Keep hitting the ground

[In the woods]

I have been trying to improve my short game and have been doing a lot of chipping. For some reason no matter where I put the ball in my stance(I've tried everywhere) I keep hitting the ground prior to the ball. This is a recent development and I do not know why I have started doing this. I am hitting the ground hard enough that the club is actually bouncing into the ball. I've tried choking up on the club, I've tried different ball locations, I've tried different clubs for chipping, I've tried putting my weight forwards and back, nothing seems to help. What could I be doing that is causing this? Any advice is welcome as I am playing a new course on Sunday with people I dont know any I do not want to be the guy skulking balls over the green. I need to get this fixed ASAP!!!!

[TitleistLefty]

It's hard to give advice blind, but I'll try. When you go practice Saturday, try this.

Set up with a slightly open stance with the ball slightly behind center. Don't stand too close to the ball. When you're chipping or pitching, tempo is key. The final thing is keeping your head level. Don't dip your head. If you do this, I'd be impressed if you chunked it. Good luck on Sunday.

[Gordon McTavish]

I focus my eye on a spot several inches in front of the ball when chipping.  This usually produces solid contact.  If I focus on the top / back of the ball, I tend to impact the ground before the ball.

[anthony]

If you're not doing this already, setup with your hands in front of the ball. Definitely keep your weight on your front foot as well.

[Fatphil]

I can just add that I think you are very much on the right path to improving not only your pitching but you long game as well.  In a nutshell you are simply not holding the wrists (I hesitate to say hinge) in a consistant way and your upper body action and impact position is probably a mess.

ASAP unfortunalty is not in the cards...you could be looking at a 8-12 month project but in the end you will be a much better player and have a fundamentally better understanding of the golf swing and the impact position.

When you can hit a 60* wedge cleanly btw 30 - 60 feet off tightly cut grass, the feeling is awesome.

[TN94z]

One other thing is to make sure you get a good chest turn.  If I don't get a good chest turn, I will hit the ground as well.

[boogielicious]

A real quick tip that can help in the short run is from Phil Mickelson.  When you chip, forward press the shaft so you hands are in front of the ball and keep moving your hands toward your target after contact. Hands to target is a good swing thought for chipping.

[TN94z]

Originally Posted by boogielicious

A real quick tip that can help in the short run is from Phil Mickelson.  When you chip, forward press the shaft so you hands are in front of the ball and keep moving your hands toward your target after contact.  Hands to target is a good swing thought for chipping.

It's funny you mention this.  My cousin bought the dvd's (he was a really good short game player) and wanted to pick up the Mickelson style.  One week into watching the DVD's, he got the shanks and could not get rid of them for anything.  His old style...chipped good.  Mickelson style..shanks.  Haha!!

To OP, just get back to the basics.  It will come around.  I went through the exact same thing with my SW.

[slabm7]

Originally Posted by TN94z

It's funny you mention this.  My cousin bought the dvd's (he was a really good short game player) and wanted to pick up the Mickelson style.  One week into watching the DVD's, he got the shanks and could not get rid of them for anything.  His old style...chipped good.  Mickelson style..shanks.  Haha!!

To OP, just get back to the basics.  It will come around.  I went through the exact same thing with my SW.

I've had the exact opposite effect. I used to chip with the ball in the middle of my squared stance and it was anybodys guess where the ball would go. I would it hit fat, thin or shank it. But over the winter I bought Secrets of the short game boo and started playing with the concept lately. I now play a standard chip with my stance slightly open, the ball off my back toe, hands forward at address. When you pull the club back and hinge your wrists just hold that and press throught the hitting area with your hands cocked. For me it works great, ball striking is consistent and distance control is alot better as well. I still hit the odd one fat or thin but I get alot more close to the hole. Last season I didn't chip in once. Chipping on the practice green the other day I chipped in about 4 out of 40 from about 30 feet and 90% were within 5 ft of the hole and at least giving myself a chance to make a putt. Lookup and practice Phils method, it works very well for consistenly striking the ball.

[iacas]

Weight forward, handle forward.

[In the woods]

Thank you all for the advice.  I know it is not something that can be fixed in a matter of days, fortunantely it was a recent development and I think a lot of it was to do with my weight being on the wrong side of the body and I was letting my hands get behind the ball.  Actually I think it all came from me being lazy around the green and not swinging through the ball.  Almost as if I have started diving at the ball hoping it would pop up and go where I wanted.

[GolfHippy]

I have this problem. It was this thread that made me aware of this forum.

These are some great ideas in this thread. I will try some of these out.

PS. By the way, hello everyone.

[In the woods]

So an additional question on the topic.  How much does deceleration play in the club head hitting the ground in the wrong spot, i.e. before the ball?

I have been chipping in my house all day(yea pathetic i know) from my kids play room into the living room.  I have noticed that when I do not worry about hitting the wall on the other side of the living room and continue through I don't have a problem with hitting the ground prior to the ball.  Its when I lay off that I have this problem, due to laying off or everything else going bad as well.

[glk23]

IMO, deceleration is an absolute killer if you want to have a good short game.  Next time you practice, try purposely taking a little shorter than needed back swing which forces you to accelerate through the ball.

[slabm7]

Originally Posted by glk23

IMO, deceleration is an absolute killer if you want to have a good short game.  Next time you practice, try purposely taking a little shorter than needed back swing which forces you to accelerate through the ball.

Fully agree, deceleration is a killer in any part of the golf game. Take a shorter backswing and be aggressive through the ball. Play the ball in the back of your stance and lead with your hands.

[NEOHMark]

Hands HAVE to be fwd of the ball at impact and, if it's true chipping (as opposed to any type of flop shot), I think a putting stroke can be emulated more often than not.  I dislike the conventional wisdom of 'soft hands' in the chipping game.  I tend to apply a pretty strong grip pressure.  It does two things, IMHO.  One, it almost totally deactivates my wrists so that I literally can't flip at impact, and two, it helps me get through the ball - as opposed to striking 'at' the ball.  It's especially useful in the longish second-cut of rough and in mushy conditions.  Try experimenting with different grip pressure and see what kind of effect it has on your chips.  You may like a completely lighter pressure than I do, but you never know until you try....

Also, if you haven't already tried it, you may find that chipping with a SW (and its corresponding large degree of bounce) can help keep the club sliding on, instead of digging into, the turf.  You still need good technique and to keep the hands fwd, but you can definitely take advantage of the bounce on the SW to help boost your confidence in the shot.

[TN94z]

Originally Posted by slabm7

I've had the exact opposite effect. I used to chip with the ball in the middle of my squared stance and it was anybodys guess where the ball would go. I would it hit fat, thin or shank it. But over the winter I bought Secrets of the short game boo and started playing with the concept lately. I now play a standard chip with my stance slightly open, the ball off my back toe, hands forward at address. When you pull the club back and hinge your wrists just hold that and press throught the hitting area with your hands cocked. For me it works great, ball striking is consistent and distance control is alot better as well. I still hit the odd one fat or thin but I get alot more close to the hole. Last season I didn't chip in once. Chipping on the practice green the other day I chipped in about 4 out of 40 from about 30 feet and 90% were within 5 ft of the hole and at least giving myself a chance to make a putt. Lookup and practice Phils method, it works very well for consistenly striking the ball.

I'm not bashing it at all.  I have the DVDs and I hit the ball pretty good using that technique. The only issues I had were with the longer shots.  I didn't feel comfortable using that technique.  I still use a modified version. So, yeah, I liked it but my cousin's short game went nuts when he tried it.