chipping for the high handicapper

[andrue]

Jeez JS, lighten up, will ya.

 

The joke was pretty obvious and sure, anybody can PLAN. Execution ? That's another story. As andrue has explained.

 

And clueless lumps of Jello ? :rolleyes: Not at all. North Butte is a 17 but as far as I can tell has as much knowledge about the game as (almost ?) anyone. Knowledge is one thing but execution is quite another - as you well know. (cool)

Yeah, I may have gotten a little over the top. Sorry all. Andrue is good. No matter who you are, a little planning can go a long way, and the same is true in setting up the short game...

No worries. It's a valid point for beginners and three or four years ago would have been spot on. Back then I wasn't even bothering to aim toward the hole really, just standing in vaguely the right direction and swinging. A bad habit from too much time at the range and not enough (almost none) on the course.

 

But I plan now especially for approach distance. My coach has increased my iron distances by a couple of clubs or so. That means I rarely approach the green with anything longer than an 8 iron and mostly it's a PW. That's great for scoring. Unfortunately it means my shortest club (60 degree LW) goes 90 yards. So between 90 and 40 yards is a problem distance that I'm using course management to avoid. I have a lesson with my coach today and I'm hoping he's going to help me learn how to make partial swings so that I can cover that gap.

[Grambo54]

Ok so a bit more than a week later and trying a whole bunch of things, Im probably now only the second worst chipper in the world, so heres what Im doing to take me out of that first place slot :-) Choke down. left hand thumb and forefinger are on the steel shaft just below the grip. right hand goes below. Club feels really short, but this stands the club up so youre basically hitting the ball with the toe.....less chance of chunking. Feet at 45 degrees to target. for me the ball is in line with the outside of the right foot and about 4 inches away from my little toe. Left arm stays dead straight through the chip, right arm heads toward target, which is not the hole, its a point on the green where i want to land the ball. I count to 2 before i look up after the hit. So its takeaway into phils hinge and hold and how far I hinge depends on the distance. I dont want to to think about the damn ball or worry about "feeling" the distance, so Ive come up with my own distance control and my only swing thought is how far back I need to hinge. Because Ive worked out that a 1/4 takeback (45 degrees back in my hinge) makes the ball go 10 yards with my sand wedge. A half hinge (hinge to parallel to ground ie 90 degrees) ball goes 15 yards. Can do the same with any club. What the distances of 2 or 3 chipping clubs are at a 1/4 hinge and a half hinge. I know ground conditions make a difference but for the worlds worst chippers that dosnt come in to the equation. Thanks for all the suggestions, help, comments and you guys are such a great help for "floggers" like me :-)

[PlayinPing]

practice...hit 100 chips a day for a week... problem solved

[sbark]

Went thru a rough stretch recently. Moved away from the feet together / open stance as I caught Monte S. stateing it promotes steepness toward a more conventional setup

 

lead shoulder internal/ ie stronger grip and moving away with a feel of both arms, and again from Monte --limit the lower body movement. Trying to keep both arms working together, seems as if Iet one take over, gets funky quick.

[Grambo54]

practice...hit 100 chips a day for a week... problem solved

 

The problem is you can hit chips all day, but on the course you only have 1 chance per chip, not a 100. So the pressure is on. I just think find the easiset way now, maybe in a years time that will change but what works now is all I care about.....cheers

[dap]

practice...hit 100 chips a day for a week... problem solved

 

The problem is you can hit chips all day, but on the course you only have 1 chance per chip, not a 100. So the pressure is on. I just think find the easiset way now, maybe in a years time that will change but what works now is all I care about.....cheers

Yes that is a valid point. You have only one shot and it's likely to be under pressure. Maybe you need to chip over a bunker and there is trouble lurking on the other side of the green as well. You need a chipping stroke that performs under pressure, not one that works in practise where you have many shots to groove a stroke.

[Grambo54]

practice...hit 100 chips a day for a week... problem solved

 

The problem is you can hit chips all day, but on the course you only have 1 chance per chip, not a 100. So the pressure is on. I just think find the easiset way now, maybe in a years time that will change but what works now is all I care about.....cheers

Yes that is a valid point. You have only one shot and it's likely to be under pressure. Maybe you need to chip over a bunker and there is trouble lurking on the other side of the green as well. You need a chipping stroke that performs under pressure, not one that works in practise where you have many shots to groove a stroke.

 

chipping over a bunker is a nightmare. Im more likely to try a 60 wedge pitch but thats a really hard shot too. You know, i wish I could hit the ball and hear it whistle away like the hard hitters, or smash a drive 250, or hit those dead straight shots to the green from 100 out. I cant. I wish I could and to be honest it pisses me off that I cant, but thats the game!!! :-)

[Grambo54]

practice...hit 100 chips a day for a week... problem solved

 

The problem is you can hit chips all day, but on the course you only have 1 chance per chip, not a 100. So the pressure is on. I just think find the easiset way now, maybe in a years time that will change but what works now is all I care about.....cheers

Yes that is a valid point. You have only one shot and it's likely to be under pressure. Maybe you need to chip over a bunker and there is trouble lurking on the other side of the green as well. You need a chipping stroke that performs under pressure, not one that works in practise where you have many shots to groove a stroke.

