Thin Shot
Also known as: blading, hitting it thin, skulled shot
A thin shot is when the leading edge of the club catches the ball near its equator rather than below it. This means the opposite of a fat shot. This means producing a low, skimming ball flight.
A thin shot (also called a blade, skulled, or topped shot in extreme cases) is a mishit where the club contacts the ball at or above the equator rather than at the bottom third as intended. The result is a low, hard, trajectory with more distance than expected but no stopping power. This means the ball runs out after landing rather than stopping with spin. In extreme cases (a "skull" or "bladed" shot), the leading edge of the club contacts the middle or upper half of the ball. This produces a screaming low line drive that is difficult to control.
The causes of thin shots are the inverse of chunked shots but often come from the same root causes approached differently. Early release (flipping), for example, can cause both thin and fat shots depending on the degree. This means a moderate flip causes fat contact. This is because the club bottoms out early. A severe flip and upswing causes thin contact as the leading edge catches the top half of the ball on the upswing. More commonly, thin shots arise from early extension (standing up through impact. This raises the swing arc) or from insufficient hip clearance that forces the arms to swing upward to avoid the body.
Specific thin-shot patterns have specific causes. This means bladed wedge shots from tight lies are typically caused by a flip followed by the bounce of the club skipping off the turf and the leading edge contacting the middle of the ball. Thin iron shots on normal turf are often caused by early extension or excessive heel rise. And thin fairway wood shots often result from catching the ball on the upswing. This is because the ball position is too far back.
For thin iron shots, practice taking a divot. This means on the range, draw a line in the turf and practice hitting the line. This means the goal is for the divot to start at the line (or slightly ahead of it). This means you struck the ball before the ground. If you reliably miss the line without touching the turf, you are thinning the ball.
Use a launch monitor to track your attack angle on iron shots. This means thin shots often correlate with an excessively positive attack angle (hitting up on the ball with irons). Tour pro players typically hit 7-irons with attack angles between -4° and -6° (descending). If your attack angle is near 0° or positive with irons, you are setting up for thin contact, and working on forward shaft lean will bring the attack angle into the correct descending range.
Example
A player hits a sand wedge that rockets off low and runs through the back of the green. This means "skulled" or bladed, the leading edge caught the ball at its midpoint.
How it shows up on video
From a face-on camera angle, thin shots can be distinguished from fat shots in the impact zone. This means thin shots show the club catching the ball at or above its equator, often with the leading edge visible above the ground at impact. Early extension — the body rising through impact — is frequently visible preceding a thin miss. From a down-the-line angle, a thin bladed shot shows the club traveling on an upward arc at the moment of contact with the ball, rather than a descending or level arc. The absence of a meaningful divot with an iron on turf is also a reliable thin-shot indicator.
Common mistakes
- Trying to hit up on the ball to stop hitting thin shots. This means attempting to add an ascending blow to irons to make solid contact is exactly backwards. Irons should be struck with a descending blow; the ball launches up from the club's loft, not from an ascending swing.
- Keeping the head down too long. This means excessive focus on keeping the head down through impact can cause early extension as the golfer tries to look down. At the same time, the body needs to rotate through. Let the head follow the ball naturally after impact.
- Over-correcting from fat to thin. This means golfers who work on eliminating fat shots (by pressing the hands forward and hitting more steeply) sometimes over-correct into a very steep, narrow attack angle that produces thin shots of a different kind. Both extremes require calibration.
- Diagnosing thin shots without considering lie conditions — thin shots from tight lies or downhill slopes are more likely than from normal turf. Adjusting technique for unusual lies (using a narrower stance, less ball-position modification) prevents lie-induced thins.
In SwingVantage Motion Lab
SwingVantage can observe thin-shot patterns from video by identifying early extension (body rising at impact), upward arc through the impact zone. The club catching the upper half of the ball. These patterns are visible from both face-on and down-the-line footage and can be correlated with the trajectory and flight traits of the shot in question.
Related terms
- Low PointLow point is where the clubhead reaches the bottom of its arc through impact. Controlling it — keeping it at or just ahead of the ball with irons — is the basis of pure contact.
- Early ExtensionEarly extension is thrusting the hips toward the ball during the downswing. This causes the golfer to stand up out of posture and forces compensations at impact.
- FlipA flip is when the hands flick or scoop under the ball at impact rather than the shaft leaning forward. This means it adds loft, kills compression, and is a defensive reaction to poor sequencing.
- Attack AngleAttack angle is the vertical direction the clubhead is moving at impact. Negative means hitting down on the ball; positive means hitting up.
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