Chipping Practice Routines - advice?

[Kieran123]

Hi guys,

So again, on the weekend, the 70's eluded me. I shot an 83 ( which i am happy with ). BUT, I hit 12 of 14 fairways, and 8 greens ( not great I know ), but my chipping really let me down, most of the time, 2 putting after wards instead of chipping it close enough to one putt and make the par.

This is really the one part of my game letting me down.

I go to the range and practice placement chipping, but am STILL not landing it in the spot I want and don;t have much distance control on the more finesse chip shot.

Does anyone have a good routine they can share with me, so I can FINALLY break 80.

Thanks!

[chilly]

I've only tried this twice, but it really seemed to help. Grab a golf towel and put it on the green where you'd like to land the ball, and practice trying to hit the towel...it will teach you to chip to a target.

It helped a couple things, for one it obviously helps you to hit a specific target....it also gives more solid feedback about what kind of runout you're getting on chips so you can get a better feel of where the landing area should be.

[Leftygolfer]

I practice with three balls around the green and pick a very specific spot where I want to land it.

In terms of getting better at this, I'd look at two things, what club you chip with and what ball. I use pro v1 practice since Im cheap but value performance and feel, and also spinny wedges. They both seem to help me be able to control the ball when it lands. If I were you I'd highly consider a change.

[Kieran123]

The towel idea is a good one - thanks!

I am looking at a new sand wedge that I sometimes struggle with ( probably me though ).

Who else has some good ideas?

[WUTiger]

Here are some short-game drills from Golf Magazine. Includes both online articles and how-to videos:
http://www.golf.com/golf/special_fea...899275,00.html

Also, Golf Mag had a two-page spread on five types of chips and pitches in its Nov. or Dec. 2009 issue (I couldn't find it in my online search).

[IcemanYVR]

Chipping and putting are crucial to shooting lower scores, and towel drill mentioned by "Chilly" is a great one, and I will add a couple more that I work on when I'm on the practice green.

1) Take 3 balls and one club, and find 3 different targets or holes on the practice green and practice hitting one ball to one flag, the next ball to the next flag, and the last ball to the last flag. You can do this with several different clubs over the course of the session if you like. This gets you away for hitting 20 balls to the same hole... over time anyone can get those close.

2) Take 3 clubs and 3 balls (for me it's usually SW, 8 iron, and 5 iron) and hit to the same target, one shot with each club. Move to different targets during your practice session.

Your targets can be 10 feet away or 60 feet away and both of these drills really help you develop your feel.

...and for general chipping technique, keep most of your weight on your front foot and play the ball off your back foot. Grip the club very lightly like you would your putter.

Good Luck

[Kieran123]

Thanks Iceman.

My practice had involved me hitting 15 balls at one hole, but your drill makes much more sense, as it makes me vary my distance control a lot better which is always the case on the course.

Cheers!

[Stretch]

I know a lot of people hate it, but Dave Pelz's chipping routine has worked for me. Ball well back on back ankle, weight forward, no wrist action, shoulders back shoulders forward, follow through about 20% longer than backswing. As a rule of thumb, he advises focusing on consistently flying the ball about three feet onto the green and then using whatever club will give you the roll you need to the hole.

[saevel25]

I hate it off the back ankle, i usually keep it off the inside of my back foot, or a ball forward than that.

[chip]

get a 60 degree. I love mine. I couldn't imagine playing with out it. Full swing I can get a good 50 yards out of it, and I have greater control. Also the higher loft, the less the ball will release after it lands so you wont have those chips around the green that roll to the other end.

[DavidFehertysBike]

I primarily practice landing the ball on a spot. I carry one of those paper coasters you get in bars in my bag and practice hitting pitch shots on it. Same thing with chipping, though ill add in the hole and practice up and downs. As far as technique, i subscrible to the stan utley method. But overall i concentrate mostly on keeping my hands as soft and limp as possible.

