Stop Fat and Thin Shots: 7 Impact Position Fixes Weekend Warriors Use

Standing over that 150-yard approach shot, my heart was pounding. The pin was tucked behind a bunker, my buddies were watching, and I needed to stick this close to have any chance at par. As I took the club back, every swing thought I'd ever heard flooded my mind. But when I made contact, I knew immediately something was different.

The ball exploded off the clubface with a sound I'd never heard before - that pure, compressed crack that makes every golfer's spine tingle. The divot flew perfectly ahead of where the ball had been, and my shot landed pin-high, spinning back toward the hole.

"Dude, what did you just do?" my regular playing partner asked, shaking his head in amazement.

That shot changed everything for me. After 25 years of weekend golf, I'd finally discovered the secret that separates consistent ball strikers from the rest of us weekend warriors. It wasn't some complex swing overhaul or expensive equipment upgrade.

It was simply understanding what really happens at golf impact position.

Most weekend golfers think impact just happens naturally - that if you swing the club, it'll somehow find the ball correctly. But here's what I learned that day: impact is the only thing that truly matters when you swing your golf club. Everything else - your backswing, your tempo, your follow-through - is just preparation for that split second when club meets ball.

You're about to discover the same impact position secrets that transformed my ball striking from embarrassingly inconsistent to surprisingly solid. These aren't complicated theories or tour-pro techniques that require perfect timing. They're practical, proven methods that work even when you only play weekends and rarely practice.

But first, let me share what I wish someone had told me years ago about why your current impact position might be sabotaging every shot you hit...

What Is Golf Impact Position and Why It's Your Key to Better Golf

During a golf swing, impact occurs when the clubface makes contact with the ball. This happens near the bottom of your downswing, before you begin your follow-through. But here's what most weekend golfers don't realize - impact isn't just a moment in time, it's a position your entire body needs to achieve.

Think of it kinda like the moment of truth in any sport. In tennis, it's when the racket meets the ball. In baseball, it's bat-on-ball contact. In golf, everything you do from setup to backswing to downswing leads to this one critical position.

After years of struggling with inconsistent contact, I finally understood something that changed my game forever: the golf ball doesn't know who is swinging the club, the only thing it responds to is the speed and the angles that are applied by the golfer.

Your ball doesn't care if you have a perfect takeaway or a textbook backswing. It only reacts to how the club strikes it at impact. This revelation was both humbling and liberating - humbling because I'd wasted years obsessing over positions that don't directly affect ball flight, but liberating because it meant I could focus on what actually matters.

The first key concept is to think of impact as a zone (around 15 cm/6 inches on either side of the golf ball) rather than a specific point. This approach takes pressure off trying to be perfect in a nanosecond and instead focuses on controlling how your club moves through the entire hitting area.

Here's the breakthrough moment for most weekend golfers: when you understand that impact position can be practiced, repeated, and improved, you realize you don't need to be naturally gifted to strike the ball well. You just need to know what you're trying to achieve and how to get there.

But what does a proper impact position actually look like? Let me show you...

The 4 Critical Elements Every Weekend Golfer Needs at Impact

The four positions to check at impact include the clubface angle, wrist angle, body rotation and shaft lean. But here's how I break it down for weekend golfers who want results without getting lost in technical jargon.

Element #1: Hands Ahead of the Clubhead

When you make contact with the ball, your hands should be in front of the club head. PGA Tour professional Tiger Woods demonstrates this perfectly in his swing. This forward shaft lean is kinda like holding a hammer when you're driving a nail - you naturally lead with the handle, not the head.

The moment I stopped trying to "help" the ball up and started keeping my hands ahead, my contact improved dramatically. No more thin shots that rocket over greens or fat shots that barely reach their target.

Element #2: Weight Forward on Your Lead Foot

It's ideal to have 80% of your weight on your lead side at contact to strike the ground correctly, lean the shaft forward, and generate speed and rotation. This isn't about sliding toward the target - it's about shifting your pressure forward so you can hit down and through the ball.

I used to hang back on my right foot, trying to scoop the ball into the air. Once I learned to trust that forward weight shift, my divots started appearing in front of the ball instead of behind it.

Element #3: Flat Lead Wrist Position

After analyzing more than 1,000,000 golf swings, we know that the best players in the world have a slight flexion in their lead wrist when they make an impact with the ball. Your lead wrist should be flat or slightly bowed, never cupped.

