Chipping - I’ve Reached the End of the Internet

[Cmart050]

I come to you guys and gals at wit’s end...two decades of awfulness at chipping have broken me. I can’t enjoy the rest of my game because if a green is missed, it’s four extra strokes. Two to get on, two to putt in. 
 

I’ve read every article, watched every video, bought Use the Bounce, reached the edge of the internet...nothing works. 
 

I don’t even know where to assess the problem. I think I use my hands too much? Who knows. The second it’s a chip with any pressure my game collapses. I learned through lessons with Monte this is a byproduct of bad technique. Maybe everyone can help? 
 

Here is a video from today.

[wagolfer7]

@Cmart050 - your very first move off the ball is killing you.  Hands move outside.  No time to shallow and correct it.  You come in OTT and way too steep.  Makes it sooooo hard to chip.  Chunks and skulls all day long.  Hands need to move straight back or slightly inside.  Over exaggeration at first will help you.  Keep your feet together and just work on your hand path.  Hands go inside, not outside.  You'll have immediate results. 

 

Feet together is key too.  If you allow lower body movement, you could end up going the other way and getting way too inside.  Keep the feet together, will keep the lower body quiet.  

 

Confident this will work for you.  

 

 

[BogeyBrian]

Agree with what wagolfer said about handpath and narrow stance. 

 

Also, looks like your pressure falls back on your right foot a bit. I went through almost two years of chipping yips to the point of quitting golf...what helped me (this may seem painfully obvious to many) is my setup. I narrowed my stance and angled my legs towards the target...sort of like a skier slaloming..i kept the weight/pressure on the instep of my left foot and kept it there. Also made sure i kept my right shoulder moving through the shot. 

[glk]

It is a short golf swing that involves tUrning.   Your hips are in concrete. And arms look tense.   Hit the ball with your pivot. Relax. Toss the ball.

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CIRZMpXltlE/

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/B8OjkzMFOM-/

 

 

 

 

Edited April 9, 2021 by glk

[Cmart050]

46 minutes ago, BogeyBrian said:

Agree with what wagolfer said about handpath and narrow stance. 

 

Also, looks like your pressure falls back on your right foot a bit. I went through almost two years of chipping yips to the point of quitting golf...what helped me (this may seem painfully obvious to many) is my setup. I narrowed my stance and angled my legs towards the target...sort of like a skier slaloming..i kept the weight/pressure on the instep of my left foot and kept it there. Also made sure i kept my right shoulder moving through the shot. 

 

Never tried bringing it inside, so going to get after that for a while.

 

The right shoulder advise was super helpful on shorter chips. Keeps from deceleration, an old culprit of mine. Any longer than 20 feet though, and it's chunk/skull city, like wagolfer said. 

[Cmart050]

2 hours ago, wagolfer7 said:

@Cmart050 - your very first move off the ball is killing you.  Hands move outside.  No time to shallow and correct it.  You come in OTT and way too steep.  Makes it sooooo hard to chip.  Chunks and skulls all day long.  Hands need to move straight back or slightly inside.  Over exaggeration at first will help you.  Keep your feet together and just work on your hand path.  Hands go inside, not outside.  You'll have immediate results. 

 

Feet together is key too.  If you allow lower body movement, you could end up going the other way and getting way too inside.  Keep the feet together, will keep the lower body quiet.  

 

Confident this will work for you.  

 

 

Ok just DM me the invoice. The last hour has felt like a new sport. This is incredibly exciting. 
 

Of note is that I finally realize what bounce is like. It almost didn’t matter what my contact was like, the bounce took care of it. 

Edited April 9, 2021 by Cmart050

[Pepperturbo]

You've probably found all sorts of YT videos, and yet nothing sticks.  I've helped a few friends with chipping & short game problems by providing them with the same techniques I used.  It's quite simple too, I rely on it still today.  However, if you don’t want to put in the time, ignore what I have to say.

If you try it, you MUST remove all the doubt ladened baloney that collects in the head supporting the belief YOU can't do it or there's a hidden answer that you haven't discovered that's quick and easy.  You don’t develop a good short game quickly and easily.  Chipping is all about feel and visualization.

Leave your clubs in the trunk.  Go a practice green with ONLY 2 GOLF BALLS that you play with, and I mean 2.  There is a reason for that.  One mistake many people make is they get into hitting balls and as a result, grown mentally lazy from shot to shot, lose focus, and can't see the details in front of them, they learn nothing and completely overlook the value of visualization.

