Why Does My Elbow Hurt When I Hit Fat Shots?

Elbow pain when you hit fat shots often feels like a sharp jolt or deep ache because striking the ground before the ball sends a sudden shock up through your hands, wrists, and elbow.

You may notice the shot feels wrong the instant the club hits the ground. The contact feels heavy, the vibration travels up your arm, and your elbow may hurt immediately afterward or start aching over the next few swings.

Even if one fat shot only causes a brief sting, repeated heavy contact can leave the elbow feeling sore, tender, or stiff later in the round. The more often the club strikes the turf first, the harder it can be for the elbow to settle down between swings.

The Pain Hits The Moment The Club Digs Into The Ground

You may feel a sudden jolt shoot through your arm during impact.

Fat shots create a very different feeling than a clean strike. Instead of the club moving smoothly through the ball, it abruptly meets resistance from the ground, and your elbow may absorb some of that shock. The pain is often easy to pinpoint because it happens at the exact moment of contact.

The Elbow Stays Sore After A String Of Heavy Shots

You may notice the elbow keeps aching even after the bad shots are over.

After several fat shots, the elbow can feel tender during gripping, carrying your bag, or making practice swings. The area may tighten up as the round continues, making each heavy strike feel more uncomfortable than the one before it.

Why Your Elbow Could Be Taking Longer To Heal

Your elbow has a hard time healing when blood flow and circulation are limited.

Tendons, ligaments, and other soft tissues naturally receive less blood supply than many other parts of the body. Because of this, they often take longer to heal after repeated stress or injury, leaving you more vulnerable to lingering pain and a cycle of reinjury.

When circulation through the area remains limited, injured tissues have a harder time receiving the vital oxygen and nutrients they need to repair and heal. This can leave your elbow feeling stiff, tight, weak, or painful during everyday movement and activity.

What Can Help Your Elbow Feel Better

Your elbow starts feeling better when blood flow and circulation improve.

Chinese herbs have been used for centuries to promote healthy blood flow and circulation. Their medicinal properties help break up stagnant blood and fluids that remain trapped around injured tissues, interfering with circulation. As circulation improves, blood flows more freely through the area, allowing those tissues to receive the oxygen and nutrients they need to heal properly.

Topical herbal remedies made with these Chinese herbs can help relieve pain while improving blood flow and circulation to injured tissues. The right product depends on your symptoms and whether you're in the acute or chronic stage of recovery.

If you have pain, swelling, inflammation, or bruising, Acute Sinew Liniment helps relieve these symptoms by increasing circulation and dispersing stagnant blood and fluids around the injured area to speed recovery. During the acute stage of healing, getting circulation moving early allows injured tissues to receive the fresh blood, oxygen, and nutrients they need to repair and heal.

If your injured area is especially swollen, red, or warm to the touch after a recent injury or flare-up, Sinew Herbal Ice is also used to reduce swelling and inflammation while restoring normal circulation so you can quickly regain range of motion. While traditional ice is commonly used to reduce swelling, Sinew Herbal Ice acts as an ice alternative to reduce swelling and inflammation while also dispersing accumulated blood and fluids to speed the healing process.

If you no longer have swelling or inflammation, but still have pain, stiffness, weakness, or sensitivity in cold and damp weather, Chronic Sinew Liniment helps relieve these symptoms by strongly stimulating circulation and increasing blood supply to injured tendons and ligaments to promote their healing. This is especially important because tendons and ligaments naturally receive less blood supply, which is why chronic injuries can take longer to heal.

If you have residual pain and stiffness, or the area becomes more painful in cold weather, Sinew Injury Poultice is also used to significantly stimulate circulation to injured tendons and ligaments to further promote their healing. By strongly increasing circulation, it counteracts the reduced blood flow caused by cold weather that commonly aggravates chronic tendon and ligament injuries.

If you exercise, play sports, or do other strenuous activities, Sinew Sports Massage Oil warms and stimulates muscles for exertion and relieves muscle tightness and soreness after activity. Warming and preparing your muscles before activity can improve flexibility, enhance performance, and reduce the risk of injury.

Frequently Asked Questions

You may also find these commonly asked questions helpful.

Why does my elbow hurt only when I hit fat shots?

Fat shots create a sudden impact with the ground that can send extra force into the arm and elbow.

Can one fat shot cause elbow pain?

Yes. A particularly heavy strike can trigger immediate elbow pain, especially if the area was already sensitive.

Why does my elbow ache after the round?

Repeated heavy contact with the turf can leave the elbow sore and stiff even after you finish playing.

Should I stop hitting balls if fat shots keep hurting my elbow?

If the pain continues or worsens, reducing activity and allowing recovery time is often helpful.

Can repeated fat shots make elbow pain keep coming back?

Yes. Repeated turf-first contact can repeatedly aggravate the same area and make symptoms return.

The information provided here is intended to help you better understand your symptoms and recovery, but it is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

Persistent, severe, or worsening symptoms should be evaluated by a qualified healthcare professional.