Improving ball contact with chipping

[NevinW]

too many thin and fat shots

I played yesterday and turned a 72 into a 78 with my chipping. Had a series of relatively simple chips that were flubbed just enough to leave me 12-18 footers for par instead of 3-6 footers. I seem to have much more trouble with this on the course than the practice green. I hit it pretty good there. Go back and forth between a little fat and a little thin. Not chili-dipping but not making solid ball striking either. If I fix this problem my game would improve considerably. Any suggestions on how to improve ball contact when chipping? In the past my pro has said that I tend to take it too far inside when I chip. I go back to him next month for a lesson. - Nevin

[dogsbe]

Check your leverage and play the bounce. I what I do for practice is that I put an other ball 5 inches behind the ball that I am hitting. If I miss it, then I am making I have a good angle of attack and I should nip the grass as well.

Have a look at Hing and Hold chipping method, Phil M is your man.

[Cwebb]

If we drag it too far inside, it leads to less room for error for a solid on line strike. An inside takeaway keeps the clubhead lower to the ground, making it more difficult to trap down and through to acheive a solid strike. Basically there's not a quick enough "rise angle" in order to have enough angle of attack coming back into the ball.

Many players have to feel like they are "turning" the club away to the outside, just to acheive an on plane takeaway. Remember that if our body lines our set open for a chip/pitch, which they should be, then the club needs to be taken away in line with our body lines,.....which would technically be "outside" in relation to the target line.

Also make sure that you're not opening the clubface immediately in the takeaway, which will drag the clubhead inside our hands and off plane. You might experiment with an exaggerated feel, where the takeaway feels outside and "closed" or no rotation open of the clubface. Note that you still want to turn the club way with connection and not just a disconnected arm lift to the "outside" feel. Basically within your connection, we just don't want to let our left arm drag across our chest...

[ronniemac]

[quote name='dogsbe' timestamp='1335711792' post='4809842']
Check your leverage and play the bounce. I what I do for practice is that I put an other ball 5 inches behind the ball that I am hitting. If I miss it, then I am making I have a good angle of attack and I should nip the grass as well.

Have a look at Hing and Hold chipping method, Phil M is your man.
[/quote]

Wow chipping has always killed me but if you are right I know why, there is no way I can do what you are saying even if I put the ball a foot back. I have been using more of a putting stroke and playing the ball just inside my back foot. I guess the distance of the chip has a lot to do with it.

[hbgpagolfpro]

[quote name='Cwebb' timestamp='1335712476' post='4809884']
If we drag it too far inside, it leads to less room for error for a solid on line strike. An inside takeaway keeps the clubhead lower to the ground, making it more difficult to trap down and through to acheive a solid strike. Basically there's not a quick enough "rise angle" in order to have enough angle of attack coming back into the ball.

[/quote]

Agree with this, so you probably need a bit of hinge in the wrists in your takeaway to accomplish the required descending blow on the chips shots.

[BTO]

[quote name='NevinW' timestamp='1335710274' post='4809696']
I played yesterday and turned a 72 into a 78 with my chipping. Had a series of relatively simple chips that were flubbed just enough to leave me 12-18 footers for par instead of 3-6 footers. I seem to have much more trouble with this on the course than the practice green. I hit it pretty good there. Go back and forth between a little fat and a little thin. Not chili-dipping but not making solid ball striking either. If I fix this problem my game would improve considerably. Any suggestions on how to improve ball contact when chipping? In the past my pro has said that I tend to take it too far inside when I chip. I go back to him next month for a lesson. - Nevin
[/quote]

After 35 years of struggling with this part of the game I got real complicated advice from an old timer last year that has revolutionized my chipping game. The advice, it's complicated so beware :-)....FINISH LOW!! Yep, that's it.

[Solutions Etcetera]

Hard to make a suggestion without seeing what you're doing now. Typical stuff is feet closer together, ball a bit back, weight more on lead foot, take the hands out of it and keep them leading the club head through follow through.

Here is a quickie on the basics... http://applemountaingolfresort.com/instruction/chipping.html

[NevinW]

I took a look at the hinge and hold video on youtube and then played this afternoon. Much better chipping contact. I may need to get the Mickelson video. - Thanks

[danattherock]

Phil's DVD set is great. Tons of valuable short game info.



