Golf Instruction Chipping

The shot that requires the most authority is also one of the shortest. Golf instruction chipping without authority can be thin, fat or even shanked shots. You name what can go wrong and it will. However, hit your chip shots with authority and chances are you’ll be tapping in for your next.
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There are a few things that lead to a lack of authority- including fear, indecision, lack of strength – and all lead to poor chipping. Think of your club as a horse.(weird analogy but stay with me ) If your not confident, it has this uncanny knack of recognizing your concern and plays up. If you show it who’s boss and in charge, the results are often far more satisfactory.

The best way to ensure authority is repetition. Add that with these two strength drills (below) and bring some authority back to your short game.
Drill 1 Drill 2

Drill 1; Hold the club horizontally in front of your body and cock the wrists. It’s a simple exercise but, like Drill 2, repeat for 10 repetitions, build up gradually and get some strength and flexibility into those wrists.

Drill 2; Hold your arms outstretched with a weight (a couple of golf clubs or 440gm cans are fine if you don’t have hand weights) and lift up and down with your wrists.

Wrist Strength
It’s hard to hit a shot with authority if the club feels heavy in your hand. A pitch is a firm wristed action so the wrist must secure the club to ensure you’re in control of your swing. Weak wrists are a problem for many beginning women players, but it doesn’t hurt for all golfers to spend some time with these drills.

Be Decisive
There are countless articles covering club selection and type of chip shot for a particular situation. Whatever your decision, convince yourself that it’s the correct shot – eliminate doubt.
Spend time on a practice green repeating the same shot over and over.
If you’ve got some time at home, place a basket or bucket in the backyard and practice chipping the ball into the target. If you can regularly hit the target, you’re decisive and have strong wrists, then you’re well on the way to hitting plenty of chip shots close.

Golf Instruction Chipping Tip- Bet on the percentages

It might look fancy in the air but there’s a higher risk of error when you increase your loft for a greenside chip. Extra loft decreases the margin for error at impact and decreases the size of the landing  zone on the green.
The second bounce check-up is one of the hardest shots to play in golf, so it’s best left to the pros.
I encourage any amateur golfer to go for maximum roll and minimum air time, remembering to land the ball on the green.. This means using less-lofted clubs and relying on a simple formula when faced with a chip around the green.

However first, like any shot in golf a little course management is required. As is a brush up on the finer points of  golf instruction tips a balanced posture.

Golf Instruction Chipping – The Method
When chipping, your target is not the flag, your focus is on your landing spot. This will vary depending on the condition of the green and the loft of the club you are using. Start with a five iron, and increase the loft depending on  the amount of green available, using the following ratios.

5 IRON
20 percent flight, 80 percent bounce and roll.
8 IRON
33 percent flight, 67 percent bounce and roll
WEDGE
50 percent bounce and 50 percent roll.

Golf Instruction- Chipping it close from uneven lies
Chipping from uneven lies around the green won’t be a problem, if you’re armed with the knowledge to counter the slopes.
We’ve all faced the situation where we just miss a green and our ‘up and down’ par depends on getting the ball close from an awkward stance.
Like a full shot from an uneven lie, there are certain adjustments that have to be made with your set-up.

However unlike full shots, uneven lies present a wider variety of ball flights.
Look at these four common greenside situations to see what adjustments are required to chip close.
Uphill Lie
High Lob

lob stance

By adjusting your spine angle to suit the lie of the land, you will hit a normal chip shot, plus the extra trajectory of the slope. This will give you a higher than normal shot and a softer than normal landing.

Low Spinning

low spinning

For a shot that comes out low and running, lean into the hill which will put your hands ahead of the ball at impact and close the clubface. Move the ball slightly back in your stance to ensure clean contact.

Downhill Lie                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Bump and Run

Again shape your spine to fit into the contours of the slope. The angle of the slope will cause a lower than normal  shot which will release on landing.

High Lob

This can be a low percentage shot, but it may be required to clear a bunker or stop the ball quickly. Set up with your stance across the slope (open) and keep your clubface pointing at the target. Now swing along the line of your feet. The extra loft will get the ball airborne quickly.

If you’re faced with a situation where your ball is above your feet, then grip down to adjust the length of the shaft and counter the ball being above your feet. Note that the ball is not going to come out right for a left hander like it would on a full shot because the club head runs along the slope.

For setting up to your ball if it is below your feet, the key here is to increase the bend in your spine angle by bending at the waist. This counters the ball being lower than your feet. Don’t make the mistake of bending at the knees which will cramp your swing.

I hope these few golf instruction chipping tips will help you to improve your short game and to reduce the number of shots in your round the next time you go out on the course. For a complete program to improve your game go HERE

Related posts:

1. PurePoint Golf Chip Shot Tips – Short Game by David Nevogt
2. Golf Iron Instruction
3. 10 Golf Instruction Tips
4. Fairway Woods Instruction