I CANT CHIP!!!!!!!! Please help with basics

[bubbagumpshrimp]

I've found this to be pretty simple and handy.

 

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This was a big help for me today. Thank you.

[Tim Schoch]

Rocco Mediate's approach has erased 99% of my fat shots and 100% of chunk shots.

 

This is part one of two:

[BB28403]

Just act like you have a triangle that cannot be moved between your arms and chest. Putting empty water bottles under your armpits might help get the feeling.

Now just move your wedge in one fluid motion .

Also it is a pendulum so just move the club back as far as you need to and go forward that much on the swing thru.

This works for me.

[thug the bunny]

Three things that have made a real difference for me:

 

1) Focus/Practice: I've slimmed back so that I now only hit one of two shots... either my 60 degree or an 8 iron bump and run depending on the conditions/position. This has really helped me focus and build up consistency

 

2) Making sure I commit through the ball. This one was huge for me, I try and ensure that I'm always accelerating through the ball when I'm chipping no matter the range. A big cause of bad shots for me was not committing through the ball, so really focusing on achieving this has made a huge difference

 

3) Not overly focusing on the hole... this sounds a bit mad, but I now try and aim for a dustbin lid around the hole (3-5 feet) rather than the hole itself. I've no logic or science for this whatever, but I seem to have become a lot more consistent since taking this approach!

 

40-60 yards is still a mystery for me however!

 

That has been a big part of my problems close to the green. I routinely fail to follow-through on chips...as if I'm afraid to over-hit the ball. This is amusing (to me), because nine times out of ten...I miss short (not enough on it).

 

Most chunked and bladed chips are due to the old no confidence short quick stab, often accompanied with some decel. I most often chip well when I focus on keeping the clubhead moving through the ball, even on delicate 10 footers. Here is Shane Lowry at Baltusrol, he was shortsided, about 8 ft off the green with about ten yards total to the pin. There's no short quick stab there. I wasn't really even a flop, just a nice slow swing keeping the club moving. Although I think he went about 6 ft by, but you get the point.

 

 

[Swisstrader98]

The ONLY thing that works for me, a very crappy chipper is the following:

 

Take 2 practice swings and then without missing a beat, make your 3rd swing your actual swing at the ball.

 

Yips are typically caused by the brain misfiring and putting the breaks on a physical task based on fear and hence a bad result. If you don't give the brain a chance to think about the shot, your results will improve 100x.

[Tim Schoch]

I find that I learn technique despite the results. In other words, practice the type of swing you want to make and keeping doing it dozens of times, in spite of results. Results will get better. However, when it comes to making a "real" shot, mind your set up, but then just trust yourself and your feel and let the swing happen.

[WILDTHING]

I've been experimenting in my backyard lawn (so chipping out of rough ) you may need to use a variety of styles for the different lies. For example , if you have a bit of clump of grass just behind the ball , you really need to accelerate through . You can either try a 'swing' chip but that means quite a long backswing to build up enough speed/momentum to cut through the grass to ball . Or, the better way for me is to 'hit' by using more right arm extension (not flip the wrist) to accelerate the club through grass to ball. If its a relatively good lie , I tend to use a 'swing' method but maybe with a bit of connection between the upper left arm and left pec as you accelerate through the ball (seems to help stabilise the clubhead through impact ).

I seem to recollect that some golf academic said to accelerate the club through because if you hit the ground first , you may get some deceleration but not enough to prevent you hitting the ball with some momentum. Whereas if you try and get a constant speed into impact (no acceleration) a slight mishit will cause a major loss of momentum and you won't hit the ball very far or more likely hit it fat.

 

I still get the odd shank chip/pitch because for some reason , by shifting weight on my front foot , my shoulders tend to close as my hips open (weird but it seems this is how my body balances out). So although I'm perfectly in balance and feel braced against my left side, and everything feels secure and stable my shoulder line is pointing about 30 degrees right of the ball-target line - shank city if I'm also playing the ball back in my stance.

 

So be careful about your shoulder alignment when you chip or do a short pitch as that could be the root cause of many issues in your stroke, no matter how small the swing is.