This was my biggest revelation. I'd been flipping my wrists at impact, adding loft and losing compression. Learning to maintain that flat lead wrist position gave me the ball-first contact I'd been seeking for years.

Element #4: Hip Rotation Toward the Target

Pros and low-handicappers, by contrast, move their hips a consistent amount on the downswing: about an inch-and-a-half toward the target by the time they get to impact. Your hips should be open 30-45 degrees at impact, creating space for your arms to swing through.

When I started clearing my hips properly, I stopped getting stuck on the downswing and started making much more solid contact.

🎯 Impact Position Fundamentals

  • ⭐ Hands ahead of clubhead for forward shaft lean
  • 💪 80% weight on lead foot at contact
  • 🔧 Flat lead wrist prevents flipping
  • 🎪 Hips open 30-45 degrees toward target

Now here comes the good part. Understanding these elements is just the beginning. You're about to learn exactly how to groove these positions so they become automatic, even under pressure...

Why Most Weekend Golfers Struggle with Impact Position

I spent countless hours at the range, hitting bucket after bucket, wondering why my impact was so inconsistent. Some shots felt pure, others felt like I was hitting concrete. The frustrating part? I couldn't figure out what I was doing differently.

Then I discovered the real problem that plagues almost every weekend golfer...

The Right-Side Dominance Trap

Most will hit their irons either thin or fat because of a right side (right-hander) dominance in their golf swing. What I mean is they push too hard from their right side in an effort to generate power.

This was exactly my problem! I thought power came from throwing my right hand at the ball, but all that did was cause me to flip the club and lose lag. Instead of compressing the ball, I was either catching it thin or hitting behind it.

The Standing Up Problem

Another issue I struggled with was early extension - standing up through impact. Too often, golfers try to "stand up" at impact. This often results in them scooping the ball and can create inconsistencies including fat shots, thin shots and other poor shots.

When you stand up, you change your spine angle and move the bottom of your swing arc. This makes consistent contact almost impossible because you're essentially changing your relationship to the ball mid-swing.

Information Overload Paralysis

Here's something that might surprise you - having too many swing thoughts can actually hurt your impact position. I used to stand over the ball thinking about my grip, my stance, my takeaway, my hip turn, my shoulder rotation... by the time I was ready to swing, I was so tense and mechanical that natural athletic motion was impossible.

Most of them were slicing it, and the odd one was hooking it. They were all in the same boat I was in as a kid—trying tip after tip with no real lasting success. Sound familiar?

The Quick Fix Mentality

Weekend golfers (myself included) want immediate results. We try one thing for a few swings, and if it doesn't work instantly, we move on to the next tip. But impact position isn't a quick fix - it's a fundamental that needs to be grooved through proper practice.

The turning point for me came when I stopped trying to fix everything at once and focused solely on one impact fundamental at a time. That's when everything started to click...

How to Check Your Current Impact Position

Before you can improve your impact position, you need to know what you're currently doing. Here are three simple ways to diagnose your impact without expensive equipment:

The Divot Test

Tee up the golf ball on a low tee and hit shots, focusing on divots starting just in front of the tee. If your divots start behind the tee, you're hitting the ground before the ball. If there's no divot or it's very shallow, you might be hitting up on the ball.

I spent an entire practice session just hitting balls off low tees, watching where my divots started. It was eye-opening to see how often I was making contact behind the ball.

The Impact Tape Method

To test out your centeredness of strike you can grab some fancy impact tape. Try hitting 5-10 shots with one club with the same impact tape on and assess your consistency.

Don't have impact tape? Place a pea-sized dot on your golf ball with a permanent marker and orientate the mark towards the clubface. After impact, you'll see exactly where on the clubface you made contact.

The Preset Position Drill

Set up a golf ball and from here, shift your weight to your lead side slightly, shift the hands forward slightly in front of the clubhead and open your hips slightly where they are facing the target.

Hold this position for 3-5 seconds, feeling what good impact should feel like. Then try to recreate that position during your actual swing.

When I first tried this preset drill, I was shocked at how different proper impact position felt compared to what I was doing naturally. It felt awkward at first, but that feeling of having my weight forward and hands ahead started to become familiar.