One thing that has helped my chipping immensely in recent weeks, taking the club back sloooowly. I mean literally 1/3 the speed as my normal take away. Can't say why this helps, ran across it by accident while practicing. Just goofing off, trying new stuff, and it was a sweet feeling. I now do it on all my chips.




-Dan

[kevn357]

Chipping or pitching? If pitching you have to use your hands to set the angle you want. Passive hands is rubbish. I haven,t seen Phils videos but the guy knows how to pitch.

[lsu_justin]

Steve Elkington's video "Tour Quality Short Game" helped me a lot.

[SwingBlues]

+1 on Philly Mick. Luv his style, it's simple as its ever going to get and it works, for me.

If it's chipping, what club are you using? SW? Sometimes, a simple PW, 9 will work for the running chip shot more effectively than landing a ball to a spot with the SW. Sometimes use a hybird/ 3 wood - theres always alternative but [u]only you[/u] would know which club based on the lie, the condition of the greens, and the CONFIDENCE in your own game at the time of play to call it. Other than that, practice, practice, practice. All the posters here can give a million advice but if you don't practice or try it, it's worthless.

[blueshabit]

If you really have had enough of the fats and blades, learn to use the bounce. First, get a wedge with about 12 degrees of bounce. Second, set up with the ball off your right, front, foot. Third, shaft vertical with no lean. Fourth, fully **** the club before you get six inches off the ball in your backswing. Fifth, make a little turn, use your knees, and when you turn back, feel like gravity is dropping the club on the ball. Sixth, the shaft should line up with your right arm, shaft returning to somewhere near vertical at impact.

Viola. your forgiven. You hit behind it, the bounce glides the club into the ball with just a small reduction in ball travel and trajectory. Hit it a little thin and the increased spin will stop it on the green. The bounce contacts the grass, not that razor leading edge. Beats that old-timey stuff where you have to be perfect. You can even hit off cart paths, hard pan and the green with no divot.

It probably won't be for everybody.

[atlanta golfer]

Consider an address position where your back heel is off the ground. This pre-sets your weight in the forward position which is what you want to finish in. The benefit is it will stop you from a big weight shift which you don't want in a chip or pitch, and assures you will be able to make a slightly downward strike into the ball.

There are probably a handful of fundamentals, but I believe what someone wrote above, you have to practice. This allows you to experiment, learn the keys that work for you, and build some confidence in a motion that is consistent.

[BENCHMADE]

Not to mention taking a shag bag full of balls and spend a day at the chipping green ?

[wmblake2000]

[quote name='NevinW' timestamp='1335710274' post='4809696']
I played yesterday and turned a 72 into a 78 with my chipping. Had a series of relatively simple chips that were flubbed just enough to leave me 12-18 footers for par instead of 3-6 footers. I seem to have much more trouble with this on the course than the practice green. I hit it pretty good there. Go back and forth between a little fat and a little thin. Not chili-dipping but not making solid ball striking either. If I fix this problem my game would improve considerably. Any suggestions on how to improve ball contact when chipping? In the past my pro has said that I tend to take it too far inside when I chip. I go back to him next month for a lesson. - Nevin
[/quote]

I can experience the same thing - be great on practice, less so on the course. This is for me a matter of a) image of what I expect (visualize with confidence), b) tension in hands/arms staying constant, and c) tempo remains fluid and smooth. In other words, for me anyway it is more mental than technique, and I chip best with no mechanical thoughts at all... I distract my mind from any thinking about how to do it, and even during the shot am not thinking about where I want the ball to do.. I am just trusting what I have done to prepare.

[TheCityGame]

For me, it was a season of focused practice on short game.

I did a lot of work, but one of the "drills" I think really helped was basically finding tight lies and/or wet lies and saying "I'm making perfect contact on 15 out of 15". I might have a target in mind, but the MAIN IDEA of the drill was just "perfect contact". If I duffed one, I raked the balls back and started over.

While doing that, I think you really just figure out a lot of the other stuff (how shallow/steep to come in, how much to get the weight forward, etc. etc.). A lot of the tips you get about chipping don't really start to make sense until you hit a couple thousand balls off the ground.

