practicing chipping / practicing the 50 yrd shot

I spend about an hour practicing my distance control from 50 yards with a shag bag full of balls and can't wait to play my next round of golf. I am playing the ball a foot behind my back foot and consistenly hitting solid contact with all my chips and focusing on distance control.

I also practiced chipping around the green improve my up and down % around the green. :)

analysis my last round

fairways hit
greens hit
putts per hole
up and downs

all my boogies were from not being able to get up and down from around the greens and within 50 yards, so I worked to improve this stat.

When I practice from 50 out (or so), I usually take two clubs - a 60deg and an 8 iron and practice with both of them (with different shots, of course). How to you approach that distance?

(BTW, I don't know the statistics, but it *feels* like pitching closer to the hole is the fastest way to drop strokes)

I practice various shots from 50 yards out. I started with an 7 iron and hit a bump and run to see the results and worked myself down the clubs (8,9,pw,52,56) until I get to my 60 degree, each time trying to remember the distance I took my club back and forward after impact, so that I could duplicate the same shot on the course focusing on distance control. before I had to worry about inconsistent solid contact but since I place the ball about a foot behind my back foot with my feet together and an open stance I am making solid contact each time I hit my pitches and chips from around the green.

If you ask me how do I hit the flop shot, I still play the ball a foot behind my backfoot and open up the club face and the ball flys high and stops.

Maybe I'm envisioning this wrong, but you say that you play the ball a foot behind your back foot???? I'm right handed, and my back foot is my right foot. Placing the ball a foot behind it would make it nearly impossible to even hit the ball, much less make a reasonable shot. The only time I've ever played a shot with that setup is when playing a chop shot where there is no room behind the ball for a back swing. Then you have to come down on the ball almost vertically with a lofted wedge. There is certainly no way a player could hit a flop shot from the position which this brings to my mind. So please explain to me what you are really saying as to ball position... It can't be what I see when I read that.

my feet are together knees bend with an open stance open the club face and I can hit a flop shot, it may not be as high as playing if off front of center but its a higher percentage shot for me and it works for me.

The reason for the suggestion is that it has helped me make consistent contact with the chips and pitch shots and I believe that if you try it it might work for you also or at least a various of this set up.

We still aren't talking the same thing. To me behind means farther back along the target line... normal address is just at or inside the left big toe. A fairly extreme back ball position would be off the right big toe (a lot of chips are played about there, although I don't move it that far back), and a foot behind that (which seems to be what you are describing) would be enough to tie the player in knots just trying to make contact with the ball. I'm going to try and attach a sketch. The top one I what I would call playing the ball back. The bottom one is how I picture when I try to envision your position. In fact, that's only about 8" behind your back foot.

Playing a foot behinde would defintily feel strange, however it does make sure you hit down on the ball, and should nicely pop the ball up, withit the extreme distance due to the body angle.

Yes the lower picture screen with the ball further back of the right foot.

I am doing this ball position and I feel confident with some distance control my up and down percentage will improve greatly.

I am the first to admitt that I play golf differently then most people, I will hit my driver choked up into the wind on a par 3 210 yards will a slight cut shot, I will hit my driver off the deck to reach a par 5, I will open my club face and aim left to take yardage off my club, I watch my club on the backswing, but bottom line it works for me and I wanted too share this new discovery with everyone because, I feel it will help most golfer hit chip, pitch shot solid and more consistenly.

There's a guy (8 index) in our club who chips *exactly* like that, with his feet together and the ball WAY back in his stance. He one-putts a lot because he pops the ball up consistently and has great distance control.

^ I don't doubt that. From what I can tell (played with him 3 times, including beating him in match play - w00t!), his chipping is the strongest part of his game! He might be able to improve with a more orthodox stance and address, but his game needs more help in other places (long irons, getting out of trouble).

Boy... no way I could hit a normal chip from that setup. That is like a Chi Chi Rodriguez chop shot that he used to get out of serious trouble when he's right up against a tree trunk or something. I used to play the ball well back (though not that far) on regular short iron shots because it helped me to control my tendency to swing outside in with the short clubs. But I corrected my swing and got past that stage. I tend to be pretty conventional with ball position now for all shots.

Down here in Texas, where tight lies and hardpan are a regular occurence, I chip off the back foot all the time. Not a foot behind me mind you, but off the right big toe. Works great, and if you open the blade you can hit a short high spin pitch. The only caveat is that it doesn't work so hot on fluffy lies. Very easy in those situations to chunk it or bounce through it. Moving the ball forward helps in those situations, but watch for the resulting run-out. In really fluffy lies, I'll just hit a flop shot by placing it off the left toe and sliding the bounce of the club under the ball.

In his short game book, Paul Runyan talks about moving the ball in regards to your suspension point, basically your top vertebrate, to change trajectory and contact. As such, with one basic chipping motion, you can modify your setup for any number of lies. Leaning forward or back has the affect of moving the suspension point as well.

It's actually nice to modify the ball position for the lies instead of just the weight distribution at setup. You can readily see where the ball is in the stance. Gauging weight distribution is a bit more "touchy feely" and works somedays, doesn't work others. Too much variability for my taste. I think the suspension point concept would help a lot of golfers develop real short games, not just a chip, a pitch, and a putt.