How did you learn how to "chip"

[zaphod]

i have learned three basic chip techniques that are all as important to me as the next....i dont think u can be really successful around the greens having one basic chip style...and i know chipping because my GIR stat sucks...your first very straight forward chip is basically a putting stroke and all its a bump and run and all u do is pretend ur putting with the ball back in your stance a couple inches to insure good contact...and u just choose a higher or lower lofted club depending on how much rough or fringe grass u have to carry...the next two are a bit tougher...one is used for lower trajectory with high spin and the other for basically carrying it to the hole with a high trajectory....the low shot all you do is close down the club face and play the ball well back in your stance and hit down on it with a stiff lead arm and no wrist hinge...the other u play it basically the same in your stance except hinge your wrist and it will come off high and soft

we agree completely millrivermem---My mentor for chipping is from Tom Watson's short game book. Versatility and imagination is the key. That low spinner shot is on of my favs. If you can hit that one IMHO you have chipping down.

[zaphod]

The reason I chose the topic ----Many high handicap golfers I'm paired with do not know how to chip. Yet it is the simplest portion of the game to master an groovable shot. Most of these golfers put too my tension in their stance and large muscles. This is the portion of the game you can easy chop 10 strokes of a 18 round---ie from 100 to 90 on a consistent basis. Should be very few 3 putts from any where around the fringe (as long as the rough is not riduculous). The inital chip should be close enough for easy 2 putt and many times one putt.

[mddubya]

I watched a lesson on TGC this morning by Anthony Kim in which he said he keeps the handle of the club ahead of the face all the way through contact. When I got on the course afterwards i tried it and "Ureeka", it worked. Not that my chipping was that bad before hand, but i was chipping great today.

And that 10 yards straightforward chip, that is a simple bump and run for me, putter stroke, 8 iron, and run it up to the pin.

[VAGolf]

i just copy what they do on tigers woods pga tour video game...

[ezra76]

I watched a lesson on TGC this morning by Anthony Kim in which he said he keeps the handle of the club ahead of the face all the way through contact. When I got on the course afterwards i tried it and "Ureeka", it worked. Not that my chipping was that bad before hand, but i was chipping great today.

And that 10 yards straightforward chip, that is a simple bump and run for me, putter stroke, 8 iron, and run it up to the pin.

I do the same thing but use a 50* GW. I play it straightforward for most chips, shut it down for more run or open up a bit for a shorter chip. It's all about hitting a spot. If I can hit my spot I'm usually tapping it in or even writing down a 0 in the "putts" box.

[SilverUberXeno]

I also read "The Art of the Short Game," and it's like an epiphany.

The #1 thing I believe most people do wrong is playing the ball too far back. Utley considers this "making an exacting shot much harder than it needs to be."

Honestly, as long as you keep a smooth tempo, why would you want to mess with ball position? The bottom of your swing in a chip is in the same place that it is in a full swing, unless you psych yourself out and cast the club down in a chip.

Smooth, relaxed tempo, SLIGHTLY back or center ball position, and swing.

For a flop shot, I really do something unorthodox. But I had 2 or 3 shots of about 20-25 yards last round from the rough that I flopped to within 5 feet. Talk about spin...

[cwo2lt]

Another "Art of the Short Game" aficianado. Practiced in the house with whiffle balls, still do for that matter.

Instead of using stairs like zaphod I use the couch. Hit over it, on it or the front below the seat cushion from various distances.

I also have a backyard that is about 30 yds long to a mulch bed under a tree. I hit various distances to the mulch and try to land them all in there, don't care if they stay as thats just the target. On the course if I have anything inside 30 yds I call it a backyard shot and that takes the mental pressure off.

First round I played after reading the book and hitting whiffle balls I had 3 chips that were so close the guys I was paired with threw them back at me.

[btdickey99]

I would say 90% of the time I use my 60* wedge. I use to use my PW for years trying the "bump and run" and my chipping at the time was the worst part of my game.

Since switching to my 60* it has grown to one of my strongest points.

So to me it is what feels the most comfortable to you. Whatever gives to the confidence to put it in that 3 ft circle, use it.

[eclark53520]

I know how to chip...i'm just no good at it.

I need to spend more time chipping and pitching at the practice greens...i have spent enough time with the rest of my game.

[David Hillman]

I know how to chip...i'm just no good at it.

I need to spend more time chipping and pitching at the practice greens...i have spent enough time with the rest of my game.

That's the thing, practice. The theory is not complex. I've never struggled much with hitting chips, because for the first couple years that I golfed, I was too young to drive and couldn't afford greens fees anyway, so I hit balls around my parents' property. Pick a target, hit it as many times as you can from one pile of balls, repeat as necessary.

Now, deciding how to hit the shot, and where to land it, that's another story altogether.

[zaphod]

Instead of using stairs like zaphod I use the couch. Hit over it, on it or the front below the seat cushion from various distances.

I've been known to do this also, cwo2lt

[warbirdlover]

Many years ago sssmokin and I got a John Jacobs tape on the short game. Basically you stand open to the target, rotate your knees to the left (staying relaxed) to keep the lower body quiet and have your wrists locked. You use a putting type stroke (de-lofting the club which puts the hands ahead of the club head) and control the distance by the amount of backswing. Always the same stroke and speed. Longer backswing, longer stroke. For a higher shot you control the distance with the length of backswing but finish "higher" on the stroke. And I only use one club (PW) for chipping because I know exactly what I'll get if I do it correctly. It has transformed my short game. The best "chipper" in our league does it this way but only uses his SW. My neighbor (a 63 year old "scratch" golfing "legend" in this part of the state) also says not to use any wrist break on chips. And if you use this open stance you'll find you have to play the ball off your right toe. You can find the ball position just be taking some practice swings and seeing where the club clips the grass.

[wirehair]

Have confidence, and swing all the way through. DON'T WIMP OUT!

[rubber314chicken]

The #1 thing I believe most people do wrong is playing the ball too far back. Utley considers this "making an exacting shot much harder than it needs to be."

Honestly, as long as you keep a smooth tempo, why would you want to mess with ball position? The bottom of your swing in a chip is in the same place that it is in a full swing, unless you psych yourself out and cast the club down in a chip.

Smooth, relaxed tempo, SLIGHTLY back or center ball position, and swing.

I play it under my right armpit. Too far? I was taught to play it back because the back spin will help get it in the air more easily as you are hitting more down on it, and I think that works better. And it gives me a lower trajectory as well so the ball will roll right into the cup (I almost did that twice today)