Why You Keep Hitting Thin Shots (and How to Fix It)

The Real Reason You’re Catching the Ball Thin

Thin shots — when you hit the ball too high on the face or even the equator — happen for one reason: your low point is behind the ball. That means the club is moving upward when it should still be traveling slightly downward through impact. Instead of compressing the ball, you’re skimming it off the turf.

The cause isn’t always as simple as “lifting your head.” More often, it’s a sequence or posture problem. Your body stands up, your arms shorten, or your weight hangs back — all moving the club’s low point away from the target. The club doesn’t bottom out where it should, and the result is that dreaded thin, stinging shot that flies low and long.

Understanding what’s actually happening at impact is step one. The fix comes from improving pressure shift, posture control, and rotation — the three pillars of crisp contact.

The Common Causes of Thin Shots

Let’s break down the most frequent culprits that lead to catching it thin:

1. Hanging Back on the Trail Side
If your pressure doesn’t shift forward during the downswing, the club bottoms out too soon. This often happens when players try to “lift” the ball into the air instead of letting the loft do the work.

2. Early Extension (Standing Up)
As your hips move toward the ball, your posture changes and your arms lift, pulling the club upward through impact. This steep-to-shallow motion almost guarantees thin contact.

3. Scooping or Flipping the Wrists
Trying to help the ball up causes the trail wrist to unhinge too early, raising the clubhead and adding loft at impact. You lose compression and consistent strike location.

4. Ball Too Far Forward
If your ball position creeps forward, your club catches the ball as it’s moving upward rather than downward. Combine that with any of the above, and thin shots become inevitable.

The fix starts with reestablishing your low point ahead of the ball — through proper rotation, forward pressure, and correct setup.

How to Shift the Low Point Forward

The key to eliminating thin shots is learning to control where your swing bottoms out. For clean, compressed contact, your low point should be just ahead of the golf ball — not under it or behind it. That ensures the club is still descending slightly at impact, catching the ball first and the turf second.

Here’s how to make that happen:

1. Pressure Shift Toward the Target
Start your downswing by shifting pressure into your lead foot. At impact, roughly 70–80% of your weight should be forward. This moves your low point ahead of the ball automatically and keeps your hands leading the clubhead.

2. Maintain Posture and Spine Angle
If your hips thrust toward the ball, your chest lifts and your arms shorten. Instead, feel your lead hip clearing around your body, not toward the ball. Keep your chest down through impact — this maintains space and lets the club swing down naturally.

3. Rotate, Don’t Slide
A common mistake is trying to push the hips laterally toward the target. That shift without rotation causes you to lose balance and top the ball. Focus on rotating your lead hip and chest through the shot. The rotation keeps the handle moving forward and the club shallow through the turf.

4. Let the Club’s Loft Do the Work
Trying to “help” the ball into the air moves your low point backward. Trust that solid contact and forward shaft lean will launch the ball higher with more spin — without you scooping it.

Drills to Eliminate Thin Shots Fast

1. The Line Drill
Draw a straight line on the turf with spray paint, chalk, or an alignment stick pressed into the ground. Place a ball on the front edge of the line and focus on brushing the turf ahead of the line with each swing. If your divot starts behind the line or doesn’t exist, your low point is still too far back.

2. The Coin Drill (Indoor Option)
Place a coin on the carpet and make slow practice swings brushing the coin forward, not upward. This builds awareness of where your club meets the ground. When you can repeatedly clip the coin and “push” it forward, you’ve learned true low-point control.

3. The Lead-Foot Pressure Drill
Hit half-swings while keeping 70% of your weight on your front foot throughout. This exaggerates the forward pressure feel and teaches your body what proper contact feels like. Once you can strike the ball first and take a small divot ahead, blend that motion into full swings.

4. The Towel Drill
Lay a towel about two inches behind the ball. Strike shots without touching the towel. If you hit it, your low point is too far back. Missing the towel cleanly means your club is descending properly through impact.

Consistency in contact comes from striking the ground in the same place every swing — slightly ahead of the ball. These drills train that precision and eliminate thin shots permanently.

How to Maintain Solid Contact Under Pressure

It’s one thing to strike the ball perfectly on the range. It’s another when you’re standing over a tight fairway lie, wind in your face, and water short. Most golfers tighten up, rush their tempo, or try to “help” the shot into the air — all of which move the low point behind the ball. The secret is not mechanical; it’s mental tempo and body trust.

Before each shot, take one rehearsal swing feeling your chest turning through and your weight staying left. Then, as you set up, commit to a single focus: “brush the grass ahead of the ball.” Simple cues like that prevent tension and force you to stay down through impact.

If nerves creep in, slow your transition at the top. Most chunks and thins under pressure come from quick starts that destroy sequencing. Tempo under tension is consistency under pressure. Let your swing stay smooth, balanced, and centered.

Final Thoughts: Build Compression, Not Lifts

The secret to pure contact isn’t hitting harder — it’s hitting forward. When your body rotates through impact and your low point happens in front of the ball, you trap it cleanly, compress it fully, and eliminate both fat and thin strikes.

Golf rewards players who move with precision, not force. You don’t need to manipulate your hands or “stay down” artificially — you just need to control where the club meets the ground. When your pressure shifts forward and your chest keeps turning, compression happens naturally.

So the next time you catch one thin, don’t panic. Check your setup, posture, and weight shift. Then practice brushing the grass ahead of the ball until that sound — the crisp, compressed strike — becomes your default.

Solid contact isn’t magic. It’s movement done in the right sequence, over and over again.

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Thanks for reading today’s article!

Nick Foy – Golf Instructor