Using only two balls forces focus, patience, and attention to the details of each throw.  You want to learn how the ball behaves after hitting, how your arm extension feels for each distance, and how far the ball runs, over undulations and how it feels to get the ball close to the pin, even hole out.  Treat it like a game, you only get two throws, each must count because you have to walk back and forth.  Using a bucket of balls, they deflect off one another, so it lacks the minor pressure that comes when you’re facing that chip during a game. 

Pick a pin that is about 10yds from the apron.  Stand on the apron with 1 golf ball in the palm of your right hand.  Using an underhand technique, pick the needed landing spot to get the ball to then roll up to the pin.  Each time you throw the ball make note of how far the ball runs out before stopping, then how far you have to extend your arm to get the ball to land and run to the pin.

 

Keep increasing your throw until the ball hits where you want, and rolls to within a 1-2' + to the cup.  Keep doing this over and over for multiple practice visits.  Then find a pin 15yds from the apron, same process, next 20yds from the apron, then 25yds.  Yep, this is a repetitious exercise, so you learn to visualize distances and associate them with how your right-hand-arm feels throwing to a given distance.

 

After a few weeks start the process over only now you're going to use REVERSE OVERLAP grip and LW and chipping the ball ONLY 10yds for multiple sessions, then increase it to 15yds for multiple sessions, then 20yds, then 25yds, etc., till you can stand on the apron and visualize what you need to do to throw or chip the ball to a spot and know from there it will run out to near the pin.

The REVERSE OVERLAP grip gives the right hand a similar feeling to throwing underhanded while chipping with the club.  Distance control of all chips is in the right hand.

 

That technique and grip are what I used to learn to chip and make short pitchers.  I would do 25-30 at each distance, and the same with LW.  I use those techniques still, today.  I have a net down the hall from my office and a fake grass mat in my office, the distance is currently about 15yds.  I chip to that net almost every day, using that grip, 10 balls at a time.  My goal is to put balls into certain catch areas of the net, either throw them in or bounce them in.  I do that using LW, SW, and PW.  I haven't been to the range but twice in the last 3yrs.  My low was 2, I play to a 4, still at 70yrs old, and play to 6700yds.  My short game, however, is scratch or better.  To be good, we must put in the time so techniques and visualization are second nature when playing the game.

 

 

Edited April 9, 2021 by Pepperturbo

[jordan2240]

I've found that chipping with my 7 iron is much more reliable and provides more room for error.  It may not always get close, but it usually at least gets on the green - though I do get it much closer more often than using a wedge.

[naj959]

OP I've been there and know the struggle all too well. What turned it around, was watching Ridyard hit little pitch shots around the green. I copied his narrow stance with flared feet and tried to imitate his body movements and had immediate success after struggling for years. I could just set the wrist a little going back and release it going through and got great contact every time. I think a lot of us ams that struggle with the short game vastly overlook how important it is to set up with a narrow stance and release the club through the ball. For a long time I tried to keep the wrist angles frozen and this made my margin for error razor thin. When I focus on the release I don't stall the arm at impact and blade it.

 

I'd also recommend you check out James Siekman's book. Understanding the difference between a finesse sequence and a power sequence was also eye opening. it has a handy fault and fixes section and teaches you how to practice effectively. Sounds like your on your way. Good luck!

[getitdaily]

I've never had a chipping lesson or even ever asked for advice ( it knocking you). My short game is something I lean on to take a few more risks at times. I learned to chip and pitch by just hitting all sorts of shots. Go hit chips taking the club way inside, way outside, and learn. Use short follow throughs, long follow throughs, etc.  Open stance, closed stance, swing left, swing right. And learn what works and what doesnt. No wrists, wristy motion, and learn. Left hand controlled motion, right hand controlled motion, and learn. Keep the clubhead low, let the clubhead come up...and learn. 

 

Are you focused on a landing spot and simply hitting that landing spot?

[wagolfer7]

1 hour ago, Cmart050 said:

Ok just DM me the invoice. The last hour has felt like a new sport. This is incredibly exciting. 
 

Of note is that I finally realize what bounce is like. It almost didn’t matter what my contact was like, the bounce took care of it. 

