Roger posed a good question:
Hi, Joe...
My appalling chipping is killing me on the course just now! Could you possibly summarise - or provide a rule-of-thumb - for which clubs to use? I'm trying to work on keeping my lower half completely 'quiet' as well as maintaining that forward shaft-angle throughout the swing. I find I'm coming out of the shot with the anxiety of wanting to see where my ball's going to end up! Very hard to trust anything in that department just now!
Do you like a straighter-faced club for chip-and runs from off a green (6 or 7 iron) when there's no appreciable gradient between my ball and the target? I always reach for a sand-iron but am having no success - sometimes even quitting on the shot and dumping the ball a few feet in front of me!
Help!!!
RR
As we have talked about in the past, "chipping", as opposed to "pitching", can be defined as putting with all our clubs. The essential idea is to have one swing and use many clubs rather than have one club and use many swings. And what is the simplest swing in golf?...the putting stroke because it has the fewest moving parts. So our goal is to putt our chips. Specifically, when we have more green than grass to chip over we use our 7 iron and when we have more grass than green, we use a pitching wedge (or sand wedge depending on the loft). To be even more specific, here is an approximate breakdown of the amount of air time vs. ground time for each club (or how much in the air the chip flies vs the roll):
Club Amt in Air Amt of Roll
7 iron 33% 67%
PW 50% 50%
SW 67% 33%
Our goal is to get the ball on the green as quickly as possible and let it roll like a putt. The key is to use a pendulum putting stroke and gently brush the grass.-----------I hope this helps.
Great, Joe - very useful to have it quantified so clearly! I'm already seeing some improvement ('though it didn't stop me getting beaten on Saturday!!) and the 'putting' thought is a helpful notion for me to keep in mind.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
R
This is a great tip. It is something I practice when I am on the course and at the short-game area. It really does make a difference. To go along with what was said, I would rather be putting than hitting a shot in the air. So when you are off the green, why not putt with an iron, to simulate a putt. Although instead of a putter, use an iron just to get the ball over that few feet of rough or fringe.
ReplyDeleteGreat tip Joe! This is something that I am currently working on. In the past, I have only chipped with a couple of wedges and used different length swings for different types of shots. Like you said, I think I will be more consistent if I have one swing for my chip shots and my distance will depend on the club I use. I think the result will be more variety with my chip shots and more consistency.
DeleteI really agree with this tip. I find that it is so much easier to consistently get the ball closer to the hole with less lofted clubs. I hit more chips with pitching wedges than i do with my lob wedge every round.
ReplyDelete