 

chipping over a bunker is a nightmare. Im more likely to try a 60 wedge pitch but thats a really hard shot too. You know, i wish I could hit the ball and hear it whistle away like the hard hitters, or smash a drive 250, or hit those dead straight shots to the green from 100 out. I cant. I wish I could and to be honest it pisses me off that I cant, but thats the game!!! :-)

 

Well today I had a good round. In fact best round ever. 87. I chipped ok. Thats huge for me. Sure I was nervous every chip.... and putted when I could but my chipping method seems to take alot of the margin for error out. So for now I'll stick with it. Cheers.

[nsxguy]

practice...hit 100 chips a day for a week... problem solved

 

The problem is you can hit chips all day, but on the course you only have 1 chance per chip, not a 100. So the pressure is on. I just think find the easiset way now, maybe in a years time that will change but what works now is all I care about.....cheers

Yes that is a valid point. You have only one shot and it's likely to be under pressure. Maybe you need to chip over a bunker and there is trouble lurking on the other side of the green as well. You need a chipping stroke that performs under pressure, not one that works in practise where you have many shots to groove a stroke.

 

Oy vey. Are you guys kidding ?

 

The whole point of practicing is so that you can develop consistency and confidence that turns into success when it counts.

 

Sheesh. :wacko:

[Grambo54]

practice...hit 100 chips a day for a week... problem solved

 

The problem is you can hit chips all day, but on the course you only have 1 chance per chip, not a 100. So the pressure is on. I just think find the easiset way now, maybe in a years time that will change but what works now is all I care about.....cheers

Yes that is a valid point. You have only one shot and it's likely to be under pressure. Maybe you need to chip over a bunker and there is trouble lurking on the other side of the green as well. You need a chipping stroke that performs under pressure, not one that works in practise where you have many shots to groove a stroke.

 

Oy vey. Are you guys kidding ?

 

The whole point of practicing is so that you can develop consistency and confidence that turns into success when it counts.

 

Sheesh. :wacko:

I understand what youre saying and its true if you can spend the hours needed until you have all the confidence in the world. Unfortunately the rest of my game needs work also. I can chip on the practice green with no nerves or pressure. The problem is where nervousness and the feeling of pressure to perform that one shot on the course affects my ability to perform it like I do in practice. And the nerves are involuntary, I cant control them. In fact my hands can shake. Try chipping like that. So Im forced to cut my losses as best I can and chip the weird way I do. Also you are confronted with many different lies, angles, situations on the course that you dont find on the practice green, which compounds the feeling of pressure. The other difficulty is that you can hit 100 chips on the practice green, and its easy to get into a groove there, but in reality on the course you've probably hit 2 or 3 other different clubs before your one chip, and maybe havent even chipped at all for a few holes.

[nsxguy]

practice...hit 100 chips a day for a week... problem solved

 

The problem is you can hit chips all day, but on the course you only have 1 chance per chip, not a 100. So the pressure is on. I just think find the easiset way now, maybe in a years time that will change but what works now is all I care about.....cheers

Yes that is a valid point. You have only one shot and it's likely to be under pressure. Maybe you need to chip over a bunker and there is trouble lurking on the other side of the green as well. You need a chipping stroke that performs under pressure, not one that works in practise where you have many shots to groove a stroke.

 

Oy vey. Are you guys kidding ?

 

The whole point of practicing is so that you can develop consistency and confidence that turns into success when it counts.

 

Sheesh. :wacko:

I understand what youre saying and its true if you can spend the hours needed until you have all the confidence in the world. Unfortunately the rest of my game needs work also. I can chip on the practice green with no nerves or pressure. The problem is where nervousness and the feeling of pressure to perform that one shot on the course affects my ability to perform it like I do in practice. And the nerves are involuntary, I cant control them. In fact my hands can shake. Try chipping like that. So Im forced to cut my losses as best I can and chip the weird way I do. Also you are confronted with many different lies, angles, situations on the course that you dont find on the practice green, which compounds the feeling of pressure. The other difficulty is that you can hit 100 chips on the practice green, and its easy to get into a groove there, but in reality on the course you've probably hit 2 or 3 other different clubs before your one chip, and maybe havent even chipped at all for a few holes.

 

[never mind, no point]

[Patrick_O]

Dan Carahher threw out a nice little technique when things are not going good around the greens. Toe down, shaft real verticle have to stand close to ball, more upright.......

I have used this and it works! Good as a back up when you are struggling.

[PlayinPing]

ball on back foot. open the stance and face accordingly. hands forward, no wrist action.

