CHIPPING GOLF INSTRUCTIONS

by admin on February 3rd, 2010

One of the shortest shots in golf is one that requires the most authority. Golf instruction chipping without authority can be thin, fat or even shanked shots. Whatever can go wrong usually will. However hitting your chip shots like you mean it, you are more likely to be tapping your next shot in for birdie.

There are a few things that lead to a lack of authority- including fear, indecision, lack of strength – and all lead to poor chipping. Think about your golfclub like a horse.(i know but stay with me here) confidence plays a big part, it has a knack of ‘knowing’ what’s going on and plays up. Far more satisfactory results are achieved if you show it who is boss, who is in charge.

The best way to ensure authority is repetition. Bring authority back to your short game, take on these two strength drills now.
First Drill- Hold your club horizontally out in front of your body, then cock the wrists. Get some strength and flexibility into your wrists, repeat these simple exercises for 10 repetitions and build up gradually.

Drill 2; Hold your arms outstretched with a weight (a couple of golf clubs or 440gm cans are fine if you don’t have hand weights) and lift up and down with your wrists.

How strong is your Wrist
To hit a golfshot with any authority it’s hard to do so if the golfclub feels heavy in your hand. To ensure you are in control of your swing when chipping, the wrist must be firm, and it must secure the golfclub. For many beginners, weak wrists can be a problem, however it won’t hurt all golfers to spend some effort on these drills.

Always be decisive
You will find any number of articles covering club selection and what type of chip shot for particular situations. Convincing yourself that you have chosen the correct shot, whatever decision you have made, eliminate any doubt.
Practice repeating the same golf shot over and over again on the practice green.
Got some room in your backyard, set up a bucket or basket and practice chipping the ball into it, if you have time. Regularly hitting the target could mean that your decisive, have strong wrists and on your way to getting a lot more of your chip shots closer.

Learn the proper chipping set-up; weight on lead side, ball slightly back of centre in your stance, eyes and hands closer to the target than the ball is at address.
Use your dominant hand during the backswing, hinge the golfclub slightly.
Hold this position post impact, in the follow through. That is, don’t let your clubhead pass under the lead hand before impact. At impact the back of that hand should be closer to the target than the ball is. After impact, you can release the club a bit.
Relax. Getting wristy and trying to scoop a chip shot into the air is the number 1 problem of amateurs.

Golf Instruction Chipping Tip- Bet on the percentages

Fancy high loft greenside chip shots, might look fancy in the air, but there is a higher risk of error. Extra loft decreases the margin for error at impact and decreases the size of the landing zone on the green.
A shot best used by the pros is the second bounce check-up, and it is one of the most difficult to play in golf.
For amateur golfers I suggest going for more roll and less air time, always remembering to land on the green.. This means using less-lofted clubs and relying on a simple formula when faced with a chip around the green. An amount of on course management is primary to any shot in golf. As is a brush up on the finer points of golf instruction for a balanced posture

Golf Instruction Chipping – The Method
Take aim at your landing spot as your target and not at the flag when chipping. The condition of the green and the loft of your golfclub will vary in each circumstance. Start with a five iron, and increase the loft depending on the amount of green available, using the following ratios.

5 IRON

20 percent flight, 80 percent bounce and roll. ?

8 IRON

33 percent flight, 67 percent bounce and roll

WEDGE

50 percent bounce and 50 percent roll.

To master the bump and run shot, chip with an 8 iron and then learn to use a wedge.

Here is a great golf instruction chipping tip I learned a while ago, try this. In your normal stance for a chip shot, grab a ball and throw it underarm at your target to gain a feel for how hard you will need to swing the club.
Use this method to imagine how much strength is needed to fly the ball onto the green and roll up to the hole, throw the ball two thirds of the way onto the green back to the cup. This is a great technique to get a feel for the shot.

I hope these few golf instruction tips will help you to improve your short game and reduce the number of shots in your round the next time you go out on the course.

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