7 Proven Drills to Master Impact Position

Here are the exact drills that transformed my impact position from inconsistent to reliable. I've arranged them from beginner-friendly to more advanced, so you can progress naturally.

Drill #1: The Static Impact Position Hold

Start with this foundational drill that teaches you what impact should feel like:

For this drill, set up a golf ball and from here, shift your weight to your lead side slightly, shift the hands forward slightly in front of the clubhead and open your hips slightly where they are facing the target. This is a good impact position. Hold this position for two to three seconds to ingrain the feeling, then hit some golf balls.

I practice this drill before every range session. It's kinda like rehearsing your lines before a performance - you're programming your body to recognize what good impact feels like.

Drill #2: The Impact Bag Training

An impact bag is an affordable training aid that you can purchase to help promote a better shaft lean with the golf club. The impact bag will also help you learn how you should be clearing your hips to make way for the club at impact.

If you don't have an impact bag, use a firm pillow or even your golf bag. The key is hitting something that won't move, forcing you to create that solid, forward-leaning impact position.

Drill #3: The Punch Shot Method

When you work on punch shots or punch chips, you will have your hands forward of the clubhead at impact, the shaft leaning, and a square clubface.

Take a 7-iron and practice hitting low, controlled shots that travel about 100 yards. Focus on keeping the finish short and the hands ahead throughout impact. This drill almost forces you into a good impact position.

Drill #4: The Left-Hand Only Swing

Take your normal stance and place a golf ball in the set up position. Grab a club in your left hand only and choke up on it a few inches. Take a step back a few inches so you don't hit the ball. Swing with your left hand only and pay attention to where your divots are bottoming out.

This drill teaches you to lead with your left side and create proper lag. When I first tried this, I couldn't believe how much it improved my understanding of how the club should move through impact.

Drill #5: The Coin Chip Challenge

Another drill I love to have students do is chip coins. If you can chip a coin, then hitting a golf ball will seem simple. If you have a yipping motion through impact, you will miss the coin or make poor contact with the coin.

Place a quarter or poker chip where you'd normally put a golf ball and try to make clean contact. This drill demands perfect hand-eye coordination and prevents any flipping motion at impact.

Drill #6: The Towel Under Arms Connection

Place a small towel under both armpits and make half swings without dropping the towels. This drill ensures your arms stay connected to your body through impact, preventing the chicken wing position that destroys proper impact.

I still use this drill when I feel my ball striking getting sloppy. It's amazing how quickly it gets your arms and body working together again.

Drill #7: The Line in the Sand Drill

Draw a line in the sand where you would address the golf ball using a six iron. From here, start with small swings, practicing hitting the sand with your clubhead at the front of the line. If your clubhead enters the sand behind the line or a few inches in front of the line, that is not good.

This is my favorite drill for grooving proper low point control. Start with tiny swings and gradually build up to full swings, always focusing on hitting the sand in front of the line.

🔧 Progressive Training Plan

  • 📅 Week 1-2: Master static position hold and impact bag
  • ⭐ Week 3-4: Add punch shots and left-hand drills
  • 🎯 Week 5-6: Integrate coin chips and towel connection
  • 💡 Week 7+: Perfect with line in sand drill

But here's where it gets really interesting. These drills are just part of the equation. You also need to understand the common mistakes that can sabotage your progress...

The 5 Most Common Impact Position Mistakes Weekend Golfers Make

Even with good intentions and solid practice, most weekend golfers fall into predictable traps that prevent them from achieving consistent impact. I made every one of these mistakes during my journey to better ball striking.

Mistake #1: Trying to Help the Ball Into the Air

This was my biggest mistake for years. I thought I needed to scoop the ball up to get it airborne, so I would flip my wrists at impact and try to "lift" the ball.

A solid strike using irons is made when the club hits the ball first and then proceeds to creating a divot in the ground. This can only happen when the club has not yet reached the bottom of the swing arc when it strikes the ball.

The club's loft is designed to get the ball airborne - your job is to hit down and let the club do the work. Once I learned to trust this concept, my iron play improved dramatically.

Mistake #2: Keeping Weight on the Back Foot

First is having your weight too far on your back foot. When this happens, you're much more likely to hit behind the golf ball and/or up on it, instead of compressing it for a pure strike.

