- 2 days ago
In this video, 4-handicap index golfer Ben Tadman gets a one-to-one lesson with Top 50 short game coach and YouTube sensation Dan Grieve to fix his problems with the chipping yips!
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00:00Hi, I'm Dan Grieve and I've teamed up with Adidas Golf to help three lucky
00:04Golf Monthly readers improve their short game. Let's get started.
00:11Hi Ben, it's great to have you all on. Hi, big fan. Welcome to Woven. Thank you.
00:15Now tell me about your short game then. We've got a really kind of basic
00:18ship here off a fairly tight line. Just tell me about your short game
00:21generally, about how you feel for this shot in particular. Yeah, so for
00:24Handicap Around the Green has always been the worst part of my game
00:28consistently. I'd say throughout the time I've had the yips or feel like I've had
00:32the yips, particularly in competition play, get very frozen over the ball,
00:39obviously poor technique at some point over the time and I've got a fear of
00:43hitting the ground. There's a lot of baggage there, duffing, knifing.
00:47It's tough isn't it? Because you're short game should have had to enjoy it and it sounds like you've got
00:50some anxiety around it. My scores depend on how many greens I hit. If I hit 15
00:54greens, I'll shoot it. If I hit 10 greens, it goes on. Alright, well I'll just watch it two shots, see what's going on and then we'll have a chat about it.
01:02But yeah, let's go for this left hand pin here, okay?
01:06There we go, classic. That sort of thing, yeah? Yeah. Okay, one more.
01:20That was a bit better, you got your club on the ball there, but actually that actually wasn't that dissimilar to the first one.
01:27Yeah. Okay, you're a good player, you've got good hands, but they're having to work very hard for you, okay?
01:33Just on this side. So, yeah, this topic of the yips, this anxiety side of things, it's an issue for a lot of golfers
01:41and I think you said it there yourself, you've got a bit of a fear of the ground and when you have a fear of the ground
01:45that manifests as you're coming down, the anxiety kicks in probably about here, you kind of feel it.
01:49Yeah. And it becomes a bit involuntary at times and then it's just, there's so much fear about how you're going to strike it
01:54that you kind of pull out the shot and the hands get a little bit involuntary in how they're going to move.
01:58And like you say, it all comes down to you not trusting the ground and essentially just looking at your technique there,
02:03it's because as you come down, you, well firstly, you've set the wrist quite a lot of address there, okay?
02:08So you get an awful lot of wrist hinge early and then you kind of drive the handle this way.
02:13And you can chip that way, but my word, you've got to be perfect.
02:16You've got zero margin for error the way you're chipping.
02:19That second one you were good, right?
02:21You've managed to, despite no margin for error, you still managed to hit a good shot.
02:24Yeah. Albeit it came off a little bit hot.
02:26So, so you're kind of doing this, you're a little bit on your right side, by the way.
02:29We're going to work on that a little bit.
02:30You sort of here and then you set and then you kind of pull.
02:33So again, I hit that pure, but again, see how hot it comes off the club face.
02:37If you're short-sided, I guess it's a bit more of an issue as well.
02:41If you want to get a little bit more spin on the ball.
02:43So what I'd like to do with you, just try and make things a little bit friendly.
02:46Cause that's what it's all about.
02:47Can we get your club working friendlier through the turf?
02:50So you start to trust the ground and then there's a rewiring process that will go on.
02:54And you'll start to then get a lot more comfortable and relaxed over it because you'll know you don't need to be perfect.
02:59So the best players in the world when they chip.
03:02So I've hit that one three inches before just to show you.
03:05Right now I've hit it three inches before and I've hit it stiff and it came off soft.
03:08Because I've got my angle of attack nice and shallow for this fringe lie.
03:11And I've got the loft and bounce on the club.
03:14So I've got this big margin for error.
03:16If I was chipping the way you are, and I hit three inches before the ball,
03:20I think we know what's going to happen.
03:22You'd be chipping again, right?
03:23So I'm going to go very far.
03:24So I want to get your arms a little bit softer because I can tell they're a bit tight.
03:27I want to put the ball a little bit further forward.
03:29I want to get your weight a little bit more on your left side.
03:32So you're not tipping back too much.
03:33But the big thing for you is we're going to work on a much wider, shallower takeaway.
03:37So the club can land on the ground and come through.
03:40Okay. Does that make sense technically?
03:42Yeah.
03:43So you set up the baller.
03:49Okay.
03:50Ball not too far back.
03:51I know it's a bit of a comfort blanket, isn't it?
03:52Yeah.
03:53Stick it back.
03:54But we don't want that.
03:55Okay.
03:56That's good.
03:57That's much better.
03:58There we go.
03:59A bit more on the left.
04:00Try and relax these arms, the grip pressure.
