Chipping & Short Game

[War Eagle]

I've moved to putting the ball way back in my stance, like behind my feet sometimes, and I feel like it helps me keep my wrist strong. Also, because it is different than how I normally set up I feel like my concentration is better because it is not something I do on every swing. Those things said I'm not entirely sure if those adjustments actually do what I think they do but I've been chipping well lately so what the hell. You just need to get out of your head a little bit. Pull a Tin Cup and everytime you chip wear you hat backwards and move all your tees to the other pocket. Just my $0.02

wiseinsrq

Part of my frustration with my short game is watching Wiseinsrq chip in multiple times per round every Sunday. It's ridiculous.

 

[RonInThornton]

Part of my frustration with my short game is watching Wiseinsrq chip in multiple times per round every Sunday. It's ridiculous.

That's easy to fix, just start goosing him with your 9I on his backswing, you'll be chipping better than him in no time

 

[wiseinsrq]

Part of my frustration with my short game is watching Wiseinsrq chip in multiple times per round every Sunday. It's ridiculous.

My frustration is that those chip-ins are ussually to save bogey! HA!

wiseinsrq

 

[wiseinsrq]

That's easy to fix, just start goosing him with your 9I on his backswing, you'll be chipping better than him in no time

He already does that Ron, I'm just that good...ha!

 

[Idrops]

If you're hitting a short shot fat or thin, I'll bet you're letting the club take your head with it. Stay down and don't look up until the ball is long gone.

 

[TripleBogieTim]

Put a good forward press on your club, dont bend your wrist, and DO NOT look at where the ball goes when contacted. Keep your head down til you hear the ball hit ground.

THIS!!! Good job 1-tizzle..I've dropped my handicap almost 10 strokes in the last year and I attribute most of it to my short game. I bought 2 cheap chipping nets and put them at opposite ends of my back yard and chip back and forth.

It sounds like to me you are having decelaration issues...you start good and then just quit on the way down. Start with your heels about a wedge blade apart...the open the toe of your front foot...almost point it at the target...shift your weight forward and take your normal address...then move your hands towards your front thigh slightly. Now take the club back with very little wrist cock and feel like you are hitting the ball with the back or your left wrist...and keep your head down.

 

[Jeanthemachine]

Without having read all the posts I don't know if this has been mentioned. Since war.eagle is in Sarasota, he is almost certainly playing on Bermuda grass. If you are chipping from a lie that is into the grain it is IMPERATIVE to make clean contact. Failing to do so will result in disaster as described.

A couple of things to try are putting whenever possible; chipping with a hybrid; using a straight faced club like a five iron; or opening up a sand wedge to take advantage of the bounce.

Whatever the approach - practice.

 

[War Eagle]

Without having read all the posts I don't know if this has been mentioned. Since war.eagle is in Sarasota, he is almost certainly playing on Bermuda grass. If you are chipping from a lie that is into the grain it is IMPERATIVE to make clean contact. Failing to do so will result in disaster as described.

A couple of things to try are putting whenever possible; chipping with a hybrid; using a straight faced club like a five iron; or opening up a sand wedge to take advantage of the bounce.

Whatever the approach - practice.

Thats the big thing right there. I need to hit the practice green more.

 

[thepete]

There's a new concept about chipping and pitching taught by two Swedish coaches. I've just recently started immersing myself in their way of executing the short shots, and I have to say they make a lot more sense and produce much more consistent results than the ol' hinge and hold. FWIW, the guy (Phil Mickelson) most synonymous with that expression will be "taking lessons" in November. It is far, far removed from the Pelz teachings. They also work with a number of ET players and also Dustin Johnson. Basically you don't break your wrists, no forward press, no weight movement, ball center, rotate with your hips and shoulders and hit it with the bounce (so you need a lot of bounce). Plus, it all has to be done on ONE plane. I can do a little video explaining this next week, because there's no book or internet video explaining it as of yet.

 

[sharkwrestler]

Wrist ahead of the clubhead and concentrate on accelerating through the ball.

I'll have to agree with this one. accelerating through the ball I know when I give up I'll chunk away. Also Wrist ahead of the clubhead. With a putt like stroke.

