chipping problems

[hfhjr]

I am a poor chipper and know that my biggest problem is lack of confidence which causes decel and a lifting motion . I also consistently hit near the center but at the bottom of the clubface. I constantly experiment with wrist break/ no wrist break, wt shift/ no wt shift. Any help is appreciated.

[Nayfac]

If your within 10 feet of the green you just resemble your putter with no wrist break. If your further than 10 feet keep your feet together, get low, and make sure to strike the ball.

[right handed phil mickelson]

I think all that chipping like a putt thing is bullcrap. Just take the club back with your arms and your wrists, with a narrow stance to avoid any lower body motion, and just take it to about parallel with the ground. The wrist should break a little bit on the backswing and flip through the ball. Keep your hands 'soft' on the club. What I mean by that is don't go back-and-through real fast. Take it back easily and let the club go through the ball, with a light grip on the club. Practice this and you should be just fine chipping around the greens.

[PiKapp23]

Chipping went from being one of the worst parts of my game to one of the best a few years ago with one little change. Try putting the ball back in your stance with your weight almost completely on your front foot. This helps ensure ball-first contact and with a little practice I think you'll find this a very easy way to chip. Once you can do this consistently with one club, try Tom Watson's method of using different clubs based on who far onto the green the pin is. Basically the idea is to always use the same motion and hit a spot just on the edge of the green and let it roll toward hole. If it's only 10 feet on green from where you're at you might want to hit a SW or LW. If pin is 50 feet you might want to use a 8I (or even longer iron). I saw Tom talking about this a few years ago and he said a good way to practice this is to pick a shot just a foot or so on the green, then try to hit that exact same spot with the ball (in flight) and see how far it runs out. The great thing about this method is it keeps everything simple.

[mdvaldosta]

Yea, best advice is to play the ball back in your stance and keep your weight foward. You'll definately hit the ball more solidly. Once you get alittle better at it, try moving it back towards center and opening the clubface up a bit to expose the bounce some for even more forgiveness from good lies.

[hfhjr]

Thanks for the response. Any ideas about why I'm hitting low on the clubface?

[inthecup]

Thanks for the response. Any ideas about why I'm hitting low on the clubface?

You want to hit down on the ball. Putting your weight on your front foot will help that. Also keep your feet close together with an open stance to give your hands room to come through.

One super important tip is to always (putts, chips and pitches) continue your hands to the target.

[mdvaldosta]

Yea what he said. Hit down on the ball and you'll hit the center of the clubface. Weight foward will help with that alot.

[beachbreak]

"with a light grip on the club"


Ding, ding. We have a winner!

[ks8829]

Easy tips for chipping

1) hands extended to the ground but relaxed with club in hand.
2) slight forward press
3) take the club back with the shaft pointing down the target line
4) the toe should be pointing up and the face should be perpendicular to the target on your backswing with the face pointing right of the target behind you
5) on your backswing let the club take its natural arc in the air so that the momentum of your backswing does not make you sway backwards but instead you are naturally turn with your hips and shoulder on your backswing
6) on your downswing let the club rotate naturally so at finish your club face has naturally turned over and the shaft is pointing at the target and now the face is perpendicular to the target but facing left of the target in front of you.
7) you can judge distance with the length of your backswing and ball position
8) make sure that your grip pressure is light so that you can be relaxed and naturally rotate your wrist.
9) this drill can be used to improve your contact with all your irons, working on taking the club back hip high and slowly moving further back to 3/4 and full shots.

[wedgewizard]

I am a poor chipper and know that my biggest problem is lack of confidence which causes decel and a lifting motion . I also consistently hit near the center but at the bottom of the clubface. I constantly experiment with wrist break/ no wrist break, wt shift/ no wt shift. Any help is appreciated.
Add a chipper to your bag.

Seriously.
After many years of poor chipping (and not much free time to practice chipping) I finally added a chipper to my bag (sacrificed my 3 iron), and it has really improved my game.
I bought an inexpensive Tommy Armour Hot-Scot chipper and it works perfectly.
Just a putting stroke and the club does the rest.

[smitty911]

Also make sure you swing through the ball. Dont just stop your swing as soon as you make contact.
Thats one of the big problems i have.

[cirem22]

Easy tips for chipping

1) hands extended to the ground but relaxed with club in hand.
2) slight forward press
3) take the club back with the shaft pointing down the target line
4) the toe should be pointing up and the face should be perpendicular to the target on your backswing with the face pointing right of the target behind you
5) on your backswing let the club take its natural arc in the air so that the momentum of your backswing does not make you sway backwards but instead you are naturally turn with your hips and shoulder on your backswing
6) on your downswing let the club rotate naturally so at finish your club face has naturally turned over and the shaft is pointing at the target and now the face is perpendicular to the target but facing left of the target in front of you.
7) you can judge distance with the length of your backswing and ball position
8) make sure that your grip pressure is light so that you can be relaxed and naturally rotate your wrist.
9) this drill can be used to improve your contact with all your irons, working on taking the club back hip high and slowly moving further back to 3/4 and full shots.

on the hip high backswing do you still let the wrist hinge?

[iWALK18]

a few thoughts.

Think about shrugging your shoulders. If you are in your stance with a club and you shrug, you lift the club off the ground. So if you tighten up the shrug muscles while chipping, you will hit the ball thin, or fat if you then try to compensate. So when setting up to chip, relax you shoulders and keep them relaxed, to maintain the same relationships in your settup.

Keep most of your weight on the front foot, and maintain the bend in that leg. Your lower body should move very very little.

Keep the wrists relatively firm. A little break is fine and good for feel, but too much isn't necessary for a normal chip (needed for higher shots).

Keep the left elbow straight.

[plark]

This is what I have been doing for the past week. I found some practice balls in my garage. and just chip are something in my room lol.. and my short game has drasticall improved.. not kidding lol.. but i have a lot of space in my room

[DriverTees]

If it remains a weak point, get a Cleveland Niblick or something similar. Rediculously easy with that, as the design and weight makes it nearly impossible to make a wrong movement.

[Sowbug2000]

Lots of good advice on here....

Some that have/are helping me be a better chipper....

Relax - I read an article by David Ledbetter once - something about relaxing and opening your mouth a little....ie, not clenching your teeth real tight...

Loose hands, loose grip

Ball in back of stance, and keep your hands pressed forward - Keep your hands in front of the ball

Weight on left foot

If you finish with a full swing - it really increases the distance of the chip

Same thing with a stiff left elbow - better contact, increased distance

Don't decelerate....finish through the ball to a full, or semi-full finish.

My chipping has improved DRASTICALLY by trying to keep these tips in mind.

Good Luck!