Flub
A flub is a badly mishit golf shot, usually one where the club strikes the ground behind the ball before reaching it, so the ball travels only a fraction of its intended distance.
What is a flub in golf?
A flub is golfers’ shorthand for a shot that comes off badly. In its loosest sense, the word covers almost any poor strike, but most players use it for one specific mistake: catching the ground before the ball. When the clubhead digs into the turf first, grass and soil get between the face and the ball and drain the energy out of the strike. The ball dribbles forward a few yards instead of flying to the target.
The term sits alongside duff and chunk, and golfers tend to use all three for the same fault. According to MyGolfSpy, a duff, flub, or chunk all describe a fat shot where the club meets the ground well before the ball. Flubs turn up most in the short game, on chips and pitches around the green, where a small error in contact shows up as a big loss of distance. A clean whiff, where the club misses the ball entirely, is a separate kind of miss with its own name.
How a flub happens
Every golf swing has a low point, the spot in the arc where the clubhead comes closest to the ground. On a well struck iron or wedge shot, that low point sits slightly ahead of the ball, so the club catches the ball first and the turf second. A flub happens when the low point lands behind the ball instead. The club bottoms out early, thumps into the ground, and loses most of its speed before it ever reaches the ball.
Soft or wet turf makes the effect worse, since the clubhead digs in rather than sliding through. Wedges tend to suffer most. They carry more loft and are usually played on shorter, delicate shots where contact has to be precise. Golf With Brio notes that fat contact often traces back to the swing bottoming out too far behind the ball, which is why flubs cluster around the short game rather than full swings.
Flub vs. other mishits
Golf has a long list of words for bad shots, and they overlap enough to cause confusion. A flub is defined by weak, fat contact and lost distance. The mishits it gets mixed up with are separated mostly by where the club meets the ball.
| Term | What happens | Typical result |
|---|---|---|
| Flub / duff / chunk | Club hits the ground behind the ball first | Ball travels far short of the target |
| Fat shot | Technical name for the same fault as a chunk | Ground first, heavy divot, lost distance |
| Thin shot | Club strikes the top half of the ball | Low, hard runner with little control |
| Whiff | Club misses the ball completely | No contact, but still counts as a stroke |
| Shank | Ball struck by the hosel, not the face | Shoots sharply sideways, usually right |
Duff and chunk are the closest relatives. Golf With Brio points out that the two describe the same mishit, with duff more common in the UK and chunk more common in North America. Fat shot is the plain, technical description they all share. Golfers also reach for chili dip, and the old Scottish word sclaff, when they catch one heavy, as Golf Compendium notes.
The mishit most often confused with a flub is the whiff, though they are not the same thing. A whiff is a complete miss with no contact at all, while a flub always involves the club striking the ball, just badly. A shank is different again. There, the ball catches the hosel, the socket where the shaft joins the head, and squirts sharply sideways instead of coming up short.
Related Golf Terms
- Pop-up — A high, weak tee shot that travels little distance.
- Duffer — Slang for a beginner or habitually poor golfer.
- Sky ball — A tee shot struck off the top of the driver that balloons upward.
- Foozle — Slang for a clumsily botched shot.
- Breakfast ball — An informal first-tee mulligan taken on the opening hole.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a flub the same as a duff?
For most golfers, yes. Both words describe a fat shot where the club hits the ground behind the ball. Duff is heard more often in the UK, flub more often in the US.
What is the difference between a flub and a whiff?
A flub makes contact with the ball but poorly, so the ball still moves. A whiff misses the ball completely. Both count as a stroke on the scorecard.
Is a flub the same as a chunk?
In practice, yes. Chunk describes the club taking a big chunk of turf as it hits the ground first, which is the fault a flub usually refers to.
Why is it called a flub?
Flub is casual American slang meaning to botch or bungle something, first recorded in the 1920s and possibly a blend of “fluff” and “flop,” according to the Online Etymology Dictionary. Golfers borrowed it for shots that come off the club badly.
Do professional golfers flub shots?
Yes. Even tour players catch the odd fat one, most often on short pitches and chips where contact has to be exact.
Sources
- MyGolfSpy. “Golf Shot Names Explained: From Hosel Rockets to Worm Burners.” Accessed July 2026.
https://mygolfspy.com/news-opinion/instruction/golf-shot-names-explained-from-hosel-rockets-to-worm-burners/ - Golf With Brio. “Duff / Chunk in Golf: Meaning, Causes, and How to Avoid It.” Accessed July 2026.
https://golfwithbrio.golf/duff-chunk-in-golf/ - Golf Compendium. “What Is a Chunk Shot in Golf?.” Accessed July 2026.
https://www.golfcompendium.com/2020/07/chunk-shot-golf.html - Golf Compendium. “What It Means to Duff a Golf Shot.” Accessed July 2026.
https://www.golfcompendium.com/2024/10/duff-duffed-definition.html - LiveAbout. “Explaining the Fat Shot In Golf.” Accessed July 2026.
https://www.liveabout.com/fat-or-fat-shot-definition-1560843 - Golf-information.info. “Golf Shots Terminology.” Accessed July 2026.
http://www.golf-information.info/different-golf-shots-terminology.html - Online Etymology Dictionary. “Etymology of flub.” Accessed July 2026.
https://www.etymonline.com/word/flub
