what causes chilli dip and skulling?

[dchoye]

when I try to chip I sometimes hit with the leading edge  and it blades over the green, other times I hit the ground with the bounce and then it rebounds off the ground with a sharp angle and again I hit with the leading edge and the ball dribbles forward.

What am I doing wrong?

[burner]

Originally Posted by dchoye

when I try to chip I sometimes hit with the leading edge  and it blades over the green, other times I hit the ground with the bounce and then it rebounds off the ground with a sharp angle and again I hit with the leading edge and the ball dribbles forward.

What am I doing wrong?

Not easy to say without seeing you in action but a best guesstimate would be that you are flipping the club head towards the ball.

Try to keep the wrist position you adopt at address throughout the entire shot and play, theoretically as if you were, hitting a ball sitting immediately in front (on the target side) of the ball in play.

[saevel25]

Place all your weight on your front leg, you should be able to hit chips with your back foot banked in, or your back foot behind you on its toe.

Do not place the ball behind the center of your stance, anywere from center to middle of the stance.

IF you are chipping, you want to make a simple putting motion through the ball. Keep your head still, TRUST THE LOFT TO DO THE WORK. This is very little hinge back and very little unhinging forward.

[mvmac]

Do this.  And the bounce doesn't literally make the club bounce off the ground, it helps the club glide through the grass.

http://thesandtrap.com/t/39411/quickie-pitching-video

http://thesandtrap.com/t/57874/my-edel-wedges-or-super-bounce-and-why-its-good-for-you-or-the-sweet-spot-is-finally-in-the-right-place

[dchoye]

I'm been practicing with the bounce and coming in shallow rather than sharp swing and it has more "gliding" than "bouncing" however I'm not sure how to aim as I can't see the sole of the wedge. What do I use as a reference point when I align the club face ?

[saevel25]

Well first, its bets to buy the highest bounce clubs you can get. Edel does some good fitting, a bit pricy, but you can get some super high bounce. This means you don't have to open the clubface to add bounce.

If you open the clubface for a wedge, your going to have to guesstimate were the starting point is for the ball. Its pretty much were the face is pointing, so if you open the clubface, aim so groves are just left of were you want the ball to land.

[RayG]

What are you doing wrong? What perhaps 99% of ALL golfers do wrong. It's nothing unusual- even the pros do it...RARELY, but everybody does it. It's part of the learning curve. How to fix it? Figure that out and you can sell the secret for millions. It comes down to knowing where the clubhead is moving and trying to get the bottom of the arc AHEAD of the ball. And it takes practice. Most people who go to the range are PAYING for the balls and don't want to waste money hitting 8 footers with an 8 iron. A few swings of the 7 to loosen up, then BOMBS away. If you have access to a chipping green, use it. Leave the drivers and such at home and just work on the chipping part. Generally speaking- less wrist action keeps the arc more stable allowing to groove a stroke that puts the bottom of the arc ahead of the ball. As mentioned- keeping the weight forward with the ball in the middle of your stance. When setting up- don't look at the BACK of the ball, look at the front of the ball as it's where you want the club to pass through. Get the feel for that and repeat, and repeat, and repeat. Try with your eyes closed to get that feel of where the club is.

[mvmac]

Originally Posted by dchoye

I'm been practicing with the bounce and coming in shallow rather than sharp swing and it has more "gliding" than "bouncing" however I'm not sure how to aim as I can't see the sole of the wedge. What do I use as a reference point when I align the club face ?

Just align the club like you would for a standard shot.  Biggest difference is the lack of shaft lean (pic below).  Again, check out those threads.

[rustyredcab]

When I am not making good contact on partial swings -- chips and short pitches -- it is often due to one or two issues. My lead arm needs to stay straight and my shoulders need to turn through the ball (not just in club takeaway but also as club moves forward). When I get too much hands and not enough turn through the ball, my consistency fails. But the most common cause is my lead elbow bending. When I bend the lead arm elbow taking the club back, consistency fails.

[dchoye]

Been practicing my short game for 2-3 hours a day and it seems to be paying off The bladed shot I was worried about can be an intentional belly wedge with good results The chili dip definitely is a technique issue for me as I find that i been trying to control the wedge to much with my right arm. If I grip slightly tighter with my left hand and just follow my routine I chip it flush every time with the LW However I been using a lower lofted club to chip with until I develop confidence to chip with the LW

[Mulligan Jeff]

Not transferring weight to left side (RH player) leads to skulls and chili dips I'm told.

[dchoye]

Bought this back , as my chipping has improved greatly since last year.

Changes I made is to

1)find  it easier to chip with PW loft or lower, and use LW mainly for lobbing.

2) Forget as this "bounce" stuff and try to play sand shots like I used to as a kid. The main problem is orienting the sole of the wedge cause I can not see the bounce. So I just use the leading edge as a guide to align my wedge from the sand  or anything from soft conditions that I can it intentionally fat.

3) From hard lies where I need to use a LW because Im short sided,  I align with the top edge and bring my hand lower to lob or do something similiar to the hinge and hold for rolling shots.

[mvmac]

2) Forget as this "bounce" stuff and try to play sand shots like I used to as a kid. The main problem is orienting the sole of the wedge cause I can not see the bounce. So I just use the leading edge as a guide to align my wedge from the sand  or anything from soft conditions that I can it intentionally fat.

You don't need to see the bounce in order to align the wedge, just aim the face where you want the ball to start. The bounce just helps you "glide" the club through the turf or sand.

[Skype apirlp71]

Thin and fat chip shots generally come from 2 things. Overactive hands (flipping) and having our weight back or falling back.

To see if you can contact your chip shots a bit more crisply I'd like you to try 2 things.

#1 - Get your weight 100% on your front foot. Put your back foot up on the tip toe so you will place no weight on it. Keep your head over your front foot as well and make sure that your head and upper spine do not fall backwards during the swing.

#2 - Hover your club head in the air behind the ball. Hold it up about 2 inches in the air. This will encourage a downward blow through impact and help get rid of the urge to scoop the ball and help it up.

If you can keep your weight forward and strike down on the ball taking a divot, you should eliminate thin and fat shots. Give it a try

[mvmac]

If you can keep your weight forward and strike down on the ball taking a divot, you should eliminate thin and fat shots. Give it a try

If anything trying to take a divot will increase the angle of attack. With chipping/pitching we want a shallow angle of attack. I agree the weight should be forward but you just want to "brush" the grass. A certain amount of "flipping" is a good thing for shots around the green.

[vangator]

Sounds like you've improved your technique, which is great. The next time you chili dip or skull a shot, I'd put money on that you head was moving through the shot. A chip is not a dynamic shot. Keep the head still and you'll hit it pure every time.

[MS256]

Probably one reason why I'm really good at shots around the green and really suck at a lot of other shots. ;-)