[verderraul]

punisher drill

[Freeride]

[quote name='Cwebb' timestamp='1335712476' post='4809884']
If we drag it too far inside, it leads to less room for error for a solid on line strike. An inside takeaway keeps the clubhead lower to the ground, making it more difficult to trap down and through to acheive a solid strike. Basically there's not a quick enough "rise angle" in order to have enough angle of attack coming back into the ball.

Many players have to feel like they are "turning" the club away to the outside, just to acheive an on plane takeaway. Remember that if our body lines our set open for a chip/pitch, which they should be, then the club needs to be taken away in line with our body lines,.....which would technically be "outside" in relation to the target line.

Also make sure that you're not opening the clubface immediately in the takeaway, which will drag the clubhead inside our hands and off plane. You might experiment with an exaggerated feel, where the takeaway feels outside and "closed" or no rotation open of the clubface. Note that you still want to turn the club way with connection and not just a disconnected arm lift to the "outside" feel. Basically within your connection, we just don't want to let our left arm drag across our chest...
[/quote]

That is the opposite of what Stan Utley teaches. The more around and lower you go, if gives you more room for error. All body lines should be square to target line, just like a normal shot.

http://stanutley.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/UTLEY-GolfDigest-.pdf

[wmblake2000]

Just curious - all the posts but mine look at a mechanical thing. But the OP says he chips well on practice and not on the course. It just seems to me that the first place to look when someone has this kind of results is in what changes between practice and playing - and that's mental. Of course, poor technique can drive the need for better timing, etc.

I guess I am a little surprised than only one person suggests mental more than technique.

[atlanta golfer]

[quote name='Freeride' timestamp='1335791673' post='4814348']
[quote name='Cwebb' timestamp='1335712476' post='4809884']
If we drag it too far inside, it leads to less room for error for a solid on line strike. An inside takeaway keeps the clubhead lower to the ground, making it more difficult to trap down and through to acheive a solid strike. Basically there's not a quick enough "rise angle" in order to have enough angle of attack coming back into the ball.

Many players have to feel like they are "turning" the club away to the outside, just to acheive an on plane takeaway. Remember that if our body lines our set open for a chip/pitch, which they should be, then the club needs to be taken away in line with our body lines,.....which would technically be "outside" in relation to the target line.

Also make sure that you're not opening the clubface immediately in the takeaway, which will drag the clubhead inside our hands and off plane. You might experiment with an exaggerated feel, where the takeaway feels outside and "closed" or no rotation open of the clubface. Note that you still want to turn the club way with connection and not just a disconnected arm lift to the "outside" feel. Basically within your connection, we just don't want to let our left arm drag across our chest...
[/quote]

That is the opposite of what Stan Utley teaches. The more around and lower you go, if gives you more room for error. All body lines should be square to target line, just like a normal shot.

[url="http://stanutley.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/UTLEY-GolfDigest-.pdf"]http://stanutley.com...GolfDigest-.pdf[/url]
[/quote]


Utley has some good ideas that have helped me, but most instructors teach open to the target line and this works best for me.

[stryper]

[quote name='TheCityGame' timestamp='1335789155' post='4814202']
For me, it was a season of focused practice on short game.

I did a lot of work, but one of the "drills" I think really helped was basically finding tight lies and/or wet lies and saying "I'm making perfect contact on 15 out of 15". I might have a target in mind, but the MAIN IDEA of the drill was just "perfect contact". If I duffed one, I raked the balls back and started over.

While doing that, I think you really just figure out a lot of the other stuff (how shallow/steep to come in, how much to get the weight forward, etc. etc.).[u] A lot of the tips you get about chipping don't really start to make sense until you hit a couple thousand balls off the ground.[/u]
[/quote]This

[596]

OK, so the only thing I've learned about chipping from this thread is that there are about 100 ways to chip a ball and they are all the "best way". You know what this says? Find what works for you and then practice it.