04:01Just relax the grip pressure a bit more.
04:03Yeah.
04:04That's more like it.
04:05That's kind of about a four out of 10.
04:06You were about a nine or a 10 before.
04:07Does that feel softer?
04:08Yeah.
04:09You see how the club's wanting to swing a little bit on its own now?
04:11Yeah.
04:12Just some grip pressure?
04:13Yeah.
04:14Okay.
04:15That's it.
04:16Put the club down.
04:17So your big thing here, I want you to imagine there's a low coffee table like this.
04:18Yeah.
04:19And you've got to keep your club head under the table.
04:21Now you should feel, you tell me, which muscles do you think are working a little bit harder
04:26to achieve that?
04:27My lower back.
04:28Or which may be using less?
04:29My lower back.
04:30I can feel.
04:31Lower back, yeah.
04:32Do you feel your wrists are working more or less?
04:33Less.
04:34Yeah.
04:35Perfect.
04:36And you feel like it's probably more.
04:37Left shoulder.
04:38Yeah, exactly.
04:39And that's what we want now.
04:40So take it away.
04:41Stop.
04:42That's good.
04:43And then from there, a little bit of rotation.
04:44I want you to actually feel like you're going to hit the ground first to retrain the brain
04:47that you can hit the ground.
04:48And then from there, you have a little bit of rotation with the chest through the ball.
04:52Okay.
04:53Have a practice swing first.
04:54Did you hear that noise?
04:58Yeah.
04:59If you can just get that noise when you chip, you'll change your short game.
05:01I do take divots.
05:02Yeah.
05:03As you can imagine.
05:04Yeah.
05:05And when you get a divot, that lean edge is getting really digging in there.
05:06So if you have a practice swing and you can hear that noise and now you talk about taking
05:11it to the course.
05:12Yeah.
05:13Like a good way for people who kind of like suffer with the yips, if you can use the sense
05:16of sound, really powerful sense and that noise you're getting there, just do a few more.
05:21So it's a great noise.
05:21You can't get enough of that noise there.
05:23You hear that noise?
05:24Yeah.
05:25If you can get that noise with the strike of the ball, your short game would be great.
05:29So focus on the noise more than anything, but give me a little bit of width at the same
05:32time.
05:33Okay.
05:34Okay.
05:35Great.
05:36It gave me the noise.
05:41Now, it wasn't fantastic.
05:44You didn't really rotate through.
05:45We'll get onto that.
05:47But did that feel a little bit friendlier?
05:49Yeah.
05:50I felt one of these go then.
05:51Yeah.
05:52Well, there's a bit of anything.
05:53You're going to have to rewire yourself.
05:54Okay.
05:55But every shot you hit like that will be a shot getting closer to rewiring because you start
05:57to trust the ground.
05:58Yeah.
05:59Okay.
06:00Okay.
06:01All right.
06:02Take it back.
06:03So you're going to go wide with left shoulder.
06:04And then from there, open this time as you hit it, keep moving.
06:07Okay.
06:08Have a little bit of rotation with the chest through it.
06:10Try to soften your abdomen.
06:11Go on a bit tight again.
06:13Wide slide.
06:14Very good again.
06:15Now we're hitting the ground.
06:16I want you to get a little bit more length to me.
06:18Just going back.
06:19Okay.
06:20Just feel like you're going to get it a little wider.
06:21Right.
06:22I'm going to, I'm going to help move you this time.
06:23Nice and relaxed.
06:24Here we go.
06:25I'm going to do a steer over.
06:26Okay.
06:27And you're ready.
06:28Off we go.
06:29Yeah.
06:30Unfortunately, I can't move you every time.
06:31Because if I did, you'd hit it a couple of inches.
06:33But what did you, what did you feel?
06:35Sort of different now?
06:36Just, yeah.
06:37More rotation.
06:38Yeah.
06:39Yeah.
06:40He's just taking his hands and arms.
06:41My grip gets stronger as I go through the ball.
06:43I can feel myself getting tighter on the grip.
06:45You've got to accept that for a while.
06:46You know, we're trying to totally rewire how you see this.
06:48Yeah.
06:49But shots like that are going to build your confidence.
06:51What?
06:52Every shot you hit like that, you're a shot closer to getting all your confidence back.
06:56Okay.
06:57Here we go.
06:58Right.
06:59Without me now.
07:00Okay.
07:01Go wide and let the club slide and let the chest move.
07:03Very good.
07:04Well done.
07:05Trust in the ground.
07:06It wasn't quite as free when I moved you, but it was all right.
07:09Yeah.
07:10Want me to rotate through to the target more?
07:12Mm-hmm.
07:17Soften these arms racks.
07:22Very, very good.
07:23That's a great shot.
07:24See the bit of spin?
