NCG’s Golf Glossary: What is a thin?

Here at NCG we pride ourselves on being the publication for the everyday player, so we’ve taken it upon ourselves to delve into the wonderful world of the golfing lexicon.

Sometimes the most obvious terms have the most interesting story, so you might find yourself an interesting conversation starter…

What is a thin?

A thin in golf is a shot where the club head strikes the golf ball too high, usually around the mid point of the ball, resulting in a low, sometimes slicing shot.

Usually when you catch the ball thin you can tell because you can feel more than vibrations in your hands as you make contact with the ball.

How would I use it in a sentence?

“The ball came out and low and stung my hands, think I caught that one a little thin”

What are the origins?

In simple terms, a thin shot is caused by a player’s swing bottoming out ahead of the ball. If a player’s swing bottoms out before the ball this causes a fat shot.

This is mainly caused by a golfer lifting their head or torso too early in the swing. Doing this pulls the arms up, raising the club and this causes the golfer to it above the centre of the ball.

One of the main ways to stop this is to check the positioning of the ball in your stance and your alignment.

Any other business?

Rory Mcirloy’s shot at the 2014 PGA Championship is a great example of how mishit thin can actually work out.

Rory admitted after the round that he was aiming to hit a high draw into the green. Because he caught it relatively thin, it gave the ball a different shape and more roll on the shot and it therefore was able to reach pin high.

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