I use a 9 iron, feet open and close together, ball back near rear foot, shaft lean forward, tiny limited wrist action, flat slow backswing and then nip the ball softly, straight back/straight through.. Works every friggin time from any lie and any angle. I'm an excellent chipper. If you want to get good at chipping, practice it the same as putting, short tiny chips. Go to the practice green and pick a hole no more then a few feet from the edge of the fringe. Place 3-5 balls only about 10" from the green. Chip away until you can sink 6 in a row. Then move the balls back to 24" from the green and continue. ONLY when you can get all the balls on every chip within tap in range should you then move to 20-30ft chip shots. Every one of these shots I do with a 9 iron. I can pitch with a 9 iron, I can chip with a 9 iron from 95% of everywhere.

Learn which chip shot works for YOU!!

[joeunc]

The most important thing I have found for chipping is practice. After every range visit, I then go to the short game area and hit about 200 chips with different clubs from different lengths. When I am out of practice, chipping not as good, but when practicing it a lot it is awesome as would be expected.

[Jack Pearsall]

I have to remind myself sometimes to have my hands forward of the ball for crisp contact. So basic, but sometimes I forget and try to come in beneath the ball with an open face, and while I can get away with it a good amount of times, it generally can lead to badness.

there are some days when JP just can't seem to get his chips to the hole either...

worst part of my game

[chadly643]

Annika's drill helped me: quiet the lower body by hitting chips with your left leg crossed over the right. Saw it on the golf channel and it was a biggie for me. I tended to move my lower body too much which caused a lot of inconsistency. Chipping with just the upper body seemed to make my contact much more consistent. Of course there is is no right way to chip, Tom Watson came up on to his right toe on some pitches.

[Lairdyboy]

The thing with chipping is not to over complicate it. You mention your pro has noticed before that you take it to the inside on backswing so I'd check that out first. Alignment stick on the ground, lying on an out to in path and on the inside of the ball. Place the stick close enough so that if you are approaching the ball too much from the inside then you'll hit the stick. Everything in golf is about path and club face. At impact look for a change in feel. Does it feel better?

Personally I chip with my putting set up, just slightly more open stance. I use the same tempo also, works wonders for distance control.

[Freeride]

[quote name='atlanta golfer' timestamp='1335794552' post='4814560']
Utley has some good ideas that have helped me, but most instructors teach open to the target line and this works best for me.
[/quote]

Open makes no sense to me, you drive square, you hit irons square, you putt square, why would you chip differently? The more uniform, repetitive, and calculated you can make all of your swings, the better in my book.

[Mike_C]

Nice thread. The OP sounds alot like me. I was a short game wiz as a kid, long driver and mediocre iron player. Now I'm a good iron player, OK driver, and poor chipper/pitcher of the ball and not the greatest putter. Most of it is due to practice time. I used to always practice chipping and pitching the ball, and never went to range, just played on course. When I got older and had less time to play, I hit the driving more than played, but never really practiced my short game like I used too.

I've been spending about 1/4 of my practice time this spring at the chipping area, and I am seeing progress. I think that when I don't practice I get very handsy with my short shots, which leads to chunks and thin shots. I've been focusing on much more shoulder rotation and keeping the club outside on the take away, and not "hitting" the ball on short shots and just sort of letting it happen. Its been like night and day. I'm getting back to crisp pitches that have spin. I do know that practice is what I need. Back in 2004 I injured my shoulder just enough where the doctor told me to take about 6 weeks off of hitting full shots. So I went the the practice green almost every day and practiced putting and chipping/pitching. By the time my shoulder was better, I was getting up and down like I was back in the old days.....

[allegrolink]

Contact on chip shots suddenly got much better during my third round this season. It has stayed the best I've ever chipped and consistently the best contact I've ever made on chips. Here's what I started feeling/doing/thinking about:

1. weight mostly on lead foot -- don't feel much shift during the shot
2. KEEP MY LEAD ARM STRAIGHT THROUGHOUT THE SHOT
3. only 10% open stance -- not more
4. trail elbow feels tight to body
5. lead handle to ball
6. LOOK AT THE FRONT OF THE BALL -- amazing for me
7. keep club face open -- no release

Number 2 is an old idea and a new area of focus. Number 6 is new for me. Picking a spot on the front of ball was like Voodoo. Suddenly I could chip well.