 

[sharkwrestler]

There's a new concept about chipping and pitching taught by two Swedish coaches. I've just recently started immersing myself in their way of executing the short shots, and I have to say they make a lot more sense and produce much more consistent results than the ol' hinge and hold. FWIW, the guy (Phil Mickelson) most synonymous with that expression will be "taking lessons" in November. It is far, far removed from the Pelz teachings. They also work with a number of ET players and also Dustin Johnson. Basically you don't break your wrists, no forward press, no weight movement, ball center, rotate with your hips and shoulders and hit it with the bounce (so you need a lot of bounce). Plus, it all has to be done on ONE plane. I can do a little video explaining this next week, because there's no book or internet video explaining it as of yet.

Sounds interesting. Will be on the look out for your video.

 

[scrubs]

Put a good forward press on your club, dont bend your wrist, and DO NOT look at where the ball goes when contacted. Keep your head down til you hear the ball hit ground.

This! I also find that, if I'm hitting it fat, I will focus my eyes on the ground right in front of the ball, rather than the ball or back of the ball. That and keeping my head down until the ball is gone helps me to pinch in clean.

 

[DCSerafin]

The club I use for a chip is based on how far I need to hit the ball and if there are any obsticles in front of me that I need to avoid/carry. There is just so much more room for error using an 8i, 9i or even a PW as compared to a SW or LW. It can get difficult practicing a 20, 30 or 40 yd chip on most practice greens, so I do this during practice rounds on the course.

But whatever you choose for your club, the ball should be back in your stance with a slightly open stance, 60% of weight on front foot with your hands forward and accelating through the ball. (All of this has been noted by many on this post)
For me, the bottom line is: practice, practice, practice which builds confidence and more importantly familarality when playing a round and seeing a ball position that you practiced earlier that week/month.

Below is a routine i've developed for greenside chipping from different lies (fringe/fairway/short rough/heavy rough; buried lie/fluffy lie; uphill/downhill/sidehill lies). I try and do all of this at least once a month, but practice #4. at least once a week for at least the 20 or so minutes. (I know we're all busy, but as an example, I'll stop by the course on the way home or on the way in to work and spend just 20 minutes. 10-20 minutes of quality pracitce is better than nothing at all. I finally have slapped myself in the head enough to know I need to spend 60-70% my practice from within 50 yds as that is where the majority of my "saved" shots are coming from.

Needed: 4 Balls and all your wedges and your putter. (And use the balls you play with. I think it is such a big mistake when you use range balls or balls you found to practice your putting and chipping. The feel and release are dramatically different for each ball).

1.)Warm up - I hit the balls to 1 target from the fringe. (I do vary the locations and target for each set giving me different distances and uphill/downhill chips. ~10 minutes.

2.) Hit the balls to 4 different targets using the same club from the same location, varying the lies each time. Goal here is to get the chip within 7 or so feet. ~15 minutes

3.) Using 4 different clubs (I use my wedges: LW, SW, GW, PW), hit the 4 balls to the same target from the same loaction and same lie (changing lie after each set). Multiple Goals: (1.) Get within 7 feet. (2.) Gives you a good feel for how hard to hit each club to the same target (3.) More a bi-project thatn a goal: You're going to figure out which club takes the least amount of mental effort and which you feel most comfortable with for a shot with that lie and distance. ~15 minutes

As a result of the above you can now have a mini-competition to finish.

4.) Use the 4 different clubs to 4 different targets from the same location, varying the lies. Same goals but now you're going to try and sink the putt regardless of where the ball ends up. ~ 20 minutes

 

[War Eagle]

Just wanted to bump this up, and say Thanks to everyone who offered up some tips. Hitting the chipping green over the past few days, and really focusing on keeping my head down through impact, weight forward, and opening up m stance and not quitting on my swing, I had some great success around the green today. Was chipping close all day, and leaving myself some very make-able putts.

Thanks everyone for all the help and info, really helped me out.

 

[Jman]

Put a good forward press on your club, dont bend your wrist, and DO NOT look at where the ball goes when contacted. Keep your head down til you hear the ball hit ground.

One-T, I kid you not, this little comment right here has helped my game TONS in my last few rounds. I mean saving serious strokes.

Thank you good sir.

