrust the body up through impact. This helps get the club out of the ground and take all of that force you have created going directly down at the ball and ground and send it parallel to the ground rather than right into the ground. Be sure that your pelvis is thrusting up and toward the target as you perform this move beginning just before impact. This should shallow out your divots and help you avoid any fat shots. Be sure your head isn’t thrusting up too much but that your body is moving into the front side crescent position to support the pelvis thrusting up and toward the target while your head stays in relatively the same place it was at the end of “Snap to Level.”

If you are still experiencing issues please let us know. For personalized help you might want to check out our Online Training opportunities and the option to send your swing in to have it analyzed by a member of the Tathata staff. We can look at your swing and show you what movements to work on to better your swing and make your training more effective specific to your individual needs.

[Larry]

Thanks. I have virtually eliminated fat hits now. My irons shots are coming along nicely – straight with more distance. Most go right where I aim, but I do hit some pulls and pushes. Making sure I stay centered and not letting my arms swing independent of body seems to be the key here. I am pleased with my progress and look forward to continuing to progress thru the program.

[Gilbert]

I just finished day 32 and continue to be very impressed with the training. However, I have noticed on the course and at the driving range I seem to be consistent with the shorter clubs (WEDGES-9 IRON) as far as impact but when I move through 8-5 irons or even longer clubs, driver and FWs, often times I struggle with consistent solid impact. The mis hits seem to be weak and fly right of center. Then I struggle with the long clubs of trying to snap to level and thrust through impact with the shots going from weak to the right to straight pulls. How do you find the correct balance to achieve consistent impact with the longer clubs similar to the shorter clubs?

[Tathata Staff]

Hi Gilbert,

Thank you for reaching out to us. This is a great question about finding more speed, consistency and safety with longer clubs similar to the shorter clubs. The link included below will take you to a video by Bryan, the founder, talking about pressure and energy in your center/stomach, lats and triceps to create more safety with these longer clubs.

Student Q & A: Add more speed and safety with longer clubs

Thanks Gilbert for the question, we look forward to hearing from you as you continue to train.

[Jerome]

Hello,
As I’m on day 34, my game has improved tremendously, yet I still find myself hitting fat. I’m trying to be more conscious of surfing and snapping, which does help. My question is, since this program is based around a stock 7 iron swing, wouldn’t it be logical to switch clubs to the “one length” iron, such as Cobra’s latest? Seems like it would take a lot of the guesswork on set up, and would achieve a more consistent strike with ALL irons.
Any thoughts?
Thanks,
Jerry

[Tathata Staff]

Hi Jerome,

Thank you for the question. Another student reached out with this similar question on a different Tathata Forum thread, you can see this discussion and a response from Tathata Staff here: http://legacy.tathatagolf.com/forums/topic/one-length-irons/.