Short game

Can anyone explain how to hit a chip shot and pitch shot. Apprently i can't, though i have the set up right and try to make solid contact. I find it easier to to hit a full shot than it is to hit a short game shot. Thank god for putting, or i would be suffering this year.

For chips, hands forward, weight forward, ball back in stance, almost a putter swing on it

That's what I do anyway

Pitches vary....and I suck at them too.

To paraphrase a Roger Dunn video these shots are a mini-swing. To execute a mini-swing effectively you need to setup in a finished full swing position, that being an open stance with the weight forward.

Michelson says hinge, ball forward.
Watson says square the hips to the target.
Someone says a narrow stance will position the weight forward.

For 40 maybe 50 yards and in I do this:
Ball in the middle => easier to make contact.
Narrowish & open stance => to get the weight forward & have a completed swing setup.
Hips square => to give gravity an assist, promotes more use of the lower body and less arm/hand action during the downswing.
I hinge early and keep the lower body quiet during the back swing.

What I realized after all those times I played with beginners, there's one important thing to think about when pitching or chipping:

ALWAYS ACCELERATE THROUGH THE BALL

Most of the time, people make a long backswing and a short follow through, which most of the time results in a skulled shot.

When I tell them to make a short backswing and accelerate through to a longer follow through, they instantly make better contact with the ball.

greetings

michi

Well my set up is good, weight forward, ball usually just behind center. I still hit behind it, or top it. I am getting really frustrated, my poor lob wedge has taken the brunt of my frustration lately. No i don't chip with my lobwedge all the time. I vary depending on the shot, but when i was faced with fast greens and numerous short sided, its been in use.

What i find strange is that when i duff a chip, i get upset and being out again, i will just walk up next to the ball, skip the routine, and just wack it. I chip better that way then any other way, its confusing me to no end.

Is this true at the practice range. Are you intend on getting up and down when on the course. Maybe just a mindset change. Trevor Imelmon focuses on keeping his head still, Dave Stocton doesn't teach speed, he treats it like an unconcious act. I once had an instructor have me place the club 6 inches above the ball and then swing. I hit the ball. The lesson was that the body auto adjusts to suit the situation. Treat the chip like a putt, know the distance but don't focus on the speed, change the focus to something else like keeping your head still.

when chipping i do this:
ball in the back of my stance
open stance at a 45*
shorter backswing, accelerate through (pending how far of course)
*when close to the green, ie. fringe/fairway i use as described above however i use a putting stroke

when pitching i do this:
ball in the middle of my stance

open stance at or around 45*

equal length backswing to follow-through hitting at an out-to-in path to incorporate spin (one hop check)

don't know if this helps but, it's how i made my scrambling % go from 23.87% of the time to 42.81% over the last 2 years...

Seems like you know the mechanics.  Maybe you just need to put in big hours of practice?

I live in a big apartment complex with a big courtyard that's all astroturf.  I've walked it off and I can hit shots up to 25 yards.  I've been spending lots of time out there with 4-5 balls and my 60˚ practicing chips, pitches, and flops.  Spending an hour+ out there 1-3 times a week recently has vastly improved my short game.  I have to be able to see my landing spot cause that's how I'm practicing, but all that practice has translated into a few of my better recent rounds where I'm landing maybe 2/3 of my pitches where I can see where I want to land it inside maybe 6 feet of the landing spot I'm aiming for.

People always say it but personally I find it hard to dedicate that kind of time to the short game when I'm at the range.  I'm always too tempted to hit another bucket of full shots trying to dial that in to spend a full hour on the chipping green with the short shots.  Maybe buy one of those chipping mats so you don't dig up the grass and find a yard or park where you can go only with your wedge and a few balls to enforce lots of hours of practice just with those shots?

had the same problem and it kept me right around your same handicap for a while.  What finally changed my chipping especially is using the turn of my hips to swing the club.  I stay connected and use the same setup as you but start back letting my hips turn away with a hinge and hold as my lead hip rotates back....I had to get the feel of a more rounded chip keeping my head still.  I think I got the information from a Utley article I read......made a huge difference for me as I used to hit all chips fat it seemed.  Good luck to you.

Chipping:  Ball played back in your stance, probably farther back than you are used to.  Open stance, hands ahead of the clubhead.  More or less a putting stroke.

Pitching:  Ball position depends on trajectory you want, open stance, make sure to accelerate through the ball.

General:  Leave the lob wedge in the bag on chips.  Chip or pitch to a spot on the green, determined by how far you want the ball to roll out..  Practice.

Had a lesson over the weekend, spent about an hour working on shortgame shots.

A good drill to do is to take another iron, and flip it uside down, Grip your chipping club, and the other club so its like and extension of the other iron. Or you can probably get a dowel and do this. What you want to do is chip with out having the other club or the dowel hitting your left side. This gets you to pivot around your left side. I found imagining the clubhead staying low helps as well.

Chip:  Take it back with the hands and arms, bring it through with the pivot.  Works for both short and long chips.

Pitch:  Take it back with the hands, arms, and a little knee, bring it through with the pivot.  Works for both short and long pitches.

Hands forward or in line don't matter.  Just affects release and trajectory and what bounce you need on your wedges.  Different people like to do it differently.  Some like to slide, some like to dig.

If you are having trouble chipping, make sure you're having trouble with your PW, 9-iron, etc. too.  Those have lower bounce.  If your wedge has too much bounce for your approach, you'll skull it, especially off hardpan.

If you have alignment rods, those work well too.  I found an old (but decent) sand wedge at a garage sale for 50¢, cut a little out of the end of the grip. then took an old shaft that I had laying around and shoved it down the shaft of the sand wedge.  I occasionally throw down a ball and chip around my 10 acres with this club.  Great practice!

Another thing to mention, with such a short stroke, rhythm and tempo is way more important than strict attention to technique.  Obviously technique is important, but you can move the club and your body in a pretty awkward way and still make consistently good contact if you just keep your rhythm consistent.  So start immediately working on improving your rhythm while trying to improve your positioning and technique.  You'll find your touch gets better almost immediately.

Pitching (standard)- Ball position in the middle of your stance and always end up facing the target.  This may feel strange for a short shot but it really works, just takes some getting used to.  If you don't turn your hips and face the target the club wants to bottom out in the back of your stance.  As a result you are either forced to manipulate your hands and hold your release off so you don't hit it fat, or, you just start putting the ball farther and farther back in you stance.  I think back of the stance and firm wrists are good for a buried lie in the rough but not a nice tight lie in the fairway.  Hands and wrists with no tension will hold up well under pressure - turning the hips and facing the target helps the club come in shallow so the worst you can do is a little thin or fat.  I have seen it way too many times - firm wrist, hinge and hold, no hip turn, CHUNK.

sounds like you're stopping your upper body rotation. this will lead to all sorts of problems. you've got to keep going otherwise they'll become disconnected and you'll slice it at best or $hank it at worst.

The easy way to chip is to place the ball further back in your stance and play the low and rolling chip or pitch shot.  Placing the ball back in your stance will ensure that you make solid contact and you only need to practice the distance control.

If you need to play a higher shot with the ball in the back of your stance you can open up the club face and aim slightly left of the target, the ball will fly higher and skip to the right.

Practice, practice and more practice will help you master this shot and see you improve you up and down percentage, don't forget to practice your putting to compliment your improve short game.

Keep track of your up and down by marking this stat on your score card.  When you are off the green and when ever you can get up and down with one putt is considered a successful up and down.  At the end your round you can count how many attempts and how many successful up and downs you've had during your round.