I used to think keeping my weight back would help me "stay behind the ball," but all it did was cause me to hit fat shots. Moving my weight forward at impact felt unnatural at first, but it's essential for solid contact.

Mistake #3: Overcomplicating the Wrist Action

Many weekend golfers get confused about what their wrists should do at impact. One of our favorite is the motorcycle drill, it helps you feel the proper wrist position right from the top of the swing, so that by the time the club reaches impact you are already square.

Think of it like revving a motorcycle - you bow your lead wrist slightly and maintain that position through impact. No flipping, no scooping, just maintaining the angle you create at the top.

Mistake #4: Rushing the Transition

In our eagerness to generate power, we often rush from backswing to downswing, destroying any chance of proper sequencing. The transition should be smooth and allow your body to get into position before the hands and arms take over.

I had to learn that power comes from proper sequencing, not from swinging harder. When I slowed down my transition, my impact position naturally improved.

Mistake #5: Focusing on the Wrong Things

Many of us are tired of the many swing thoughts listed above controlling our golfing minds. We try to manipulate and control every little variable in the swing.

Instead of thinking about 10 different positions, focus on just one or two impact fundamentals at a time. I found that when I concentrated solely on keeping my hands ahead of the clubhead, most other impact elements fell into place naturally.

The breakthrough insight? Perfect impact position isn't about perfect technique - it's about creating the right conditions for the club to do what it's designed to do.

How Your Equipment Affects Impact Position

Here's something most weekend golfers don't consider: your equipment can either help or hurt your ability to achieve proper impact position. After 25 years of playing with ill-fitted clubs, I learned this lesson the hard way.

Club Length and Lie Angle

If your clubs are too long or have the wrong lie angle, you'll compensate by changing your posture or swing plane, which directly affects your impact position. When I finally got properly fitted, I was amazed at how much easier it became to find the ball consistently.

Shaft Flex and Kick Point

A shaft that's too stiff or too flexible can cause timing issues that show up at impact. With the wrong shaft, you might flip your hands to square the clubface or hang back to wait for the club to catch up.

Grip Size and Texture

Make sure your clubface at setup is square; don't manipulate the club closed or open in your hands; set it down square to the target line. If your grips are too thick or too thin, you'll unconsciously adjust your hand position, affecting your impact position.

The good news? Most impact position problems can be solved through proper technique, regardless of your equipment. But if you're serious about improvement, getting fitted by a qualified professional can accelerate your progress significantly.

Creating Consistent Impact Position Under Pressure

It's one thing to achieve good impact position on the practice range, but can you do it when it matters? Standing over a crucial shot with your buddies watching, money on the line, or trying to break your personal best?

Here's what I learned about maintaining good impact position when the pressure's on:

Simplify Your Focus

Under pressure, your brain can only handle one or two swing thoughts. I've learned to focus solely on feeling my weight shift forward and keeping my hands ahead of the clubhead. Everything else happens automatically.

Trust Your Practice

If you've grooved good impact position in practice, trust that it will show up when you need it. Trying to guide or steer the club under pressure almost always leads to poor impact.

Use Your Pre-Shot Routine

Hold this position for two to three seconds to ingrain the feeling, then hit some golf balls. I incorporate a quick impact position rehearsal into my pre-shot routine, taking a practice swing where I pause briefly at impact position.

Accept Imperfection

Even tour pros don't have perfect impact position on every shot. The goal is to be consistently good, not occasionally perfect. When you accept that some shots won't be pure, you remove pressure and often perform better.

The most important thing I learned? Confidence in your impact position comes from consistent practice, not perfect theory.

Advanced Impact Position Concepts for Ambitious Weekend Golfers

Once you've mastered the fundamentals, here are some advanced concepts that can take your impact position to the next level:

Understanding Angle of Attack

For iron shots, your low point should be a divot after the golf ball. Whereas, for drives the low point should be before you reach impact, with your club head travelling upward as it reaches the golf ball.

This concept revolutionized my understanding of why driver and iron swings feel different. With irons, you want to hit down. With driver, you want to hit up. Your impact position adjusts slightly for each club.

The Role of Ground Force

Tour players generate tremendous power by pushing into the ground with their feet and using the ground's reaction to create speed. You can feel this by making practice swings where you really push down with your lead foot through impact.