[Tim Schoch]

I've been experimenting in my backyard lawn (so chipping out of rough ) you may need to use a variety of styles for the different lies. For example , if you have a bit of clump of grass just behind the ball , you really need to accelerate through . You can either try a 'swing' chip but that means quite a long backswing to build up enough speed/momentum to cut through the grass to ball . Or, the better way for me is to 'hit' by using more right arm extension (not flip the wrist) to accelerate the club through grass to ball. If its a relatively good lie , I tend to use a 'swing' method but maybe with a bit of connection between the upper left arm and left pec as you accelerate through the ball (seems to help stabilise the clubhead through impact ).

I seem to recollect that some golf academic said to accelerate the club through because if you hit the ground first , you may get some deceleration but not enough to prevent you hitting the ball with some momentum. Whereas if you try and get a constant speed into impact (no acceleration) a slight mishit will cause a major loss of momentum and you won't hit the ball very far or more likely hit it fat.

 

I still get the odd shank chip/pitch because for some reason , by shifting weight on my front foot , my shoulders tend to close as my hips open (weird but it seems this is how my body balances out). So although I'm perfectly in balance and feel braced against my left side, and everything feels secure and stable my shoulder line is pointing about 30 degrees right of the ball-target line - shank city if I'm also playing the ball back in my stance.

 

So be careful about your shoulder alignment when you chip or do a short pitch as that could be the root cause of many issues in your stroke, no matter how small the swing is.

 

I had trouble swaying going back, which led to hanging back, hitting fat, topping it, etc. I found a tip from Jimmy Ballard about toeing your back foot in to brace the right/back side so you don't sway. It works marvelously. To me, it feels like I hit a wall going back, then my hips turn and follow the butt of the club to a left follow through--all without thinking about it.

 

I have a backyard on a sidehill with humps and bumps and long grass, etc. It is a challenge to hit all the various shots. I really enjoy that.

[golfdude54]

Place a ball 10 yards from the hole on a normal lie. Hit shot. Repeat process. You'll figure it out.

[Tim Schoch]

Place a ball 10 yards from the hole on a normal lie. Hit shot. Repeat process. You'll figure it out.

 

If I were 12, that might work. But I'm 67 with habits and restrictions and intelligence that gets in the way. Teaching isn't about trial-and-error, it is about gifting students with words that work.

[BB28403]

Try to keep the "triangle" inbetween your arms as if you are putting . Your arms basically keep the "triangle" the same size. Your arms have to hold the exact "triangle" so don't move them to make the "triangle" bigger or smaller. It's permanent and immovable .

 

Then it is a pendulum. Short chip , short pull back, keep the "triangle" in tact. Then an Equal follow thru to your pull back. Do not use your wrists just like putting . Use a 56 wedge or 60 wedge.

 

The further back you pull the pendulum the further the ball will go. Do not use your wrists on short chips. That really works for me for distance control.

My teacher... Click on the "360"

 

http://video.golfdigest.com/watch/chipping-pitching-david-leadbetter-wristless-chips

 

That guy is a good teacher, he was hanging out at my library .

[bdcava]

Rocco Mediate's approach has erased 99% of my fat shots and 100% of chunk shots.

 

This is part one of two:

 

His approach makes great sense.

[oz dee cee]

Plenty of different methods, theories and approaches. I think you've got to identify your problem, choose a method that addresses this, then practice it. No magic pills. Got to chip 1000's to make it second nature.

[nsxguy]

Place a ball 10 yards from the hole on a normal lie. Hit shot. Repeat process. You'll figure it out.

 

If I were 12, that might work. But I'm 67 with habits and restrictions and intelligence that gets in the way. Teaching isn't about trial-and-error, it is about gifting students with words that work.

 

Ahhhhh, so there we have it. It's the instructor's fault. :lol:

 

Maybe you should enter your 2nd(?) childhood ?

 

And is that the same intelligence that says "you can't teach old hands new tricks" ? ;)

[thug the bunny]

Try to keep the "triangle" inbetween your arms as if you are putting . Your arms basically keep the "triangle" the same size. Your arms have to hold the exact "triangle" so don't move them to make the "triangle" bigger or smaller. It's permanent and immovable .

