Chipping, wrist or no wrist

[zdoor]

Compared to the guy's I play with, I'm generally a good chipper and I use wrist hinge in most shots. More to spin it and less to run it.

[max power]

I thinking there are two ways to chip. With and without. I do both depending on the situation.

Great answer. How I chip depends on the shot.

[GolferDot]

I know that's how it's supposed to be, but it doesn't work for me. I've always had to be a wristy to get the right feel for my chipping and pitching. I tried to do the no wrist method and I just can't get the feel right. I tend to pull everything left, chunk, skull.... anything that you can do wrong I do when I get too stiff. I certainly wouldn't recommend it for anyone else, but it works for me.

Chipping is a personal thing ...... next time your practicing (with no one around so you don't cause someone an injury) close your eyes and hit some chips to a target in your mind .... feel what your hands want to do and that is the answer for you. Just a note if you are a wristy chipper put the ball back a little further in your stance then you think.

[Zeph]

I do break my wrist on the backswing...but I hold the break thru impact.

The problem with this is that you have to dip the shoulders, extend the arms or release the hinge on the way down. If you set up to the ball for a chip, hinge the wrist on the way back and hold it on the way down, without changing the body position, you would not hit the ball at all, at best wack it at the top of the ball.

What you do to get the club back down to the ball, I can't tell, but it can add inconsistency. For me, wrist hinge is about getting speed. For a flop shot or out of the bunker I need a lot of speed. When chipping, I rarely use the wrists since I don't need more speed than I can amount by only swinging the arms. From thick rough I might do it, to pop the ball out, but not on a clean lie from the fairway. It just adds another part that can go wrong. I know for my own part that I have often been hurt by this before. I set up with the weight forward, ball slightly forward of center and hands a bit in front of the ball. Arms go back, wrists hinge. On the downswing, the wrists unhinge. If I don't time that move perfectly, I'll end up hitting the ball thin or fat, neither yeilding the wanted result. So to sum up: No, I do not advice using wrists when chipping.

[magicboy]

I break my wrist as thats what I got taught from my lessons, the same way as mickelson describes in his dvd. I get pretty consistent contact but just need to learn to judge pace and read greens.

[James_Black]

The problem with this is that you have to dip the shoulders, extend the arms or release the hinge on the way down. If you set up to the ball for a chip, hinge the wrist on the way back and hold it on the way down, without changing the body position, you would not hit the ball at all, at best wack it at the top of the ball.

That's the way phil does it zeph, he hinges on the backswing but keeps it at impact.

you said you put it forward in your stance, put it in the back of your stance.

[soloredd]

My range recently put a new flag (target) out about 40 yards. I've been taking my 56* and really working on this shot. About 30 yards out there's a ledge so I'll even try and get the ball up and land on the ledge to watch it roll out to the flag. I've noticed I use wrist hinge and hold it through the ball. For me, the most important aspect is turning through the shot and brushing the grass. If I don't make rotation through and try to use arms, that's when I get into trouble. It's to the point now where my only focus is making the turn, that's it.

I will say my last round I was complete crap at these shots. I left a mid-80s score on the course in lieu of a 91 all because I stopped my rotation as soon as I made contact. This led to 2nd chips or putts off the green. I rarely hit the ground that day, too, which leads me to believe I went back to old habits.

[The Recreational Golfer]

A long time a go I saw Lee Trevino on TV talking about chipping. He was referring to the chips when the ball is just off the green. He said something like, "The one thing I always tell amateurs on this shot is don't break your wrists. Don't. Break. Your. Wrists."

I follow that advice to this day and I'm glad I do.

[Zeph]

That's the way phil does it zeph, he hinges on the backswing but keeps it at impact.

I don't like having it back in my stance.

I don't care what Phil does. What goes up must come down, one or the other way.

[max power]

I don't like having it back in my stance.

A lot of the tips/practice routines on Phil's DVD are excellent-but I'm not as successful using the "hinge and hold" method as frequently as he espouses. Clearly it works for him, and I use it on longer chips/short pitches, but can't make it work on shorter shorts. I just don't have enough distance control and a lot of shots with this method and have a tendency to hit it too hot.

