Ah the short game. So key to scoring and lowering scores yet no one wants to practice it. Is it because it’s not fun? It can be frustrating and requires a lot of coordination? It’s not ‘sexy’ because chicks dig the long ball? Whatever the reason, chipping and pitching are vital elements to one’s golf game that shouldn’t be overlooked. It can get you out of a jam and potentially save you from a bad hole with a big number attached to it. I recently reviewed a unique training aid called the ChipInABLE™ (Chip-In-Able) that claims to be able to teach you proper chipping and pitching technique which should help you lower scores and become more confident in your short game. Did it work for me? Check it out.
From the Company
- The ChipInABLE™ was developed to help golfers of all skill levels to feel and maintain the proper motion when Chipping, Pitching and Putting.
- This training aid was developed by a husband (PGA Professional) and wife (LPGA Professional) team who after teaching over 3000 people to play golf finally seized upon a training aid that communicates the feeling of leading with the hands
- Bruce and Lynn McNee, the creators of the ChipInABLE™ , offer a money back gurantee.
Key Features, Technology & Functionality
Simplistic is the word of choice to describe this product. Simple in design, features, function, and results. The ChipInABLE™ is fully adjustable to fit any type of golfer whether you’re like Dustin Johnson or Anthony Kim. The strap adjusts using a load lock fastener that’s really easy to use. To increase the length all you have to do is press down on the release button and pull on the shoulder strap. Need to shorten the strap? All you have to do is just pull on the free end of the strap and there you go. Now you’re ready to start chipping and pitching like a pro! I wish I could write more about the fatures of this device but it’s really that easy to use. So easy that your caveman friend could probably figure it out too.
Initial Thoughts
Honestly, after I unpacked this training aid to begin using it and start the review process I thought that it wasn’t going to work for me. Other training aids just have been too bulky, tangly, etc. Feel free to insert your own adjective here. After adjusting the straps to fit my golfing physique, I found it to be pretty unobtrusive. The material is very similar to that found on the straps that some parents use to keep their kids close to them at the amusement park. You know those kid leashes? Same look and feel found here. Maybe this will actually work?
Testing/Usage
Initially using this was a tad problematic. Why? Because I couldn’t get out of my own way. Let me explain that for a second. Once I had it on that’s all I thought about. I’ve got this bright yellow strappy looking thing on that people are looking at me wearing and I can’t hit a ball to save my life. I was focusing more on the training aid itself as opposed to what it was supposed to be doing for me. After I overcame these thoughts and feelings I got into the swing of things. Well, the chipping of things I guess.
Using this device is pretty straight forward. It really teaches you to keep your lead arm straight and up against your body. The finger loop of the strap goes around your thumb joint when your arm is fully extended. You may even want to loop it around your index and middle finger or even your ring finger and middle finger for a more personalized fit. Once set up I began to make a simple putting stroke, arms together in a ‘V’ shape, lead arm against the body, rocking the shoulders through the stroke (rock and release), minimal lower body action, etc. Sounds complicated when you look at it written down but it’s really what is supposed to be going on. I heard a phrase once from a golf instructor that sounded like ‘if you feel uncomfortable then you’re doing it right.’ Well that certainly applies here. ‘Proper technique’ never feels proper which could be why some people don’t stay with lessons, take good advice, etc. Anyway, the results that you see with this device are hard to ignore. Your stroke feels more compact and your shots feel solid with that nice and crisp ‘chip’ sound of you compressing the ball at impact. The key to this device is building muscle memory which you can carry over to the course. Look at this like training wheels for your golf game.
Overall
This device is handy and would be really useful for someone just starting out of going through a chipping/pitching funk where your swing just feels lost and you’re blading every shot. I actually found it to be excellent at creating muscle memory. I ended up wearing it around the house a lot and found myself practicing my shots more than I thought I would. This further cemented the muscle memory aspect I mentioned before and screamed out to me what was consistently missing from my chipping game, leading through with the back of the hand. Once I got consistent with doing that my chips have become much crisper and purer, definitely a big improvement from where I was. Did the device cure me? Not really but it’s instilled the ‘proper’ method to executing those crisp chips and pitches one needs around the green. Distance control is all on you though.
The ChipInABLE™ retails for $29.95 and is available online at here Order 2 or more and you get free shipping too. Is the price worth it? That’s up to you to decide. However if you start seeing more pars and bogeys on your card vs double and triple bogeys you may feel it’s a worthy investment. Besides, with a money back gurantee, what do you really have to lose? Aside from stokes, patience and money to your playing partners who are consistently getting closer to the hole and carding lower scores than you are.
T. Hanks