 

Then it is a pendulum. Short chip , short pull back, keep the "triangle" in tact. Then an Equal follow thru to your pull back. Do not use your wrists just like putting . Use a 56 wedge or 60 wedge.

 

The further back you pull the pendulum the further the ball will go. Do not use your wrists on short chips. That really works for me for distance control.

My teacher... Click on the "360"

 

http://video.golfdig...wristless-chips

 

That guy is a good teacher, he was hanging out at my library .

 

That is one school of thought, the Stricker no wrist putter-like chip. But the antithesis to this is the hinge and hold Mickleson type chip, with a nice little wrist c0ck.

[nsxguy]

Try to keep the "triangle" inbetween your arms as if you are putting . Your arms basically keep the "triangle" the same size. Your arms have to hold the exact "triangle" so don't move them to make the "triangle" bigger or smaller. It's permanent and immovable .

 

Then it is a pendulum. Short chip , short pull back, keep the "triangle" in tact. Then an Equal follow thru to your pull back. Do not use your wrists just like putting . Use a 56 wedge or 60 wedge.

 

The further back you pull the pendulum the further the ball will go. Do not use your wrists on short chips. That really works for me for distance control.

My teacher... Click on the "360"

 

http://video.golfdig...wristless-chips

 

That guy is a good teacher, he was hanging out at my library .

 

That is one school of thought, the Stricker no wrist putter-like chip. But the antithesis to this is the hinge and hold Mickleson type chip, with a nice little wrist c0ck.

 

Not antithesis.

 

You're simply talking about little/no wrist c0ck vs. a fair amount of hinge.

 

Both hold the wrists in position through impact.

[sbark]

Golfwrx had a excellent article a few months ago..............

http://www.golfwrx.com/419546/the-new-and-improved-way-to-hit-chip-shots/

[Tim Schoch]

Place a ball 10 yards from the hole on a normal lie. Hit shot. Repeat process. You'll figure it out.

 

If I were 12, that might work. But I'm 67 with habits and restrictions and intelligence that gets in the way. Teaching isn't about trial-and-error, it is about gifting students with words that work.

 

Ahhhhh, so there we have it. It's the instructor's fault. :lol:

 

Maybe you should enter your 2nd(?) childhood ?

 

And is that the same intelligence that says "you can't teach old hands new tricks" ? ;)

 

Instruction isn't wash, rinse, repeat. No such thing as practice makes perfect. I'm sure you know that. Only perfect practice makes perfect. That, in part, is what instructors are for.

[Tim Schoch]

Golfwrx had a excellent article a few months ago..............

http://www.golfwrx.c...hit-chip-shots/

 

You'll hear the same thing from Rocco's method and from Phil's hinge-and-hold method. Both work very well for chipping, not so much for pitching.

[thug the bunny]

Try to keep the "triangle" inbetween your arms as if you are putting . Your arms basically keep the "triangle" the same size. Your arms have to hold the exact "triangle" so don't move them to make the "triangle" bigger or smaller. It's permanent and immovable .

 

Then it is a pendulum. Short chip , short pull back, keep the "triangle" in tact. Then an Equal follow thru to your pull back. Do not use your wrists just like putting . Use a 56 wedge or 60 wedge.

 

The further back you pull the pendulum the further the ball will go. Do not use your wrists on short chips. That really works for me for distance control.

My teacher... Click on the "360"

 

http://video.golfdig...wristless-chips

 

That guy is a good teacher, he was hanging out at my library .

 

That is one school of thought, the Stricker no wrist putter-like chip. But the antithesis to this is the hinge and hold Mickleson type chip, with a nice little wrist c0ck.

 

Not antithesis.

 

You're simply talking about little/no wrist c0ck vs. a fair amount of hinge.

 

Both hold the wrists in position through impact.

 

Yes, but the dynamic to get to that position is different.

[BB28403]

I think this thread is catching! I couldn't chip today either!

Of course I was tired. But man, im not reading these shank or can't do "somthing" threads. As bad as ebola.