[dap]

There is no one correct chipping stroke. It can vary from a putting stroke to hinge and hold. The correct one for you is the one that works under pressure and have the most confidence with. Experiment on the practice greens and during rounds. I personally prefer a stroke similar to a putting stroke. Jim Furyk does this and he's got a YouTube video describing his thoughts.

[Golfjack]

Seriously, take more club on approach shots and practice chipping in a chipping area with real rough from 30 yards to 10 yards. Any situation that you have trouble with. StriVe for good contact and that probably requires a technique change. I would try more shoulder rotating through the ball for better impact instead of hand scooping leading to inconsistent results.

[Grambo54]

Its 2019. My chipping has been shocking to date. I can do a whole round without chipping....I use my putter from wherever. Not good but I havent wanted the stress of chipping. Every chip a chunk or skull. Today I found a way for the worst chipper in the world(me) to chip it straight and with some feel. Tested it on the course. Left hand below right with a firm left grip . I interlink my left pinkie. Straight left arm for accuracy and keeping the arc, firm LH grip. Then forget the left hand. Take away and hinge the right hand as much as you want, with a soft RH grip for distance feel. Youre now concentrating on hitting with a soft right hand. Pressure it as much as you feel you need to depending on lie. The LH keeps the arc. RH it the hitting arm and distance control. Works with any club. Worth a try if you have trouble with chipping like me. Thats why I posted.

[Richo666]

I too suck badly at chipping, i tense up,have no wrist hinge etc yes skull it,fat it u name it.

On the occasions i hit a good one i feel free and easy and i can practice and hit decent chip after chip.

So tension and locked wrists are more than likely the cause.

On occasions i have chipped well for a whole round which is around 2 out of 100,s i have the same sense of the club just dropping on the ball with a little wrist hinge so you would think i would learn from that.

The other day i had a round and said bugger it (i do not care at all) how this ball comes out (i do not care about the result) and just focused on tempo and whammo great chip after chip.

So your setup may not to be blamed at all, i recon soft wrists and an uncaring attitude might get you half way there. Ill try this again and let you guys know the result.

Anyway just some ideas.

Happy Golfing

[North Butte]

> @Grambo54 said:

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> The problem is you can hit chips all day, but on the course you only have 1 chance per chip, not a 100. So the pressure is on. I just think find the easiset way now, maybe in a years time that will change but what works now is all I care about.....cheers

 

Yep. I've totally revamped my approach to chipping/pitching which entailed lessons and lots of practice in the back yard at home as well as at my club's practice green. At certain points when I was working hard on it, I looked like I had an *amazing* short game for a double-digit handicapper. That "use the bounce" stuff really works and is not difficult to learn, although it does take practice like anything.

 

Problem is, my chipping yips almost never attack me when practicing. And if they do, I just walk away and try again another day. But put me on the golf course and I get a little tentative. Then that first yip blades one over the green or stabs the club into the ground without ever reaching the ball. In fact, I've been known to completely whiff and miss the ball on a 15-yard bump and run with a 7-iron. Once it goes off in my hands like that the first time, the rest of the round is toast.

 

Lately I've made a few setup tweaks as well as doing some practice specifically aimed at the "transfer" stage of learning (where you take a skill you can do while practicing and "transfer" that to semi-playing scenarios and then to actual play). So far it's promising. I can actually yip one on the front nine then turn around and hit a couple real good ones later in the round. Visualization practice also helps. But my on-course short game is still a decidedly dodgy version of the stuff I can do while hitting "100 chips a day" or whatever.

 

What's the old Mike Tyson saying? Everybody has a plan until I punch 'em in the face! For me the short game sometimes feels like a bout with a fighter way out of my weight class.

[Richo666]

Yes the course definately throws punches for sure. In the back of my mind i know tempo and trust are the real issues,that and not letting a bad shot transfer to other shots,but is more easily said than done sometimes. Ahh mind games gotta learn to love them i recon,that and actually practise chipping more than a few minutes per practise session.

[jobin]

You gotta go with the club and the stroke---that you have the most confidence in. And what is your target? The hole or the green? Some pro pulls out a 60* wedge on the severe upslope, from 8 yrds, to a pin 6 yrds on the green and drops the ball next to.

I can do that, once per 50. Take a putter and get on the green. Keep working near the practice green with a P wedge or 9i. IMO, must have a positive image or focus before any strike, esp near the green.

I'm not convinced that technique is the issue. Skill at chosen technique and confidence are much more valuable.

[TIM929]

This is what helped me:

 

1) Montes “use the bounce” technique is gold.

 

2) tempo is what really helps me strike it well. I call out “ 1 and 2”:

 

3) Especially on short distances, I strike the grass before the ball depending on the lie. I practice 1/4”, 1/2”, 1 inch, 1 1/2”, etc. on short, mid, tall grass at my chipping area and see how to ball lands and rolls. It’s cool to memorize the results and it naturally comes out during play.

 

Have fun OP!