Dynamic Balance Throughout Impact

If your strike is inconsistent, check your golf stance and posture, if all is good, work on your balance throughout your golf swing to reduce off-centre strikes.

Good impact position requires dynamic balance - being stable enough to make solid contact while still being athletic enough to generate speed and power.

But remember, these advanced concepts should only be explored after you've mastered the fundamentals. Don't try to run before you can walk.

💡 Advanced Concepts Priority

  • 🎯 Master fundamentals first: hands ahead, weight forward
  • 📊 Track your progress with divot patterns
  • ⚡ Add ground force concepts gradually
  • 🏆 Focus on consistency over perfection

Now, let me share the practice routine that helped me transform my impact position in just 30 days...

The 30-Day Impact Position Transformation Plan

This is the exact practice plan I used to go from inconsistent, weak contact to solid, compressed ball striking. You don't need hours of practice - just 20-30 minutes of focused work, 3-4 times per week.

Week 1: Foundation Building

  • 5 minutes: Static impact position holds (3 sets of 10 holds)
  • 10 minutes: Impact bag work (start with half swings)
  • 10 minutes: Punch shots with 7-iron (focus on hands ahead)
  • 5 minutes: Review divot patterns

Week 2: Coordination Development

  • 5 minutes: Static holds with eyes closed (feel-based learning)
  • 10 minutes: Left-hand only swings (build proper sequencing)
  • 10 minutes: Alternating punch shots and full swings
  • 5 minutes: Film yourself from down-the-line angle

Week 3: Pressure Application

  • 5 minutes: Static holds with slight movement
  • 10 minutes: Coin chipping drill (precision focus)
  • 10 minutes: Target practice with good impact focus
  • 5 minutes: Simulate on-course pressure situations

Week 4: Integration and Testing

  • 5 minutes: Minimal static work (muscle memory should be forming)
  • 15 minutes: Full swing with impact focus on different clubs
  • 10 minutes: Play simulated holes with scoring

The key is consistency, not perfection. I'd rather see you practice for 20 minutes three times per week than hammer balls for two hours once per week.

Track your progress by noting:

  • Divot consistency (starting in front of ball)
  • Ball flight trajectory (more piercing, less ballooning)
  • Distance gains (better compression = more yards)
  • Confidence level (feeling of solid contact)

Are you ready to start seeing results that will make your buddies ask what you've been working on?

Troubleshooting Common Impact Position Problems

Even with solid practice, you'll occasionally struggle with specific impact issues. Here's how to diagnose and fix the most common problems I've encountered:

Problem: Still Hitting Fat Shots

Likely causes:

  • Weight staying on back foot
  • Trying to help ball up
  • Early release of hands

Quick fix: Practice the "step-through" drill. After making contact, take a small step toward the target with your back foot. This forces you to shift weight forward and discourages hanging back.

Problem: Thin Contact and Low Ball Flight

Likely causes:

  • Standing up through impact
  • Weight moving backward
  • Trying to scoop the ball

Quick fix: Focus on maintaining your spine angle through impact. Practice making swings while keeping your head steady and your upper body angled toward the ball.

Problem: Inconsistent Contact (Sometimes Good, Sometimes Bad)

Likely causes:

  • Inconsistent setup
  • Too many swing thoughts
  • Rushing the transition

Quick fix: Develop a consistent pre-shot routine that includes setting your impact position. Make the same rehearsal moves before every shot.

Problem: Loss of Distance Despite Better Contact

Likely causes:

  • Delofting clubs too much
  • Not releasing properly after impact
  • Swinging too controlled

Quick fix: Focus on accelerating through impact rather than just reaching impact position. The club should be speeding up as it approaches the ball.

The most important lesson I learned during my improvement journey? Every golfer's impact issues are slightly different, so be patient and adjust these solutions to fit your specific problems.

