You're Correct!

There is little that is as frustrating as hitting a couple of great shots that get you close to the green only to be brought right down to earth by hitting a chip shot where the ground travels further than the ball. This leaves you embarrassed and so cross that it is now almost impossible to get the ball in the hole at all.

Hitting a fat shot is when the ground is contacted by the golf club before the ball. This sucks all of the energy out of the club head and causes the ball to only travel a few yards. We have all done it so use this tip to strike that chip shot cleanly and correctly on to the green and close to the hole.

The problem occurs when the bottom of the swing arc is behind the golf ball at impact rather than in front of it. The lowest point in the golf swing is at the bottom of the arc, hence the ground is hit before the golf ball. Therefore, the bottom of the swing needs moving forwards so that contact with the ground occurs after the ball has been struck. To do this the body weight needs to move forwards in the stance and be approximately positioned so that 70% of the body weight is on the front foot. The consequence of this is that the bottom of the swing arc also moves forwards in the stance, with the body weight, into a position in front of the golf ball.

A simple drill to feel the weight on the front foot is to set up to hit a normal chip shot and then lift the back heel off the floor - that is the right foot for right handed golfers and the left foot for left handed golfers. Lifting the back heel off the floor pushes the body weight towards the front foot as it is not possible to comfortably support yourself on the foot with the heel off the floor. Hit the chip shot as normal but with the back heel in the air and you should find that you connect with the ball and then the ground instead of the other way around. If you struggle to keep your foot off the floor during the shot, try putting a golf ball underneath the back heel and standing on it. This will keep the foot up and the weight forwards and you will feel the pressure of the golf ball underneath the foot if the bodyweight starts moving backwards.

Use this exercise to hit those chip shots cleanly and get the ball close to the hole.

Teeing the ball up only encourages you to try to get under the ball more and therefore, in the summer months when the preferred lie rule is not in use and the ball is not teed up, you will hit more shots fat as there will not be enough room to get underneath the ball when the ball is positioned on a perfect lie on the fairway.

This means positioning the ball nearer the back foot than normal. Doing this causes two problems. The first is that the ball will travel too low or be driven into the ground as the golf club head drives into the ball on a downward angle that is too steep. The second is that it can encourage the golfer to lean back to try to reach the ball that is in the back of the stance, with a scooping action causing the problem that we are trying to avoid.

Trying to avoid the floor or hitting the golf ball cleanly is a common occurrence in those golfers who struggle with their chip shots. It is important to strike downwards and through the golf ball into the floor to get a good quality connection which produces a consistent and controlled shot. Avoiding the floor actually increases the chances of a poor shot and can produce the opposite of a fat shot - a thin shot. Here the ball is contacted halfway up, and off the edge of the golf club, producing a shot that shoots low and fast across the other side of the green. Instead of correcting the problem, another one is created and confidence around the greens is soon diminished further.