 

LOL.  No invoice needed.  Glad to help.  Nothing more frustrating than not being able to hit a ball 3 yards.  

 

Coming into the ball from the inside makes all the difference.  And no that doesn't mean you have to have an inside to outside path.  Just means you come into the ball from the inside, the arc can still be inside to inside.  

 

Same applies to the full swing.  Difference being, you can get away with an outside takeaway as you have time to reroute along the way.  

Edited April 9, 2021 by wagolfer7

[Hawkeye77]

Stiff as a board with the arms and almost trying to pick up the ball is the look.  It's almost the antithesis of Use the Bounce if you've watched it. You got off the rails somewhere.

 

Don't think that's what Monte is advocating so if you've had lessons reach out to him and get back on track!

Edited April 9, 2021 by Hawkeye77

[Cmart050]

20 minutes ago, Hawkeye77 said:

Stiff as a board with the arms and almost trying to pick up the ball is the look.  It's almost the antithesis of Use the Bounce if you've watched it.  You got off the rails somewhere.

 

Don't think that's what Monte is advocating so if you've had lessons reach out to him and get back on track!

I have trouble applying general lessons. I get the concepts but can’t implement them. Live lessons with Monte have done wonders for me. 

[Hawkeye77]

2 minutes ago, Cmart050 said:

I have trouble applying general lessons. I get the concepts but can’t implement them. Live lessons with Monte have done wonders for me. 

Get thee back!  

[CasualLie]

@naj959  @wagolfer7 got it right.  I don't recall exactly where it is in the use the bounce series, somewhere early on, but a very important concept is doing the small pitches right hand only.  Get a cup of coffee in your left hand, or talk on the phone and hold there phone in your left hand to your ear.  Throw a bunch of balls on the grass.  And while shipping on a coffee or chatting on the phone, pick a close target and hit soft pitches right hand only.  It really doesn't matter if your stance is perfect, or alignment.  Let the distraction of coffee or the call occupy your mind while you just let natural instinct figure out how to get that club coming in shallow and putting a nice pop on the ball with a normal trajectory.

 

I often have both coffee in my hand and airpods on talking on a call while hitting little one hand pitches.

 

Just keep hitting balls one after the other with tempo.  Get a sense of the force needed to advanced the ball to the landing spot you want.  Don't expect perfection, after all, you were just using one arm!  Just work on feel and notice what is the length you need going back, return shaft to vertical, keep arm moving forward.  I promise you, it will not take long to get in a rhythm.  Keep talking on the phone, hit 20 balls.  

 

Once you have developed a sense of getting good contact right side only, now see if you can make a small adjustment to hit a little lower trajectory right hand only, then see if you can get a little higher trajectory. You still need some distraction, but as you mix it up, post attention to your right hand release.

 

15-20 minutes of this and when you get off the phone, time for two hands.  Setup properly, check alignment, keep the left hand quiet and hit your shot with that right side feel.

 

Repeat, repeat, repeat, Repeat, repeat, repeat, Repeat, repeat, repeat, Repeat, repeat, repeat...

 

When you are playing a round, stay loose... Tension is as big killer in short game.  Just pick your landing spot and let your feel from right side take over.  Don't steer, don't focus on positions.  Just pick the landing spot and go.

 

And I'll re-emphasize the Ridyard videos.  They are so good about showing just how little arm movement it takes.

 

Good luck!

[phizzy30]

7 hours ago, wagolfer7 said:

@Cmart050 - your very first move off the ball is killing you.  Hands move outside.  No time to shallow and correct it.  You come in OTT and way too steep.  Makes it sooooo hard to chip.  Chunks and skulls all day long.  Hands need to move straight back or slightly inside.  Over exaggeration at first will help you.  Keep your feet together and just work on your hand path.  Hands go inside, not outside.  You'll have immediate results. 

 

Feet together is key too.  If you allow lower body movement, you could end up going the other way and getting way too inside.  Keep the feet together, will keep the lower body quiet.  

 

Confident this will work for you.  

 

 

Great advice here.  I'm assuming that what you're trying to say is it's better to chip with an in to out motion even if it's exaggerated and as soon as you take your hands to the outside that your SOL.  If so, then that would be spot on.  For me, I'm pretty straight back and fowards but I have done my chipping with an extreme in to out path just to get it back to where it was functional when my motion was piss poor.  It was a long time ago when good instruction wasn't readily available online.  Trial and error for me. 