[iacas]

I don't like having it back in my stance.

Phil doesn't do "hinge and hold" for as many shots as he says he does. Furthermore, "hinge and hold" is the way to hit roughly one shot - for a LOT of short game shots you will almost feel like you're flipping. Why? To use the bounce a bit more.

People who blade and chunk the ball badly aren't using the bounce.

[Where's the Cart Girl?]

If I'm just off the green and not in the rough then my club shaft is leaned forward and my wrists are set at address and never change. These are the shots where I'm playing an 8, 9 or PW depending on the distance I want to cover before the ball starts rolling and it's a sweeping stroke.

When I'm in the rough or more than 2 or 3 steps off the green however I always hinge my wrists and I use a more lofted wedge. I find it too hard to make an aggressive enough stroke in these situations to create the contact needed without hinging my wrists and driving down into the ball.

Shots around the green are so contingent on the situation at hand though that committing exclusively one way or the other for all shots is impossible.

[Zeph]

Phil doesn't do "hinge and hold" for as many shots as he says he does. Furthermore, "hinge and hold" is the way to hit roughly one shot - for a LOT of short game shots you will almost feel like you're flipping. Why? To use the bounce a bit more.

Exactly how do you use the bounce and when? Say with a 56-60º wedge, hitting off a fairway. Would you release or flip to use the bounce? Does the club make contact with the ground or ball first?

I have never really experimented with using the bounce anywhere except in bunkers and from fluffy lies for flop shots. Hitting a little chip with an 8 iron is fine, but when I get to 50º+, too many shots end up bladed or fat.

[allin]

I do break my wrist on the backswing...but I hold the break thru impact.

I think this is about what I do, if you don't break your wrist a little it is hard to keep your hands underneath the club and forward. Without those factors I cannot get consistent spin and control my distance as well.

[allin]

My range recently put a new flag (target) out about 40 yards. I've been taking my 56* and really working on this shot. About 30 yards out there's a ledge so I'll even try and get the ball up and land on the ledge to watch it roll out to the flag. I've noticed I use wrist hinge and hold it through the ball. For me, the most important aspect is turning through the shot and brushing the grass. If I don't make rotation through and try to use arms, that's when I get into trouble. It's to the point now where my only focus is making the turn, that's it.

I wouldn't call this a chip. A short pitch is closer to it. I rarely see courses where you can bump and run shots from 30 yards and get it very close. In european links conditions with firmer fairways and short collars ok, but most US courses just don't reward this type of shot from this distance.

[jamo]

Phil doesn't do "hinge and hold" for as many shots as he says he does. Furthermore, "hinge and hold" is the way to hit roughly one shot - for a LOT of short game shots you will almost feel like you're flipping. Why? To use the bounce a bit more.

I would say for a lot of shots you do flip. Especially flop shots. I've video taped myself hitting flop shots I I flip a pretty sizeable amount. It keep the face open and prevents delofting.

[James_Black]

I wouldn't call this a chip. A short pitch is closer to it. I rarely see courses where you can bump and run shots from 30 yards and get it very close. In european links conditions with firmer fairways and short collars ok, but most US courses just don't reward this type of shot from this distance.

You've never hit a putter from 30 yards out?

works pretty well. A 7i is a very good club for a 30 yard bump and run if it's windy, if you hit a wedge shot you'll have a hard time getting it close with swirling winds.

[iacas]

Exactly how do you use the bounce and when? Say with a 56-60º wedge, hitting off a fairway. Would you release or flip to use the bounce? Does the club make contact with the ground or ball first?

That's the beauty of bounce - you can hit two inches behind the ball and still get a good shot that sends the ball up in the air. If you blade or fat the ball, you're using the leading edge too much.

There are two kinds of short game shots, and both are very similar and differ very little. I'll record some video eventually showing some different kinds of shots. Again, there are really just two - one where you use the bounce and the other where you use less. The latter is the tougher one to pull off from tighter lies. I'll use the bounce from the tightest of lies. Most people think it's the opposite.