[thug the bunny]

I think this thread is catching! I couldn't chip today either!

Of course I was tired. But man, im not reading these shank or can't do "somthing" threads. As bad as ebola.

 

Yeah, infectious level III. It"s hard to stop reading all different ways that people have spasms while chipping. Go ahead and take a nice healthy backswing, and just bring the club down with the rhythm of a park swing. Takes a little confidence.

[nsxguy]

If I were 12, that might work. But I'm 67 with habits and restrictions and intelligence that gets in the way. Teaching isn't about trial-and-error, it is about gifting students with words that work.

 

Ahhhhh, so there we have it. It's the instructor's fault. :lol:

 

Maybe you should enter your 2nd(?) childhood ?

 

And is that the same intelligence that says "you can't teach old hands new tricks" ? ;)

 

Instruction isn't wash, rinse, repeat. No such thing as practice makes perfect. I'm sure you know that. Only perfect practice makes perfect. That, in part, is what instructors are for.

 

Perfect practice does NOT make perfect - but I'm sure you already know that.

 

You were given a practice routine that might help and dismissed it with "If I was 12 that might work". Why wouldn't it work now ? Have you tried it ?

 

Then you complained about instructors not "gifting students with words that work."

 

Everybody processes information a little differently and yes, explaining something a bit different might make it click. But you're here on a discussion forum. You don't like the suggestions, don't take 'em. But maybe you could at least TRY them ?

 

You'll hear the same thing from Rocco's method and from Phil's hinge-and-hold method. Both work very well for chipping, not so much for pitching.

 

You're talking about 2 different shots.

 

The chip is a "maxi-putt".

 

The pitch is a "mini-swing".

 

They are DIFFERENT.

[sbark]

Golfwrx had a excellent article a few months ago..............

http://www.golfwrx.c...hit-chip-shots/

 

You'll hear the same thing from Rocco's method and from Phil's hinge-and-hold method. Both work very well for chipping, not so much for pitching.

 

Seems to flow for me, as it is based and encourages a connected turn of the body, which as I need to add distance I start to widen stance from his chipping feet together, but keep the turn start adding wrist set............fits in well with the GG swing motion as a whole.........blends together from a chipping motion to a full swing.

[Tim Schoch]

If I were 12, that might work. But I'm 67 with habits and restrictions and intelligence that gets in the way. Teaching isn't about trial-and-error, it is about gifting students with words that work.

 

Ahhhhh, so there we have it. It's the instructor's fault. :lol:

 

Maybe you should enter your 2nd(?) childhood ?

 

And is that the same intelligence that says "you can't teach old hands new tricks" ? ;)

 

Instruction isn't wash, rinse, repeat. No such thing as practice makes perfect. I'm sure you know that. Only perfect practice makes perfect. That, in part, is what instructors are for.

 

Perfect practice does NOT make perfect - but I'm sure you already know that.

 

You were given a practice routine that might help and dismissed it with "If I was 12 that might work". Why wouldn't it work now ? Have you tried it ?

 

Then you complained about instructors not "gifting students with words that work."

 

Everybody processes information a little differently and yes, explaining something a bit different might make it click. But you're here on a discussion forum. You don't like the suggestions, don't take 'em. But maybe you could at least TRY them ?

 

You'll hear the same thing from Rocco's method and from Phil's hinge-and-hold method. Both work very well for chipping, not so much for pitching.

 

You're talking about 2 different shots.

 

The chip is a "maxi-putt".

 

The pitch is a "mini-swing".

 

They are DIFFERENT.

 

Well, go back and read what I said. I said instructors DO gift words, it is what they do...which means, they give you a practice system and words that resonate into confidence. Beating balls with no routine or plan doesn't work, and isn't fun.

 

I know well that chips and pitches are different, which is why one approach might not work for the other. Or, maybe it will. Both Rocco's and Phil's approaches involve a wrist set, just a different way of doing it, but they both work. Rocco's also works for pitches. Phil's uses a narrow stance, though, which I like because it keeps me from swaying. Rocco likes a wider stance because he likes to shift his weight like Jimmy Ballard taught him.