[naj959]

2 hours ago, phizzy30 said:

Great advice here.  I'm assuming that what you're trying to say is it's better to chip with an in to out motion even if it's exaggerated and as soon as you take your hands to the outside that your SOL.  If so, then that would be spot on.  For me, I'm pretty straight back and fowards but I have done my chipping with an extreme in to out path just to get it back to where it was functional when my motion was piss poor.  It was a long time ago when good instruction wasn't readily available online.  Trial and error for me. 

This is my tendency as well. Club goes back a little outside and shut and that's the kiss of death IMO. During my block practice I place an alignment stick on my target line on the other side of the ball and make sure the club head tracks back along the target line arcing to the inside. I also find it very helpful to grip the club with just my left hand and take it back to hip high. Using only the left arm forces the forearm to rotate on plane and then I place my right hand on the club and feel the correct position. I find these two drills really helpful on 30,40, and 50 yard pitches where the motion gets a bit longer and being on plane becomes vital.

 

When I'm done with my block practice I move on to random practice. I use Ridyard's setup and release techniques to cycle through hitting low, standard, and high trajectory shots with all three of my wedges for roughly 20 balls a piece. I finish my pitch session doing a ladder drill and trying to see how many balls I can fit within 30 yards of the flag with the same wedge. I love this drill for working on distance control.

 

On a side note, I really feel like Ridyard's method helped reinforce what I had learned in Monte's UTB. For some reason I had a mental block trying to keep the right arm moving but thinking release has helped eliminate that.

Edited April 10, 2021 by naj959
typo

[llewol007]

Looks more like you are trying to punch out from under the trees versus chipping. If your chips are having to be that big, I suggest incorporating either a 5 iron or 7 iron. Other than that, I would probably keep that same sort of stance with more of your weight on that front foot and choke down on the club until you are almost on the bottom of your grip. From there I would treat it like a putt in terms of your stroke with really no need to break the wrist.

[wagolfer7]

2 hours ago, phizzy30 said:

Great advice here.  I'm assuming that what you're trying to say is it's better to chip with an in to out motion even if it's exaggerated and as soon as you take your hands to the outside that your SOL.  If so, then that would be spot on.  For me, I'm pretty straight back and fowards but I have done my chipping with an extreme in to out path just to get it back to where it was functional when my motion was piss poor.  It was a long time ago when good instruction wasn't readily available online.  Trial and error for me. 

 

Well no, I'm not saying that.  I'm saying for the OP, this would be the easiest way to give him a chipping style that will allow him to make consistent contact.  What he said is absolutely right, he's going to feel and utilize the bounce quite a bit now.  But he's also going to get on the green in 1 shot now consistently.  

 

There are many different styles / methods to chip.  And I think good players utilize the different ways, without putting much thought into it.  I don't think of my hand path when I chip and I'm sure there are times I'm bringing my hands a little outside.  It just depends on what I want the ball to do.  

 

@CasualLie brought up some really good points, that would help a golfer that is looking to make better contact, or wanting different types of chips to make.  The chipping with a right hand only is a great way to learn how the wrists / hands work through impact zone.  Tempo is huge too, as long as you understand what is making you faster in the downswing than the backswing.  It's not just moving your arms / hands / body quicker.  

 

But often times I think on WRX we get way too in the details.  If OP can't even consistently chip a ball, he doesn't need to understand how the PGA players hit flops, make the ball spin, keep it low and check, keep it low and release, etc.  He just needs to be able to make good contact on a consistent basis to give himself a chance to get up and down.  Hopefully this allows him to do that and he can gain confidence as he chips more successfully.  As his game evolves, he'll start to adapt for different situations and probably have some more questions.  But I think for now, he'd be happy to just know he's not going to chunk / skull a chip very often anymore.  

[YouDaHamHider]

Watch use the Bounce again and then again and then again. I went from being a terrible short game player to something akin to Phil Mickelson and Padraig Harrington's love child. 

[CasualLie]

Tempo is huge.  That's why I start my chipping practice with right hand only and just focus on release.  A lot of golfers would be very surprised how little effort it takes with just right hand to hit it 20 yards if you load and release correctly.  