 

[War Eagle]

One-T, I kid you not, this little comment right here has helped my game TONS in my last few rounds. I mean saving serious strokes.

Thank you good sir.

Same here Jman. I found that I was looking up before I was starting my downswing, and really chunking the ball. That tip has done a lot for me as well.

 

[Jman]

Same here Jman. I found that I was looking up before I was starting my downswing, and really chunking the ball. That tip has done a lot for me as well.

Yessir. I also won't lie, I kind of like the anticipation of waiting to hear the ball drop so I can look up now hehe

 

[War Eagle]

Yessir. I also won't lie, I kind of like the anticipation of waiting to hear the ball drop so I can look up now hehe

Sounds even better when you hear it land in the cup!

 

[Jman]

Sounds even better when you hear it land in the cup!

Haha, no doubt, I did actually chip one in last week like that, always makes the crappy shots disappear when you pull one of those off.

 

[mikedean441]

some good tips in here, going to try a few ideas down the road and hopefully it will help me as its helped so many of you

 

[spino]

There's a new concept about chipping and pitching taught by two Swedish coaches. I've just recently started immersing myself in their way of executing the short shots, and I have to say they make a lot more sense and produce much more consistent results than the ol' hinge and hold. FWIW, the guy (Phil Mickelson) most synonymous with that expression will be "taking lessons" in November. It is far, far removed from the Pelz teachings. They also work with a number of ET players and also Dustin Johnson. Basically you don't break your wrists, no forward press, no weight movement, ball center, rotate with your hips and shoulders and hit it with the bounce (so you need a lot of bounce). Plus, it all has to be done on ONE plane. I can do a little video explaining this next week, because there's no book or internet video explaining it as of yet.

would it be anything similar to gary smith's so-called "linear approach"?
i think i read something on golf monthly, but i never actually tried it...

 

[thepete]

would it be anything similar to gary smith's so-called "linear approach"?
i think i read something on golf monthly, but i never actually tried it...

Had to youtube him a bit, but yes it is very similar in some aspects. While there are some differences, mainly in the set up, the philosophies are very similar with rotation, spinning the ball straight, straight lines etc.

 

[SirSliceALot116]

Put a good forward press on your club, dont bend your wrist, and DO NOT look at where the ball goes when contacted. Keep your head down til you hear the ball hit ground.

If you're hitting a short shot fat or thin, I'll bet you're letting the club take your head with it. Stay down and don't look up until the ball is long gone.

I was having similar problems around the greens a couple of months ago and the best and simplest solution by far was to keep my head down. With the shortened distance to the hole, just like putting, we're always curious to see if we end up draining it. Just like when putting, take your practice strokes and imagine a coin underneath the ball and once you make your stroke, look for the coin before looking at the hole.

 

[Buckjob]

went out and was messing around today in the rain. and ended up having a great chipping day with my AW - was just using that to chip with today cause im testing the R11 irons but i ended up chipping in on the one par 3 that i just missed from the fringe. the more i practice my chipping and pitching the better its gotten. My feel for shots around the green has become by far the best part of my game and my favorite thing to work on. Its funny to me know but its amazing how many golfers including myself never work on their short game just go hit the range then leave. I ALWAYS go to the practice green now for at least and hour and work on my chipping and putting. and hit the chip and putt course at least once a week. Really has improved my game tremendously.

 

[wull]

over the winter months and off season i'm going to work on my short game,much more than the rest of it.this is where the strokes are lost and good scores made.especially putting.i'm going to make a routine and stick to it,working on short game on certain days and practising for a godo few hours at least.

i personally like to use my 48* wedge for in and around the greens,it depends what lies in front of me but i tend to stand with my feet open to the target with my hips,shoulders aiming left of the target but the clubhead at the target.the ball is usually in the middle of my stance and i like to use a short back swing,i take it back maybe halfway to 9pm and try not to hinge the wrists,maybe a little at the most.i also keep the hands in front of the clubhead at all times,this helps the loft on the club do its work and helps with a good contact.it's easier to judge distance this way and i find that i'll get maybe 2-3 bounces before the ball will run out slightly.so i can pick my landing area and aim for that.

my short game at the moment is neither here nor there,i can be unbelievably good and then other days it can leave a lot to be desired.practis,practise and then practise some more.