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Chipping inconsistencies, yips you name it

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Carolina Golfer

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After feeling pretty good about my chipping, all of a sudden I have lost it. Thin lies terrorize me. Standard, 20 yard chips turn into thins, fats, slightly too long or too short, shanks etc. What are your ways of getting back on track for green side chips?
 
Numbers... Go out and hit chips. Front yard balls into buckets. Have to get routine and comfort back. The only way to do that is practice practice practice.

One thing I think about...Make sure you are turning your body and not trying to arm flip it. Smooth and consistent swing focusing on picking up the ball.
 
Carolina Golfer said:
After feeling pretty good about my chipping, all of a sudden I have lost it. Thin lies terrorize me. Standard, 20 yard chips turn into thins, fats, slightly to long or too short. What are your ways of getting back on track with for green side chips?
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Ohh man am I glad you asked. I had the same issues. 30 yards and in, I was a mess. So during quarantine I set up a bucket about 40 yards away, got my 60, and tried to hit the ball into the bucket. I averaged about 1 every 25, but the point was to make crisp and consistent contact. It has helped me a ton on the course with timing and trust.

3BEF44AA-7BED-403E-B100-9644B51C3C99.jpeg
 
BigDill said:
Ohh man am I glad you asked. I had the same issues. 30 yards and in, I was a mess. So during quarantine I set up a bucket about 40 yards away, got my 60, and tried to hit the ball into the bucket. I averaged about 1 every 25, but the point was to make crisp and consistent contact. It has helped me a ton on the course with timing and trust.

View attachment 8943814
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Well at least I'm doing something right in the yard!
 
BigDill said:
Ohh man am I glad you asked. I had the same issues. 30 yards and in, I was a mess. So during quarantine I set up a bucket about 40 yards away, got my 60, and tried to hit the ball into the bucket. I averaged about 1 every 25, but the point was to make crisp and consistent contact. It has helped me a ton on the course with timing and trust.

View attachment 8943814
Click to expand...
I may try your set up. Looks good.
 
It’s hard to manufacture confidence, but if you’re standing over a chip terrified of the results, that won’t help either. I know a couple people going through that right now, and it just looks to me like their swings are so timid because they are afraid of the negative results. Get yourself to believe you can hole it.
 
Gman79 said:
Numbers... Go out and hit chips. Front yard balls into buckets. Have to get routine and comfort back. The only way to do that is practice practice practice.

One thing I think about...Make sure you are turning your body and not trying to arm flip it. Smooth and consistent swing focusing on picking up the ball.
Click to expand...

Great advice here.

 
Another thing that I think has helped me a lot is stitching to wedges with Recoil 780 F4 shafts which are 86g. It took a bit to get used to it, but once I got the timing down the heavier head to shaft ratio helped because now I get more of a pendulum effect, forcing the club through the strike zone. My chief issue was decelerating through the bottom of the swing, causing inconsistent strikes and a ton of duffs.
 
Gman79 said:
Numbers... Go out and hit chips. Front yard balls into buckets. Have to get routine and comfort back. The only way to do that is practice practice practice.

One thing I think about...Make sure you are turning your body and not trying to arm flip it. Smooth and consistent swing focusing on picking up the ball.
Click to expand...

Thanks, Gman79, I am very handsy. What do you mean by picking up the ball?
 
I’m about 80% through my chipping yips. For me I think it was not turning enough and decelerating. You might want to check those two things.
 
I am right there with you... and it is damn frustrating. I am losing about 10 or more strokes per round due to poor chipping and wedge play. I can have a decent practice session and then totally lose it on the course the next time out.
 
Carolina Golfer said:
Thanks, Gman79, I am very handsy. What do you mean by picking up the ball?
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I'm no pro not any technical training. When I get thin I focus on sliding the club under the ball and picking it up. Even if it results in 5 yard chips in the yard it's about the motion. I do that 10 times and then focus on distance. Gets me thinking in the right mindset.
 
Carolina Golfer said:
Thanks, Gman79, I am very handsy. What do you mean by picking up the ball?
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Rickie did a quick video that does a decent job of explaining that you want to turn, get through the ball and finish chest to target, as opposed to flipping your hands through. You also have to be careful not to be too scoopy under the ball.
 
I've found that a lot of the yips & poorly struck chips can be mental. Short game chipping has plagued me the last few rounds & today I told myself to just keep my head down & focus on good contact.

End result was a much better short game!
 
Chipping is one of things there is absolutely no substitute for reps. Even when you have good technique, touch can always be reinforced.