 

Two other things to watch out for is keeping weight left, not crazy left 80-20, but get your right foot up on its toe to get an idea of feel.  And watch out for too much arm sway on back swing.  These two things go together.  Swing your arms too far away from your body, this will pull weight off the left, too much on back foot...then your timing on downswing will need to impeccable for weight, hands, and head!  That's too much to handle in such a small swing!

[starsail85]

Instead of looking for technical fixes , get the mental game right with short game 

 

 

[jobin]

Get the wedge out of your hands when near the green.  Pick up the hybrid. Move the club about 3 inches away from the ball then let the clubhead move forward.  Quit all the mental stuff, convoluted techniques, weird and very time consuming  practice skills, recommended by many here. 

Yesterday i had never heard of W. Zalatoris so i checked him out on Google and looked for some photos, as his physique had been questioned.  And there he was, age 5, yes 5 years old, with a golf swing i would be proud to own.  Do you think Zalatoris, or any pro, is thinking about technique when hitting a chip shot up hill to a near pin?  No more than a concert violinist is thinking about where to put his fingers for that A# note.  Many of the guys giving advice here are players from childhood and left FEAR behind ages ago.

Over time you might improve the wedge game near the green, but for now, 'on the green' must be your only goal.  No one cares how you get on.

 

[Mike_C]

This Kevin Kisner video on chipping covers a lot of what has been discussed in this thread.  I have shown this to a few people and it has totally changed their chipping.

 

 

 

 

Edited April 11, 2021 by Mike_C

[RichieHunt]

55 minutes ago, Mike_C said:

This Kevin Kismer video on chipping covers a lot of what has been discussed in this thread.  I have shown this to a few people and it has totally changed their chipping.

 

 

 

 

 

Funny as I was just about to recommend this video.

 

I also recommend this video as well in the future.
 

 

After that you should be pretty much good to go with some practice.

 

Typically the short game around the green has been the best part of my game.  Almost to the point where I rarely practice it and I'm still good at it.

 

I do find when I'm struggling a bit it's usually because I'm more focused on technique instead of just feeling the stroke I need to make to get the ball to land on my target.  You'd be surprised that once you practice hitting chips with just your right hand and then you just focus on your landing spot, your brain will take over and figure out the rest.

 

 

 

 

RH

 

 

[Cwing]

 Nice thread.

[LeftDaddy]

In addition to what folks said about you being too steep (outside takeaway), over the top, and rigid (let the lower body move a little and pivot on the downswing), your weight is over your toes too much. Get the back of your armpits more over the balls of your feet. Relax. Take the club back with your hands a bit more inside. Then do a little pivot on the way down that gets your shoulders open. Should do wonders for you. 

[alcap26]

If you ever decide to try something pretty radical compared to conventional chipping. I recommend watching a video of Vijay Singh hitting pitch and Chipshot left hand low. I started having the yips chipping and the only thing that saved me was going to left hand low from 30 yards in.  

[hoselpalooza]

On 4/10/2021 at 6:45 PM, jobin said:

Get the wedge out of your hands when near the green.  Pick up the hybrid.

 

i like doing this for some situations. e.g. ball is on a tight lie, on an upslope, into the grain, and the turf is very firm and very sticky? yes, hybrid can work great. 

 

but for wet/soft conditions where there's a lot of sticky grass to cover to get onto the green? no, i think a more lofted club would be better to get onto the green without rolling through unpredictable grass. maybe like a 7- or 8-iron if someone's struggling with the wedges or doesn't use the bounce well.

[wagolfer7]

1 hour ago, NotThatGuyorAmI? said:

Looks to me like the op is trying to chip like a putt but has been taught to putt by rocking his shoulders keeping his hips immobile.

 

Every swing depends on the hips, except for the expert in certain techniques the putt.  I’ve heard pros say they keep their hips still or quiet, then move their hips much more than the average amateur.

Hips will follow the chest. For a short chip like op is trying,  it should be a much smaller swing. I wouldn't say any shot depends on the hips. And active hips in the short game would make things harder. 

 

OP is missing wrist action.  It's huge in golf.  Padraig, Butch and countless others have said as much.  For a short shot like chipping,  you need to get the club up. Padraig's chipping drill with a stick behind the club 4-6 inches is spot on.  How active you want your wrists varies. And if you do go minimal to no wrist for a simple bump and run,  inside takeaway really helps. But no question that coming down into the ball will give you best more consistent contact. And you need to get the club up quick in chipping to do that. Hips not required.