I've got the "Chyips"

I am shanking chips. The situation: I'm sitting just a few feet off of the green with a simple chip shot, and I hit a weak, dribbling shank low and to the right. If I hit one during a round, I can't seem to snap out of it, and repeat this shank over and over again in most chipping situations.

I think I once heard this phenomenon referred to as the "chyips" (a la the putting "yips"). This malady is probably costing me 5-10 strokes per round, possibly more due to shanking chips into trouble, like bunkers, etc.

Anybody else ever have this? Any tips, drills, advice, etc. are much appreciated.

Yep, I used to do it and still do, it comes around from time to time. It resulted in this for me.

The first time I did it I did not know what it was, so I did'nt think it was a big deal or anything. The next round I did it to every chip and this was in my club championship after I had the lead after 9 holes.

I figured it out: I'm losing confidence in my chipping. What i would do is I'd be so unconfident, but I'd still go along with the swing, I would have huge doubts in my mind about the chip, and as soon as I made contact with the ball, I'd stop dead and let the club just stop. While my forearms and upper body is stoppped, my hips are still flying forward towards the target and opening the clubface, when I still followed through, the club face would be so open that I couldn't reverse it and I'd completely shank.

My advice is this: Have confidence, finish towards your target. If you are having doubts about the shot, step back, take a deep breath. Imagine the shot going onto the green. Tighten your grip, and bring the club as straight back and ensure you completely follow through, Even deloft the club a little bit, that always helps me.

Hope I helped you out!

Dent

LOL..no ive never heard of the "chyips".. I more or less stop my chipping motion a few inches after impact. It stops me from trying to take a full swing follow-through with the chip, which would cause me to hit some shanks every now and then. The clubhead never rises above my knees in either direction, as stan utley discribes in this book "art of the short game" You're only trying to hit a greenside chip in the air, at the most, 20-30 yards, so i would just say relax and try to tone down the effort you might be putting into it. You might be getting a little jabby with the stroke as well. Chips need good rhythm too!

maintain your spine angle and the flex in your knees, fully extend your arms (but dont "reach" for the ball) and DO NOT decelerate on the downswing. if you change either of these throughout your swing, you will likely sh@** it. work on that, and i guarantee you will be ok and regain your confidence!

1) DO NOT DECELERATE IN YOUR DOWNSWING!
If you have a shorter chip, take a shorter backswing...don't ease off the gas on your way to the ball though because it will throw off your wrist hinge and you may as well be using a club head made out of cardboard.

2) KEEP YOUR WEIGHT ON YOUR FRONT FOOT!
Because the chip is a shot that does not require a full backswing and a ton of power, keep that front foot firmly planted and let it bear your weight which, for me at least, has helped me with my first point of hitting through the ball.

Like everyone said, make sure you accelerate thru the ball. You've lost confidence and it sounds like you're decelerating.

Also, make sure to keep your head down and don't watch for the ball, smooth accelerating downward impact thru, not at, the ball. Make sure to follow thru whether its a 5ft of 30ft chip.

Use your putter.

The strange thing about this malady is how you can get it worked out and then suddenly, almost out of nowhere, there it is again. It happened to me on Thursday. I played Wednesday and shot 85 (about normal for me). No major problems. Every phase of my game seemed to be clicking along as it should. My 13 strokes over par were mostly caused by poor decision making, the occasional errant drive that lands behind a tree, etc. By and large, my short game was spot on. Then, along comes Thursday and I get a bad case of the shanks. I know exactly what causes it but can't seem to stop doing it. The cause is what everyone else has already said. I lose confidence in the shot and end up decelerating through the ball which results in disaster. I also thing part of it's caused by looking up, which is probably tied to the lack of confidence thing. If I was completely confident in my ability to make the shot, there'd be no need for me to look up. I'd just swing the club and trust that the ball would end up where I was aiming. Anyway, I shot 98 on Thursday, which is completely out of character for me. Went back out yesterday and, to my surprise, the shanks were gone. My putting was a little shaky and I wound up with an 88 but, considering the dismal day I had on Thursday I was tickled with my 88. What made me even happier was that I did not shank any chip shots. In fact, yesterday my wedge play was the best part of my game. I even holed one out for par on the toughest hole on the course. So, go figure. How can a guy all of a sudden get the shanks and shoot 10 strokes over his average and then the next day he's back to normal? I wish I knew.

Bottom line: The key word is CONFIDENCE! If you believe you've chosen the right club and know how to make the shot, put your head down and swing the club. If you step up to the ball with that wedge in your hand and you have any doubt as to your ability to make the shot, get ready for a long day on the golf course.

Yep, had a bout with them about a year ago. I was just practicing and all of a sudden the chips started flying 45 degrees right. It went downhill from there. I had to first figure out what was causing it. I was either leading with the hosel or my swing path suddenly was going so far out to in that the hosel was the part of the club striking the ball, cauing it to shoot right. I dropped a big book on the ground and put a ball about an inch away from it and started chipping. It didn't take but one swing before I was hitting the book which told me my swing path was a big out to in. Leaving the book there I started chipping again and the book would immediately tell me if I was out to in. About a half an hour of that I gradually placed the book farther away. Eventually the book got removed and the "chyips" were gone. I also found out I chipped better if I had the toe of the club a bit lower than the heel. So, I would recommend the book drill. If you hit the book you have an out to in problem. If you don't hit the book you are leading with the hosel which could mean you are not getting the clubface to square and eithe hitting the hosel or the clubface that's angled 45 degrees right. Hope this helps some.

I have this same problem before. I was chipping with too much hands and not using my shoulder.

If you take your hands out of chipping you will make good contact. try the following below:
1) keep your hands close to your body
2) keep your right elbow against your body
3) keep your weight on your back of your heel
4) keep your feet together with your knee point slightly forward and with your weight forward.

You find that if you practice your chipping prior to going out to play you will chip with confidence during your round and finally keep track of your up and downs during a round and track your progress.

I recently had a good round but only got up and down 4 out of 10 tries or 40% of the time. I also count birdie opportunities as up and downs.

Image that I could of cut 4 strokes off my score with just getting up and down 80% of the time.

sound like you are chipping with your hands and not with your shoulders.

1) make sure you hands are close to your body.
2) have your feet together and knees bent slightly towards the target.
3) weight should be 80% forward towards the target.
4) weight on the heels of your feet.
5) tuck your right elbow against your body.
6) have your right hand over to a very weak grip
7) swing with your shoulder and keep your hands quiet.
8) Practice, practice and practice some more to gain back your confidence.

I had these too and get them from time to time. Everyone is right though as the primary issue is Confidence (an obvious/necessity with this game).

Quick Fixes:

1) Setup the ball at the toe of the club (if you are hitting the hossle)
2) Try a putting motion which encourages more shoulder turn
3) Flex Knees, Weight 80% forward
4) Do not decelerate
5) "Hit down on the ball and pinch it"
6) Feel the body/arms rotate around your spine
7) Quiet hands

I'll be the first to admit these come back to me even in my last round. You MUST have a list of quick fix items so you can make the adjustments right away.

Hope this helps (I know this is an old post, but saw something everyone was going through).

The Yips, the Shanks, the Longshanks...

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Chipping and short game is the best part of my game. I move the ball back a tad, and open up my stance. And I make sure I keep my head down at all times. If I pick my head up at all, I'll shank it.