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Why am I Loosing So Many Shots around the Greens with Chipping ?

Are you like a lot of people who hit the ball quite well from tee to green to a standard that is probably better than your handicap would suggest but then loose that all back plus some more to the short game ? A lot of golfers would improve their handicap if they concentrated a bit less on hitting the ball further by trying to improve their short games i.e Pitching,Chipping and Bunker shots.

Today I am going to talk about chipping.....

There are of course different ways to do things, chipping included and it is of course all variable and dependant on distance, lie of the land, length of grass etc etc and it is never easy to know exactly which club to use for chipping.

I am now going to talk about the differences between what I would call 1. Old Fashioned chipping technique and 2. Modern chipping technique.

Old Fashioned

1. Narrow + Open Stance

2. Ball Position is far back in stance, in some case to the right of the

right foot.

3. Bodyweight 60-70% on the left foot

4. Too much shaft Lean, with butt end of the golf club pointing to

the left of the left leg.

Modern

1. Up to Shoulder width

2. Ball Position centred, to even left of centre

3. Body Weight more evenly distributed

4. Point butt end of grip towards stomach ie straighter

If you only use the old fashioned method I would strongly recommend trying the modern method certainly if you tend to hit fat chips, shanks or thinned chips.

Which club should you use ? Well that is a good question as it is dependant on a few variables as mentioned earlier anything from 7,8,9,PW for a loger bump and run chip to 52-60 degrees for shorter distance and slightly longer grass around the green.

The good thing about the modern technique is that you will bring the bounce of the club in to play for chipping, which means it will be very difficult to hit heavy/fat chips and will be able to generate a good bit of hop and stop with the more lofted wedges. If you prefer to use a slightly more lofted wedge for chipping ie no 7,8,9,PW I would employ a little shaft lean to help the ball to run out that bit better.

There is more than one way to do it of course, there is no one correct method to choose from, but if you only chip the old fashioned way it will certainly cost you a few shots. The ability to be able to do a bit of both will most certainly help, give it a try.

When you are chipping your focus should be more on a pre determined landing spot rather than the flagstick or hole itself and its all about feel of course for both the distance and your technique which means the length of stroke is different from person to person.

If you live in the Perthshire area and would like to improve your short game come and see me for a lesson in Pitlochry.

Regards,

Graeme Leggat PGA Advanced Golf Professional

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