Rethinking Chipping Strategy

[RickPro]

less loft = less carry = more roll out

more loft = more carry = less roll out

8 iron is the high percentage chip where you bump and run. highly repeatable, more forgiving, very boring. do this if you have a lot of green to work with.

lob wedge is the hero shot where you have to hit it perfectly so you can carry it to your spot with a little roll out. higher degree of difficulty, but looks awesome i.e. Phil. do this if you don't have much room on the green.

[Moxley]

On 13/02/2018 at 4:50 PM, iacas said:

No. Putting the ball back tends to increase the chances of skulling the ball.

I mean, we're talking about two or three inches here. I've seen plenty of people blade the ball with it back in their stance. I still deliver plenty of shaft lean with the ball forward… just not quite as much, and not so much as to take away all the bounce/glide on my club(s).

Why would this be? because it makes it more likely we'll not bottom out in time ? or is it one of those physiological ones where we leave the club high because we know we can't afford to dig?

[iacas]

5 hours ago, Moxley said:

Why would this be? because it makes it more likely we'll not bottom out in time ? or is it one of those physiological ones where we leave the club high because we know we can't afford to dig?

Both. The further back the more the leading edge is coming into play with more shaft lean, and the odds of you sticking it in the ground versus using a little of the "glide"'s forgiveness with a more forward ball position.

But also, just from a geometry standpoint…

The red arc is the swing path of your wedge.

With the ball back, the clubhead is far more rapidly changing height, requiring much more precision in exactly where on that arc you strike the ball. A bit early and it's thin, a bit late and it's fat. And fat with the leading edge is a horrible shot, so some players err on the side of thin.

The green rectangle shows that in the center of the arc the clubhead is a steadier height over the same "width" (the rectangles are the same width).

[Foot Wedge]

4 minutes ago, iacas said:

The further back the more the leading edge is coming into play with more shaft lean, and the odds of you sticking it in the ground versus using a little of the "glide"'s forgiveness with a more forward ball position.

Really paid attention to this this past weekend during my chipping practice and it's very noticeable.  The bounce hitting the ground first let the club skip a little and make reasonable enough contact with the ball for a decent chip. Not as crisp or accurate as a good strike obviously but it's a lot better than digging and duffing the ball for a 4 foot dribbler.

[nevets88]

I think was a slow motion replay on one of Cantlay's chip/pitches during Riviera where he bounced his clubhead just a tad in front of the ball. It turned out okay, a little longer because no spin, 6+ feet from hole? But if the ball had been back, it would have flown a lot farther.