Are you looking for ways to shave a few strokes off your scores? Do you have trouble getting the ball up and down when you miss greens in regulation? When you're standing over a chip, are you thinking "just get the ball on the green so I can putt...it doesn't matter how far I end up from the hole"? If you answered yes to any of these questions, let's go over some basic fundamentals so that we can get your chipping back on track. By following these tips, hopefully you'll be able to 'knock it tight' and leave yourself with a 'gimme' from anywhere around the green.
Choke Down on the Grip
This seems like an obvious mechanic, but choking down on the grip
actually does a lot more than simply get your body closer to the ball to
make a delicate stroke. Choking down also counterbalances the club,
meaning added weight above the hands work to make it easier to make less
than full shots without flipping the hands over too soon. As for your
body, remember as you choke down: Don’t hunch your upper body. Instead,
choke down with your hands, and get your body lower by adding more flex
in the knees, as opposed to hunching over.
Keep Your Stance Open and Narrow
Many of my students assume the best way to chip is to align their body
either at or parallel to the target. I advise against this, since it’s
important for the body to rotate (unlike a putt where it doesn’t rotate)
just as with a full shot. Also, when it comes to chipping, because the
hands have a delayed or lesser release than they do with a full swing,
it’s even more important that the body be poised to turn.
Think of it this way: If you’re too square, the body will resist
rotating, and the hands will take over and get too active. That is,
they’ll start to flip! Instead, make a narrow and open stance (don’t
just flare out one foot) and let your body turn through the shot.
Weight Forward and Ball Back in Your Stance
Why? Simple. Keeping your weight predominantly on your forward side with
the ball back in your stance (toward the target) helps to ensure a
steeper downward blow into the ball. This prevents fat and thin shots
and helps you make consistent contact with the ball. Also, by keeping
your weight leaning toward the target, this helps maintain a consistent
impact position, which will help you better control your shots and gauge
different distances. As for the ball position, I like to play my shots
just off the inside of my back toe. But you may prefer it slightly
farther back or slightly farther forward. It’s okay to be flexible, but
try to keep it consistent. And stay away from placing the ball too far
forward in your stance. If you move it forward, you’d better be ready to
hit a flop or lob shot—which is a different lesson for a different day.
Keep Your Head Up
Let’s get this straight: Keeping your head down is never a good idea,
especially with your chips. If you stuff your head into your chest, your
upper body loses its ability to rotate and, once again, the hands will
try to take over. When that happens, the hands get flippy, and even if
you manage to make decent contact, you’ll have a hard time trying to
control your distance and direction. Instead, keep your head upright and
your neck in line with your spine. This will free your upper body to
rotate. And, by the way, keeping your head up doesn’t mean taking your
eyes off the ball.
Always Be Sure to Choose the Right Club
When chipping, I like to mix up my club options, depending on the amount
of height and roll I want. This allows me to maintain the same chipping
stance and ball position, and lets the club do the work for changing
the way the ball flies and rolls. More often than not, try to carry the ball just onto the green and then let it roll out to the hole. This will allow you to have better control over your distance. I like to use an 8-iron when I'm just off the green so I can carry the ball over the light rough and fringe and have it roll to the hole. My pitching wedge does the same, except that I use it in deeper grass. When I need to carry the ball in the air a further distance to get it onto the green, I suggest using a 56-degree sand wedge (rather than a lob wedge). Reason being, a lob wedge is for lob shots, not chip shots. A 56-degree
sand wedge gives me the optimal height/spin combination, and, because of
the bounce, making solid contact is a lot easier than with a low-bounce
lob wedge.
Make a Single-Lever Swing
Steve Stricker does it best. Next time he’s on TV, check out his
single-lever chipping style. What that means is he hinges his wrist at
the setup, then maintains that hinge all the way through the chip. The
body rotates the clubhead through, and because of this, Stricker is able
to consistently reproduce a stacked impact position. What’s that mean?
It means Stricker, like many good players, can better gauge different
distances by adjusting his swing length. So, longer chips require a
longer swing; shorter chips need a shorter swing. He doesn’t have to
make big changes to his ball position, how he releases the hands, etc.
Instead, by using a single-lever method and rotating the body through
the shot, Steve Stricker is able to get up and down a whopping 75
percent of the time. Copy this method and you’ll
become a better chipper in no time.
Of course, as with all other aspects of the game, it takes time and practice in order to make improvements and have them feel natural. The more you can practice and work on these fundamentals, the more improvement you'll see in your game and the lower your scores will be. So, next time you're at the driving range or at your local golf course, head over to the chipping green and work on these fundamentals. Be sure to post your comments and let me know if these tips helped you improve your chipping.
