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Drills or Practice Games for Wedges

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DucatiGirl

DucatiGirl

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Hi everyone, it's your resident noob here! As I'm getting ready to head off to the chip n' putt to practice, what are some good pitching and chipping drills to try?

Here's what I currently do - our pitching green is elevated, so I try to circle the green and go from all different lies. I chip over the sand bunker, and in between the bunker and the green. I try to vary the distance too, and find the rough. I sometimes step on the ball a little if I can't find high grass. One of the pitching greens has a downhill slope, so I practice on it too. I try to aim for each flag as well.

I usually take 6-9 of my own balls, and practice with those, hitting the same amount from vaguely the same spot (I kind of throw them out and play as they lie) - if others are there, I just use range balls. This rarely happens, so I'm usually on my own.

So what are your favorite drills or games to try while chipping? I'm not good enough to do the hula hoop thing yet!
 
I basically do the same as you. The chipping green at my club has big bunker on one side with a pin right behind it. I position myself with the bunker between me and the pin to practice over the bunker. I alternate shots to other pins that do not require over the bunker shots from the same spot to help me get the feel of different shots.

Over the bunker shots on the course used to scare the crap out of me but not anymore.
 
TonyB said:
I basically do the same as you. The chipping green at my club has big bunker on one side with a pin right behind it. I position myself with the bunker between me and the pin to practice over the bunker. I alternate shots to other pins that do not require over the bunker shots from the same spot to help me get the feel of different shots.

Over the bunker shots on the course used to scare the crap out of me but not anymore.
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Seems like your all over it. Make practice fun. I chip over rakes, my golf bag or I’ll try to go low to get the ball to check.
Another thing to do is to try different clubs. See how much farther a wedge goes versus a sand wedge with the same swing.
Try a hybrid from the second cut instead of an iron. I take a tasty beverage and enjoy myself. Try shots you might actually play someday. It’s assuring to know you’ve tried it before. If you run out of ideas just think like a kid. They are awesome at it.
 
One thing I’d like to practice more is taking 8i-9i or PW and get the ball rolling quicker. Try and figure out what stroke corresponds to what distance. I usually limit myself to the sand or lob wedges.


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obedt said:
One thing I’d like to practice more is taking 8i-9i or PW and get the ball rolling quicker. Try and figure out what stroke corresponds to what distance. I usually limit myself to the sand or lob wedges.


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Click to expand...

Does that mean shorter time off the ground and more time on the ground? What's the distance of these shots?
 
DucatiGirl said:
Does that mean shorter time off the ground and more time on the ground? What's the distance of these shots?
Click to expand...

Yeah exactly, get the ball rolling more. I’m not good at them due to a lack of practice, but think it’s probably the safest way to play around the green. Maybe try practicing in situations where you can run the ball 2/3 of the way or more?


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DucatiGirl said:
Does that mean shorter time off the ground and more time on the ground? What's the distance of these shots?
Click to expand...

Yep. A great shot to have if you have plenty of green to work with and no real obstacles to go up and over. Basically like putting from off the green but you get it up enough to not need to worry about the fringe or other grass before the green.


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you're doing pretty much what i do. i try to just bring one wedge with me, and practice all different kinds of shots. high soft pitches, low running pitches, flops, bumps, etc. give yourself some bad lies, find some rough, just basically build your memory bank about what happens in different situations. and if you have a short game area with grain, practice hitting shots down-grain and into the grain. into the grain is freaking brutal, and also a guessing game for me.

something i've also started trying is to use the bounce in different ways. lean the shaft forward or back to different extents, and feel what the bounce is doing through the turf.
 
I like doing landing zone drills. I take a couple of long irons and lay them at 1 yard on and 5 yards on. Then try to chip or pitch it between the two irons. After a few rounds I bring them a few feet closer to each other and repeat until they’re about a yard apart just to help with my distance control.

Another thing I like to do is take my wedges and hit each from the same spot. How does my PW react, AW, SW, even my LW. Which am I the most consistent with? That’s more to figure out which shots I should play than to get better, but it could be used for both.

I also like to play around with silly shots every now and then to break the monotony. Bellying a wedge, opening the face, hitting a flop, trying to hit a 7i chip, just trying shots I’ll use once a few months or once a year just because it’s fun. I stop really focusing after a few rounds of short game practice, so that helps me reset my mind so it becomes less like work.
 
Sounds like you have a good approach/plan. I don't always have time to go to the course to practice. This will sound corny/weird but I dod practice at home in the yard. 5 gallon bucket propped up at a 45° angle and I try to chip into it from varying distances. It is a relatively small target so if you can hit consistently into it you can dial in distances close around the green.
The whole thing about chipping is deciding when it is best to throw a shot to the pin in the air and get it to stop or roll it up using a bump and run. Either way you have to have distance control and practice is the only way to get it, so keep at it.
 
DucatiGirl said:
Hi everyone, it's your resident noob here! As I'm getting ready to head off to the chip n' putt to practice, what are some good pitching and chipping drills to try?

Here's what I currently do - our pitching green is elevated, so I try to circle the green and go from all different lies. I chip over the sand bunker, and in between the bunker and the green. I try to vary the distance too, and find the rough. I sometimes step on the ball a little if I can't find high grass. One of the pitching greens has a downhill slope, so I practice on it too. I try to aim for each flag as well.

I usually take 6-9 of my own balls, and practice with those, hitting the same amount from vaguely the same spot (I kind of throw them out and play as they lie) - if others are there, I just use range balls. This rarely happens, so I'm usually on my own.

So what are your favorite drills or games to try while chipping? I'm not good enough to do the hula hoop thing yet!
Click to expand...

Golf with Aimee is good :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BQZVYvePFE
 
Snickerdog said:
Sounds like you have a good approach/plan. I don't always have time to go to the course to practice. This will sound corny/weird but I dod practice at home in the yard. 5 gallon bucket propped up at a 45° angle and I try to chip into it from varying distances. It is a relatively small target so if you can hit consistently into it you can dial in distances close around the green.
The whole thing about chipping is deciding when it is best to throw a shot to the pin in the air and get it to stop or roll it up using a bump and run. Either way you have to have distance control and practice is the only way to get it, so keep at it.
Click to expand...

I don't really have an area to practice at home, but luckily I have four different practice areas to choose from without 5 miles, so I'm a bit spoiled. I figured it's better to practice the short game than the full swing!
 
You are correct IMO, short game saves strokes.
From the looks of the pictures, you could step off the deck and be on a fairway close to a green?

DucatiGirl said:
I don't really have an area to practice at home, but luckily I have four different practice areas to choose from without 5 miles, so I'm a bit spoiled. I figured it's better to practice the short game than the full swing!
Click to expand...
 
Snickerdog said:
You are correct IMO, short game saves strokes.
From the looks of the pictures, you could step off the deck and be on a fairway close to a green?
Click to expand...

Yep - it gets a little dark for practice after the course closes though!
 
Time is factor for me so I can’t get out to a practice green as much as I would like. So to practice landing on a spot I just set a bucket in the backyard and try to hit that.
 
Landing spot drills. Use to aim at the pin and that usually ended up bad. so last year and this one I have been trying to find that spot that I need to land the ball and then working on different lofts and moving it front to back in stance. I like your idea about going over traps and down hill helps with speed there. Need to find a course here soon to get some prep in for December
 
The last couple of times I was out I would pick a spot and hit 15-20 balls, switch clubs and practice another 15-20 with that club to work on multiple options. I also started working on the bump and run more and extending my range with that shot. I like making multiple shots from one spot to try and build up some muscle memory over time.
 
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