[zeg]

I've been chipping a lot better lately. The main things I've been doing are putting a target at 15-25 yards and chipping at it. There's a ratty chipping green at my course, but I ignore it and put something out in the grass where I *know* the roll is nothing like a green. This lets me focus on hitting my target and not feel like the chip where I hit 10 yards short but got a lucky roll was a success. It also tends to bunch my balls up, so as long as I hit them near each other, they stay that way. This gives me better feedback on whether I'm landing near my target or not. I usually work on one or maybe two distances on a day, but hit again and again with a couple different trajectories.

The other thing I've been doing is when I start to get sick of chipping, I just carry a bucket of balls around the chipping area and drop a few here and there and try to chip close to the pin. Here I do use the chipping green such as it is. I tend to focus on the delicate stuff and try to play like I'm on the course. This has been helping me with short chips, as well as recreating the feeling on the course where you only get one shot at a particular chip. The drilling on one distance for 20 or 30 shots is important, but it's a lot easier to hit the 10th chip in a row close than it is to step out cold to a chip and put it close.

[Shindig]

I go to the range and practice placement chipping, but am STILL not landing it in the spot I want and don;t have much distance control on the more finesse chip shot.

First, if you're having trouble with finesse shots, make them technical. They'll turn into feel shots at some point after doing this.

How far is your 1/4 wedge? Your 1/2 wedge? Repeat for each wedge. Know the carry, and if you can, the roll for your greens. Second, Chilly and Zeg gave great ways to practice hitting to a target. Third, if you're going to use the chipping green, and if it is a close enough approximation of a green for the course, and you have the time, practice chipping until you chip-in twice from two different places (one each). If your target is getting the ball in the hole, and not just close, your misses will be closer. Finally, when you practice chipping, use the golf ball you play with, not range balls. You want it to react the same way. After a few rounds, you should have a few golf balls that are in decent enough shape to use for chipping, but that you wouldn't likely put into play if you could help it. These make great shag balls.

[fr0sty]

Finally, when you practice chipping, use the golf ball you play with, not range balls. You want it to react the same way. After a few rounds, you should have a few golf balls that are in decent enough shape to use for chipping, but that you wouldn't likely put into play if you could help it. These make great shag balls.

This is very important advice. Chipping is all about feel and the scuzzy range balls you get from the machine have terrible feel. Unless you are playing with worn out, cheap two-piece balls use something else around the green.

I take issue with the advise not to repeat the same shot over and over. Hitting 20 balls from the same spot to the same target can help immensely with developing your touch. Just be sure to do it purposefully. Line up and address each shot deliberately and note the feel of the swing and the results, evaluate, repeat. When you have the swing then start switching targets with each shot, evaluate repeat.

[The Recreational Golfer]

Lots of good suggestions here for chipping practice. After you hit your practice chips, go putt them out. An up and down is one event, not two shots. First, you'll learn to sink the long putts you're leaving yourself. Second, getting fed up with leaving yourself long putts will give you the motivation to start getting the chips closer.

[motteler621]

I just saw a teaching by Lee travino and he was talking about one of the greatest chippers of all time. i cant remember his name but he taught him to use all wrist action and bring the club up and then drop it right behind the ball, but its like all wrist. Ive tried it and it works .

[zeg]

I take issue with the advise not to repeat the same shot over and over. Hitting 20 balls from the same spot to the same target can help immensely with developing your touch. Just be sure to do it purposefully. Line up and address each shot deliberately and note the feel of the swing and the results, evaluate, repeat. When you have the swing then start switching targets with each shot, evaluate repeat.

I think you're addressing my post, but I think you're misreading me. I'm not saying not to practice the same shot over and over, I do this every time, usually 50-60 at a time. As you point out, it's a very important way to nail the technique for that particular shot, and to generally ingrain a repeatable stroke. What I'm saying is don't *only* practice this way. After I've done a couple times through my bag of balls at a couple distances, then I will do the varied practice. I think it's important to do both kinds of practice, since they work on different important skills.