Real Results: What Better Impact Position Did for My Game

Let me share the actual improvements I experienced after focusing on impact position for six months:

Measurable Distance Gains:

  • 7-iron: From 145 yards to 160 yards average carry
  • Driver: From 235 yards to 250 yards total distance
  • Wedges: Much more consistent yardages for scoring

Accuracy Improvements:

  • Greens in regulation: From 4-5 per round to 8-9 per round
  • Fairways hit: From 6-7 per round to 10-11 per round
  • Approach shots inside 20 feet: Nearly doubled

Scoring Benefits:

  • Average score dropped from 92 to 85
  • Broke 80 for the first time in my golf life
  • Gained confidence to be more aggressive with pin hunting

Mental Game Changes:

  • No longer afraid of iron shots from 100-150 yards
  • Increased confidence led to better course management
  • Playing partners started asking for swing advice

But the biggest change? Golf became fun again. Instead of hoping to make decent contact, I started expecting it. That confidence transformation was worth more than any equipment upgrade or lesson series I'd ever tried.

Your results might be different, but I'm confident that improving your impact position will transform your ball striking in ways that surprise you.

Key Takeaways: Your Impact Position Action Plan

After sharing everything I've learned about impact position over 25 years of weekend golf, here's what you need to remember:

Start with the Fundamentals: Impact position isn't complicated - hands ahead, weight forward, flat lead wrist, and hips open. Master these basics before worrying about advanced concepts.

Practice with Purpose: Twenty minutes of focused impact position work beats two hours of mindless ball beating. Use the drills I've shared and track your progress systematically.

Be Patient with the Process: It took me years to understand impact position and months to improve it significantly. Don't expect overnight transformation, but do expect steady progress if you stay committed.

Trust the Science: After analyzing more than 1,000,000 golf swings, we know that the best players in the world have a slight flexion in their lead wrist when they make an impact with the ball. These fundamentals work for tour pros and weekend golfers alike.

Focus on Feel, Not Positions: While understanding proper impact position is important, developing the feel for solid contact is what will help you perform under pressure. Spend time with the static holds and preset drills until good impact feels natural.

The journey to better impact position transformed my golf game from frustrating to enjoyable. You're just one practice session away from starting that same transformation.

What surprised me most? The improvement in my impact position didn't just help my ball striking - it gave me confidence to be more aggressive, try new shots, and actually enjoy competing with my buddies instead of just hoping to avoid embarrassment.

Your golf buddies are going to notice the difference in your ball striking long before you tell them what you've been working on. And that first time someone asks, "What have you been doing differently?" - you'll know your hard work is paying off.

Frequently Asked Questions About Golf Impact Position

What is the most important aspect of golf impact position?

The most important aspect is achieving forward shaft lean by keeping your hands ahead of the clubhead at impact. When you make contact with the ball, your hands should be in front of the club head. PGA Tour professional Tiger Woods demonstrates this perfectly in his swing. This forward position creates proper compression and ball-first contact.

How do I stop flipping my wrists at impact?

Wrist flipping occurs when the clubhead passes your hands at impact. The Stop the Flip drill trains proper forward shaft lean and helps you feel the position the lead arm and hands should be in at impact. Practice hitting punch shots and left-hand-only swings to develop the proper feel for maintaining lag through impact.

Should my weight be forward at impact with all clubs?

Yes, you should have approximately 80% of your weight on your lead foot at impact with irons. It's ideal to have 80% of your weight on your lead side at contact to strike the ground correctly, lean the shaft forward, and generate speed and rotation. Even with driver, your weight should be shifting forward, though the ball position is more forward in your stance.

How do I know if my impact position is improving?

Monitor your divot patterns and ball flight. When you do this drill, you can evaluate your divots, which will tell you a lot about your swing. It will tell you if you swing out-to-in, in-to-out, have a steep angle of attack, shallow angle of attack, and many more things. Proper impact creates divots that start in front of where the ball was positioned.

Can I practice impact position without hitting balls?

Absolutely! This drill is to help get muscle memory and exaggerate the impact position to help feel how the body is supposed to be at impact, to help ingrain a good impact position. Static position holds, impact bag work, and preset drills can all be practiced without hitting balls and are highly effective for developing proper feel.

How long does it take to improve impact position?

With focused practice, most golfers see improvement within 2-4 weeks. Like learning any new movement, start slow and gradually add speed. First comes form, then contact, then direction, followed by repeatability and speed. Consistency comes from regular practice over several months.

Why do I hit fat shots even with good setup?

Fat shots often result from early weight shift or loss of posture through impact. First is having your weight too far on your back foot. When this happens, you're much more likely to hit behind the golf ball and/or up on it, instead of compressing it for a pure strike. Focus on maintaining your spine angle and shifting weight to your lead foot through impact.

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