Checklist:
Ball position - neutral to slightly back
Stance - open if desired
Establish proper shaft lean at address
Return the club same position as address
Swing w/ torso and shoulders - dont get flippy
 
In my search for not completely sucking at chipping/pitching, I came across this tip video from Sir Nick Faldo which I thought helped a lot. I used a modified version with chipping.

 
it’s been a multi year battle for me. i used to enjoy short game and had a lot of confidence, but it left without a trace.

i practice. A LOT. i’m a walking example that practice makes permanent, not perfect. when you practice the same flawed motion for several hours each week, for many years, it is hard to undo those patterns.

i had an instructor try to help me last year and by the end he said he didn’t think i’d ever be able to hit the shot i was struggling with. i have a new instructor now, and as recently as this morning we are on our 4th or 5th different thought/feel/motion to try to make it work.

i can’t give you hope, because i have not come out on the other side of this. all i can tell you is to be smart about it. if you’re lost, consider an instructor. even a web based lesson may be a good start.
 
Been there...recently. Maybe check ball position, not too far back, butt at sternum, loose and maybe not as "strong" a grip.... and the biggy for me... try to think of hitting the target, not hitting the ball.
Do we think of how to throw a ball to the target? No. and our body naturally turns as we throw to it. If you have an old club try throwing that to a target to reinforce the freedom feel. Or maybe throw a tennis ball?
 
myspinonit said:
Been there...recently. Maybe check ball position, not too far back, butt at sternum, loose and maybe not as "strong" a grip.... and the biggy for me... try to think of hitting the target, not hitting the ball.
Do we think of how to throw a ball to the target? No. and our body naturally turns as we throw to it. If you have an old club try throwing that to a target to reinforce the freedom feel. Or maybe throw a tennis ball?
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That's how we teach at First Tee... Toss a golf ball and turn the golf clubm
 
Two things that changed my short game for the better, both mentioned here.

Turn the body. Made my shanks disappear.

On Michael Breed's show one day, a caller had your problem. Breed told him to slow his tempo - he repeatedly used the term "languid" to describe the swing.
 
Carolina Golfer said:
After feeling pretty good about my chipping, all of a sudden I have lost it. Thin lies terrorize me. Standard, 20 yard chips turn into thins, fats, slightly too long or too short, shanks etc. What are your ways of getting back on track for green side chips?
Click to expand...

Poor technique leads to inconsistent contact, which leads to lack of confidence, which leads to all kinds of other issues when attempting to play a shot

For me, It's all about bottoming the club out at the correct spot and not digging , whether you're playing a pitch or a chip (big difference). All the reps in the world won't help at all if your technique is wrong or varies. Find out what works well for you and commit to that routine in practice and on the course.

I suggest finding a pro that can teach and show you how to hit these shots his way. Record him and record yourself and compare.

Of course there are zillions of online how-to video options there as well. Start with "how to properly use the bounce" stuff. That will help you overcome the angst with the tight lie. Find a technique you are comfortable with and stick with it.

Good luck!
 
My chipping and pitching was really inconsistent during my first couple rounds this year. Dead feet and flippy wrists. A few days ago I went back to concentrating on Ken Venturi's technique that helped me a lot back in the 80's. I hit about 50 pitches and chip shots in the back yard with my current routine, and then about 50 or so sticking to his method. I immediately began hitting the shots more solid, along with more predictable distance control. I played 27 holes yesterday and chipped much more solidly, and now it's just a matter of getting the distance feel back again.

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Carolina Golfer said:
After feeling pretty good about my chipping, all of a sudden I have lost it. Thin lies terrorize me. Standard, 20 yard chips turn into thins, fats, slightly too long or too short, shanks etc. What are your ways of getting back on track for green side chips?
Click to expand...

Video yourself usually works.

But this is what I do

Re-think my technique to make certain what was successful is what I am still doing.

Setup, weight distribution, swing, tempo, etc. But the usual culprit after a layoff is too much arms, not enough body, not using the bounce.

Mental - don't worry or panic - think it through.

Be Aggressive

Lots of backyard practice - I use Birdieballs, almost golf balls and a mat.
 
Well, I had the same issue last year and tried to buy my way out of hit with a 45 degree square strike...and maybe it was just the power of paying $59 free shipping on a promotional deal, but whatever- it worked! Yeah, the club is ugly and bright green, but I can chip,and pitch and even hit some punch knock downs from under trees 100 yards out with it...

and dont get me statered on my C3i...I LOVE THAT 65 DEGREE CLUB TOO! Makes me feel like a hacker, but I get this clubs up and down way more than with the old wedges
 
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