 

I don't quite know what kind of beef you have with anything I've said, except that I think you're not reading very well. Take a breath, go practice, then come back and be constructive.

 

Sbark...I agree that system makes it really logical to go from short shots to longer shots. I was trying it out a few minutes ago and it feels good.

[tigerfan23]

Ive turned into a decent chipper - heres how I do it

 

54 deg wedge - back of stance - Shallow swing keep club head along grass - its easy. Struggled for years

[Tim Schoch]

Ive turned into a decent chipper - heres how I do it

 

54 deg wedge - back of stance - Shallow swing keep club head along grass - its easy. Struggled for years

 

Right on. I'm not a big fan of back of stance, but a shallower loft I really do well with. Some say 60 degrees, you use 54 degrees (a perfect loft), and I often love to chip with my 52. But keeping it simple and low is it.

[WILDTHING]

Sometimes its nice to have a chipping /short pitch action where it sort of helps your full swing too. Tom Tomasello mentions this in his video below and he claims its the fingers/hands that lead while the body follows. Look specifically from 3:00 - 7:00

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8RtxlDVK3I

 

Imho , I think he is advocating something called a 'throw/hit' style of chipping using the right arm/hand while the left arm is 'inert'.

 

PS. My full swing is based on his philosophy , so the chipping/pitching style suits me because it helps mirror a similar feel in my full swing.

[Tim Schoch]

Sometimes its nice to have a chipping /short pitch action where it sort of helps your full swing too. Tom Tomasello mentions this in his video below and he claims its the fingers/hands that lead while the body follows. Look specifically from 3:00 - 7:00

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8RtxlDVK3I

 

Imho , I think he is advocating something called a 'throw/hit' style of chipping using the right arm/hand while the left arm is 'inert'.

 

PS. My full swing is based on his philosophy , so the chipping/pitching style suits me because it helps mirror a similar feel in my full swing.

 

Not seeing the video in your post, but I see the link in my quote. I like this method a lot. When it works, it works very well, accurately, and feels good too. My problem is dropping my back shoulder when I apply the left hand to the "hit". Thinking is the worst thing I can do :) which is why a more Striker/Rocco quiet wrist action is best for me. The right hand still works but I don't have to think about it.

[WILDTHING]

I've been thinking about the reasons why we shank chips and short pitches and I know there are various reasons. But they all boil down to either a movement of the club path towards the ball/target line or a big enough 'inside-out' or 'outside to in' clubhead path, bringing the hosel area closer to impact point.

 

For such a small swing , I think its reasonable to assume that 'inside-out' or 'outside-in' is not the major cause for most 'chip/short pitch' shanks or inaccurate and 'non-solid' contacts. Something else must be going on!!!

 

I'll throw this out for discussion but could the root cause be in the 'set-up'? Do most golfers keep a bent right arm in the chip set-up or do they set up so that it's comfortably straight?

 

Looking at my own chip set up , I definitely have a bent right arm (because it seems safer to have the ball closer to me) and it seems that I try to keep that same bend throughout the swing which I think could be a major root cause of shanks, especially if I try to get a bit more momentum into the stroke. If my right arm extends even an inch during the stroke (up to impact) then anything can happen. Even If I kept my pivot perfectly centred but inadvertently allow the momentum of the clubhead's arc path to pull my right arm a little straighter, then the club-path will go towards the ball-target line and I could end up shanking the ball. If I tried to 'hit-chip' using a piston like movement extension of my right arm , then if my timing was wrong, I could push my right 'arm/hand' and clubface 'out' towards the ball -target line rather than 'push' as the clubface sweetspot approached impact in a more squarer position.

 

Maybe the best way is to set up with both arms comfortably straight , and not worry too much about the ball being a little further away from your stance line, then perform the 'pivot' swing chip . This wouldn't necessarily apply to a 'hit-chip' because you need a bent right arm to push/hit through impact.

 

After thinking about this a bit more , I think I am 'Switting' my chips (especially long ones) and short pitches and that takes better timing than I'm capable of which could explain why I am so inconsistent on solid strikes and why my accuracy is poor (both of which affect my ability to improve on distance control too).