07:25Yeah.
07:26Just flow in now.
07:27It's not just prodding the arms and me nudge you.
07:29Good.
07:30Just think width, slide, turn.
07:40Very good.
07:41Very, very good.
07:46You've got to keep breathing.
07:47You are quite anxious, haven't you?
07:49Just try and relax.
07:50Just try and breathe a bit, okay?
07:52Okay.
08:00Very, very good.
08:01Now, if you can get a backswing longer, okay, we're in business.
08:04I felt like I had to lag that to get more.
08:06Well, that's what happens.
08:07It's all, because you're a good player, you're a handicap, right?
08:09You've got a lot of sort of golfing feels in you.
08:13If you get a little bit short, you're going to want to go that way.
08:16Yeah.
08:17That makes sense?
08:18Yeah.
08:19If you can get longer, you can start letting the club release more.
08:21Like you say, because your instinct from a short backswing
08:23is going to tend to want to lag it and drag it.
08:25Okay.
08:26A little bit more flow.
08:27It's got a little bit more flow in it.
08:29Wide.
08:30Oh, it's got tight again.
08:31I can't move the club.
08:32Sorry.
08:33Right, there we go.
08:34Wide.
08:35And then we slide and we open up.
08:36Okay?
08:37Yeah.
08:38Okay.
08:39Okay.
08:40Okay.
08:41Okay.
08:42Okay.
08:43Okay.
08:44Okay.
08:45Okay.
08:46Okay.
08:47Okay.
08:48Okay.
08:49Okay.
08:50Okay.
08:51Okay.
08:52Okay.
08:53Okay.
08:54Okay.
08:55Okay.
08:56Beautiful.
08:57Absolutely top class.
08:58That is fantastic.
08:59I actually relaxed it on the way back.
09:00You did relax a little bit.
09:01Felt like it.
09:02So that's what you've got to practice.
09:04You've got to just really work on getting the club working better through the turf, which
09:08is a lot to do with angle of attack, keeping it shallower.
09:10A lot to do with relaxing and a lot to do with that practice swing.
09:14Get that noise first.
09:15I was going to say, is there anything in pre-shot routine in terms of walking up?
09:18Because I walk up to the ball thinking, God, I'm not going to enjoy this.
09:22Yeah.
09:23What should I be thinking about?
09:24You don't want to master the art of negative thinking, do you?
09:26No.
09:27No, that's the thing.
09:28But equally, it's no good just thinking positive thoughts.
09:30You know, it's your technique that's actually ultimately going to do this.
09:33I'm a big believer in your technically good, you're mentally good.
09:35So just understand that.
09:36Yeah.
09:37The more you've just worked on your technique, you'll get it.
09:39But in terms of the, you know, in the meantime, I would be standing up to it and then try
09:44and get as externally focused as I possibly can.
09:48So I want to get as much into where I want to land the ball, what the first bounce is going
09:52to look like.
09:53And so where's it breaking to go in the hole?
09:55Because you've got internal focus, right?
09:58Which is, you've got to work on that on the practice area.
10:00But when you play, you've got to really see the shot.
10:03And the more you can vividly paint the picture of what you're trying to do this side, the
10:07less you should be wrapped up in it this side.
10:09Does that make sense?
10:10And that takes as much practice, the focus side of it takes as much practice as any of
10:14this stuff.
10:15Yeah.
10:16You don't live in technical mode.
10:17You've got to try and see the shot.
10:19And if you can combine, you know, better technique, but actually a bit more about what the ball
10:22needs to do, I think you'll start to calm down a bit.
10:25There's no reason you can't fix yourself for this, by the way.
10:27Yeah, yeah, yeah.
10:28Pretty quickly.
10:29Yeah.
10:30If you can just work on this stuff.
10:31Okay.
10:32All right?
10:33Yeah, yeah.
10:34Good stuff.
10:35Good.
10:36Cheers, Dan.
10:37Nice one.
10:38Pleasure.
10:39Yeah, short game was in a bad place.
10:40Most of the people that know me know it's the worst part of my game.
10:41I struggle a lot with confidence.
10:43I feel like I've had the yips for quite a while now.
10:46So working with Dan has shored up my technique massively.
10:50He's widened my margin of error hugely.
10:53You know, I went from zero margin for error to now a technique where I can miss hit a shot
10:59and it will still be a lot better than I used to hit it before.
11:01I've got the confidence now to use more of a lofted shot.
11:04And that's given me the confidence now to take that onto the course and hopefully be
11:09able to use it in competition and not feel like I'm going to get into some bad spots.
11:14And if I do get into some bad spots, I've got a technique to get me out of it.
11:17I've got a technique to get me out of it.
11:18I've got a technique to get me out of it.
11:19I've got a technique to get me out of it.
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