Beginners Guide To Chipping

Golf Monthly

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Transcript

00:00Hi, Dan Grieve here, head professional at Woburn Golf Club here to talk about chipping basics so

00:08you can get that nice solid contact every time when you're on your fringe lie and you have a

00:13little bit of green to work with. So the good news here is if you do get a set up right you

00:17are 90% of the way there to making a good contact. It doesn't make a bad shot impossible but it makes

00:21it difficult. So let's make sure firstly we don't stand too wide, let's trap the centre of gravity,

00:27let's make our feet really nice and narrow around about one club head apart when you're playing a

00:30chip and run like this. Ball position just back of centre, have a slight forward lean of the shaft so

00:37you don't lean it too much just a little bit is all you need and let's make sure that the left foot

00:42here is slightly flared out which is going to allow you to put your pivot line, your weight running

00:46from your left foot through your knee through hip into your shoulders. So you set that pivot line,

00:51that's the line in which you're going to rotate around. It's also important we make sure the left

00:56wrist here is nice and flat, we don't want to get too far away and start to create an angle here

01:00because this angle is likely to create too much wrist action. For a chip and run we're trying to

01:05take the wrist out so nice and close to the ball and let's make sure this is nice and flat. Also your

01:10shoulders need to be level, we don't want to get too much tilt, let's save that for the long game.

01:14So nice and level in the way in which you approach you with the shoulders and if you get all those

01:18ingredients right, add a slightly lighter grip as well, most people grip it way too tight when they chip,

01:23you're in a good position to hit a nice running chip shot, make a nice contact and get that ball

01:28running close to the pin. And one of the lost arts in chipping is the ability to actually change your

01:33club to change how the ball runs out. So I'm never a great fan of players sticking to the same club

01:38all the time around the greens because you end up having to hit the ball so much harder to get the

01:42ball to the green. If you can just have this one chipping technique and change the club in your hand

01:47to let the ball react differently, that's a much easier way of getting the ball closer to the pin.

01:51So for example, I put a towel down on the green a third of the way on and there's two thirds between

01:57there and the hole. So I'm going to try and do is land the ball next to that towel and see if I can

02:02get it to run two thirds of the way out. So nine iron in my hand here, normal chipping technique,

02:08land it by the towel and you can see how that ball is running out close to the pin. Now if I,

02:13other options, I mean that's obviously a good choice there, but if I wanted to get that ball on the

02:17ground a little bit sooner and run out, I've got my, I've got my seven iron in my hand. Now a seven iron

02:22is around about a 25% carry and a 75% roll. So I need to bring my target back or I'd like to land

02:29the ball. So you'll see this land a little shorter, but the speed will be greater in the ball and you

02:34can see how that ball is now running out more towards the pin. So another good option. Okay.

02:40There's not particularly one way to do it. It's what you're most comfortable with, but I think generally,

02:44if you end up using straighter face clubs, you're going to get a lot more joy. So I've now got a 56

02:49degrees sand wedge in my hand and really I'm looking at carrying this around about 75% of the way. So

02:54it's much more in the air. So it won't run that far at the other end. So you can see how that is

03:01spinning more and not running as much. So I've just shown those three different ways to chip with three

03:05different clubs and it's up to you to find out which you're most consistent with, but I really would

03:09try and encourage you to get the ball on the green and running as soon as you can. So one final

03:14point, I do recommend that you do use the same golf ball that you practice with, that you play with.

03:18It just makes sense. You're going to get the same feel that you're able to take to the golf course.

03:22So I use the Telemé TP5. I feel like it's really soft and it gives me that touch around the greens,

03:26but go out there, have a ball fitting with your local pros, see what's best for you

03:30and make sure you have that consistency in what you practice with and what you play with.

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