In golf, hitting the ball at its equator determines the power your shot will generate. If you miss the equator by any chance, there is no way you can get enough power to make an impactful hit on the ball. The result? Hitting a golf ball thin.
Is hitting golf balls thin even a thing?
It surely is, as even the most professional golf players make mistakes where hitting golf balls at the equator becomes too difficult. This is what makes the golf balls go thin when you hit them the ball. The equator line of the ball has a crucial role to play in the overall trajectory of the ball and the range it will cover.
How to Stop Hitting the Ball Fat
So the main focus should be hitting the ball right on the equator to get the required power and range from the ball with every single hit. No one likes to hit thin golf balls.
The trajectory of a thin ball
The trajectory of a thin ball is quite prominent to identify. That's why both the golfer and the spectators will be able to note that this shot is moving with a thin golf ball trajectory instead of an actual shot that may have the chance to reach the target.
The first thing to notice in a thin ball trajectory will be the speed of the ball. The speed of the ball will be very slow, and the same goes for the height of the ball. The golf ball won't reach a certain height, and the shot will look super off compared to a regular shot.
The main reason behind thin shots
There are very prominent similarities between thin and flat shots regarding errors. For example, the thin and the flat shots are produced when the golf stick fails to hit the ball at the required angle or with the required force.
But in the case of thin shots, the main culprit is the point at which the club contacts the golf ball. The bottom of the swing arc needs to hit the ball behind the equator arc to generate a thin shot.
Placement of the swing bottom
But the hit of the swing bottom behind the equator line of the ball is not the only major reason behind the generation of thin shots. When the swing bottom arc is too high from the golf ball equator, the lack of power and recession again ends up in the generation of a thing shot.
The term pure strike is when the club hits the ball at the sweet spot generating the most beautiful golf shot. But when hitting a golf ball thin shot, the club blade hits the bottom edge of the ball leading to the loss of a meaningful impact.
Prominent errors to avoid
Position of your body during impact
Your body influences the overall projection of the ball in more than one way. The position of your body must be within a constant and confined box instead of a moving trajectory. The movement can cause fluctuations for the point when the club hits the ball in search of the sweet spot.
This common error is referred to as the standing-up effect, where the golfer looks standing with the shot instead of maintaining the body position. Your spine must maintain a rigid and solid spot during the complete impact.
Body swaying
Again, the position and motion of the body are known to influence the whole impact of the shot more than one can notice. The body swaying is a major reason the golf hits end up becoming thin golf shots instead of a spot on bullseye.
Expert golfers believe that there is an imaginary line between the golfer and the ball, halving the golfer into two. Now, the shot will be affected if the body mass gets heavy on one side, leaving the other uneven. And when it comes to the swaying of the body, this is exactly what happens.
Reverse pivoting
If you are a keen observer of the game of golf, you can tell that the key to generating a beautiful golf shot is to shift the body weight in the right manner and direction. The reverse pivot is all about shifting the body in the opposite direction from the shot.
The reverse pivoting isn't super easy to identify. Most golfers don't even know that they are reverse pivoting. But if the thin golf shots keep coming, it is better to get a solid overview of how you shift your body weight at the moment of impact.
Club flipping
The club face is the only thing that can generate enough power to make a solid impact on the golf ball to cover a certain range. Club flipping or ball scooping is the condition where the club scoops the golf ball instead of hitting it away with impact.
The club flipping is all because of how you approach the ball to make an impact. Going down on the ball with the club will create a pocket-like mechanism causing the club to lose all its impact power.
Maintaining the spine angle.
Again, the spine decides a major part of the overall hit you will make. If the spine angle isn't constant, there is no way you will be able to generate an impactful shot and all you will be thin golf shots instead of a spot on the bullseye.
The spine angle must be constant for another major reason. If the spine angle isn't constant or changing continuously as you are making an effort to hit the ball, there is no way you will be able to estimate the trajectory and direction of the ball.
Final Note
Hitting thin golf balls can be very annoying at times. Especially when you are stuck at one hole, and there is no way you can get out of the situation without a beautiful golf shot showing all the expertise you have as a golfer. So, make sure that you don't repeat the common mistakes associated with hitting thing golf shots, or you are going to be stuck at a hole for quite some time.
Enrique Martínez Luque
Enrique Martínez Luque is the Argentina-based golf expert and professional writer. He built his career in the world of golf taking a number of positions. Enrique was the manager of a golf club, director at a federation level, an agent for professional golfers and director institutional relations on the Argentinian Tour. Assissted the professional golfers on major tours for almost 20 years. Worked as the press officer of national and international golf tournaments.
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