Toe down chipping have you tried it?

[braveheart]

Last week me and @mikeg_74 worked on my chipping and he introduced a method that I had never tried before. Mike has a great short game that he has used to kick my butt more than once. I have been focusing on my short game leading up to the Grandaddy because I can practice it without going to the course. Before this year I always kept the clubface square for all shots. I have been practicing opening up the face and using the bounce of the wedge to hit high soft shots that stop quick. I really like that method but it does not work well for tight lies.

Mikes method uses a lower lofted club and a bump and run method. He had me hold the toe down on the club at address and impact. This felt completely foreign to me at first like my hands were too far away from my body. I had to trust that this would work and hit my first shots after mike hit several perfect shots explaining his method. The results were clearly better than my previous way of doing things. Why is it better? The toe down method virtually eliminates the club digging in on fat strikes. That is what I am looking to avoid, the fat chip/pitch. He also explained the importance of keeping the club low to the ground after impact to encourage the ball to run out. My move is to turn the club over after impact which results in the ball checking up. Although I wanted to keep the club low after impact that day it was hard to implement that change immediately. After a few days of practice it has become more natural to me.

During my practice I noticed a great benefit of this method. I can pop the ball up with predictable results from any lie. Tight fairway, bare ground, down in the rough? No problem, Toe down and take a confident stroke BOOM!! This will be a game changer for me on the course because I don't feel like I can screw it up, it just works. I have hit a few thin shots this way but nothing that worries me. I would rather see the ball run past the green from a thin strike than the fat shot that goes nowhere.

If you struggle with fat chips and pitches I would suggest trying this out.

Been doing that way for awhile. I use an 8 iron and basically just putt the ball. You are correct it eliminates the fat shot that more easily when it’s not tied down.

 

[pattyboy21]

It's my goto chip from most any lie, but it's extremely effective off of hardpan or wet, closely mown grass.

 

[OldandStiff]

The number of guys saying it's their go-to or that they use it all the time is kind of blowing my mind.

 

[badolds]

The number of guys saying it's their go-to or that they use it all the time is kind of blowing my mind.

Hit some 10-30 yard pitches off hard pan or thin sketchy lies and let us know how it goes. I prefer a 50* wedge for this shot. The only drawback is you have to give it some extra oomph if you are using the toe. I do not try to hit way out on the toe but definitely toe side of center.

 

[OldandStiff]

Hit some 10-30 yard pitches off hard pan or thin sketchy lies and let us know how it goes. I prefer a 50* wedge for this shot. The only drawback is you have to give it some extra oomph if you are using the toe. I do not try to hit way out on the toe but definitely toe side of center.

Well that response definitely doesn't make my mind less blown. The rare times I do it I'm usually pretty close. 10 yds I could see, but 30 I'd definitely go a different route. Partly because of what you mentioned. Too hard to judge pace. It's probably a personal thing. I'm not one to toe putts to control pace either, and I hear guys mention doing that often enough. Complete opposite of my mentality. Not knocking you guys. Just surprised and a little fascinated by the regularity and situations. I'm taking notes.

 

[jdtox]

Well that response definitely doesn't make my mind less blown. The rare times I do it I'm usually pretty close. 10 yds I could see, but 30 I'd definitely go a different route. Partly because of what you mentioned. Too hard to judge pace. It's probably a personal thing. I'm not one to toe putts to control pace either, and I hear guys mention doing that often enough. Complete opposite of my mentality. Not knocking you guys. Just surprised and a little fascinated by the regularity and situations. I'm taking notes.

Kind of my thoughts exactly. I use this method a couple yards off/around the green maybe but any farther out I'm going a different route. It's what I personally love about the short game, all different types of shots and thoughts

 

[badolds]

Well that response definitely doesn't make my mind less blown. The rare times I do it I'm usually pretty close. 10 yds I could see, but 30 I'd definitely go a different route. Partly because of what you mentioned. Too hard to judge pace. It's probably a personal thing. I'm not one to toe putts to control pace either, and I hear guys mention doing that often enough. Complete opposite of my mentality. Not knocking you guys. Just surprised and a little fascinated by the regularity and situations. I'm taking notes.

I had forgotten about your + handicap. I am guessing you get better contact on all your shots than most of us but I struggle with bare dirt lies in particular. It requires a precise strike to clip one off the dirt and get it to check up. Before using this technique my success rate of those shots was woeful, way less than 50 percent. The run out of these shots is less predictable than a shot with spin but I am on the green more often than not with a chance to sink a putt.

 

[Et Tu Brute?]

I can't think of any of the couple dozen guys I most frequently play with who do that. A few of them chip with a 7/8/9 iron but it's not with the toe pointing down at the ground and it's not really with anything like a putting motion. They're hitting chip shots. Most of them use some version of a wedge shot (chip, pitch, etc.) from off the green depending on situation. A few of us putt everything we can.