Miles Bennett
Golfers often struggle with chipping, but it is a simple way to lower your score and build confidence. Chipping is a short-game stroke where the ball carries into the air and then rolls an equal or slightly longer distance. To chip accurately, you need good posture and a narrow stance with your feet about one clubhead apart. Keep your arms relatively intact and quiet during the motion, forming a triangle with your shoulders. Your club should stay below hip level, and your wrists should be soft and relaxed. Place your weight on your front foot and lean forward to create a descending blow for a clean strike. Understanding the physics of the stroke is key: hit down to make the ball go up.
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What You'll Learn
Keep a narrow stance with your feet close together
Keeping a narrow stance with your feet close together is an important aspect of chipping accurately in golf. This technique is particularly useful for shorter chips and can help improve your club control.
When you put your feet close together, you eliminate the possibility of falling onto your back foot, which can cause you to scoop the ball into the air. Instead, you want to focus on making a descending blow, hitting down to make the ball go up. This is achieved by keeping your weight on your front foot, which is made easier with a narrow stance.
Additionally, a narrow stance helps to simplify your setup. With your feet close together, you can more easily rotate around your spine, keeping your hips and shoulders parallel to the direction you want to hit the ball. This reduces the number of variables you need to manage and makes it easier to hit the ball with accuracy.
The ball position is also important when using a narrow stance. For shorter chips, the ball should be back slightly, off the inside of your right foot. This will help you make clean contact with the ball and improve your accuracy.
While a narrow stance is generally recommended for shorter chips, some golfers may vary the width of their stance depending on their preferences and the type of shot they are playing. Ultimately, the key is to find a stance that feels comfortable and allows you to make consistent and accurate shots.
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Understand the physics: hit down to make the ball go up
To chip accurately in golf, it is important to understand the physics behind the swing. While many golfers believe in the adage "hit down to make the ball go up", this is actually a myth. Hitting down on the ball is not the main reason it goes up; rather, it is the loft of the club that is the biggest influence.
The angle of attack, whether the club is moving up, down, or level with the ground at impact, has little to do with the launch of the ball. Instead, it is the dynamic loft of the club that matters. This refers to the loft at impact and is far more influential than the angle of attack in terms of the ball's launch.
That being said, it is still possible to hit down on the ball and make it go up. This is because, when the club descends on the ball, the hands work up and away from the ball through impact. This movement can increase speed and consistency in the strike. Additionally, when the club hits the ball first and the ground second, it creates a clean strike.
To achieve this, it is important to maintain good posture and a narrow stance, with your feet about one clubhead apart. This will help you make a descending blow and ensure that the bottom of your stroke bottoms out after contact for a clean strike. Keep your arms relatively intact and quiet during the motion, forming a triangle with your shoulders that remains intact throughout the movement.
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Keep your arms intact and quiet during the motion
Keeping your arms intact and quiet during the motion is an important aspect of a good chipping stroke in golf. This means that your arms should remain relatively still, with minimal movement, as you swing.
To achieve this, it is crucial to maintain a triangle formation with your arms and shoulders. This triangle should remain intact throughout your chipping motion, providing a stable base for your swing. Think of keeping this triangle shape rigid, almost as if your arms and shoulders are connected by a string, maintaining their relative positions as you swing.
Additionally, focus on keeping your arms extended throughout the swing. Avoid the common mistake of allowing your arms to fold up during the backswing or follow-through, as this can lead to inconsistent shots and reduce the desired extension. To help with this, you can practice by placing a ball between your arms and squeezing it to keep your arms locked in the correct position.
Another key point to remember is to keep your arms in front of your body at all times during the swing. This means that your arms, wrists, and club should move vertically in front of your torso, with only a slight upward and downward motion, similar to hammering or chopping wood. The arms should not provide the horizontal movement; instead, this is achieved by the pivot of your body.
By focusing on keeping your arms intact and quiet, you will improve the consistency and accuracy of your chipping strokes, leading to better contact and more controlled shots.
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Lean forward to create a descending angle of attack
To chip accurately in golf, it is important to lean forward to create a descending angle of attack. This simple change in position helps ensure you hit the ball first and the ground second, leading to a clean strike.
To achieve this, you should bend forward from the hips, allowing your arms to hang directly below your shoulders. This creates a space that pre-sets the path for your arms and club to swing. It is crucial to keep your upper body tilted toward the target, as it will facilitate a descending blow.
Additionally, you can adjust your stance by narrowing it so that your feet are about one clubhead apart. This setup, along with good posture, will ensure that the bottom of your stroke bottoms out after contact, resulting in a clean strike.
To further enhance your chipping accuracy, focus on keeping your arms relatively intact and quiet during the motion. Visualize your arms and shoulders forming a triangle, and aim to maintain this triangle throughout your chipping motion.
By leaning forward and implementing these additional tips, you'll be well on your way to mastering accurate chipping in golf.
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Adjust your ball position to change the trajectory of your shot
Adjusting your ball position is a simple yet effective way to change the trajectory of your shot. The ability to hit the ball high or low on command near the green is a skill that separates good players from the rest.
For a higher shot, position the ball more up in your stance, which will lead to a neutral club shaft and a higher trajectory. This is useful when you need your ball to carry an obstacle or go higher. A more centred ball position will also launch the ball higher.
For a lower shot, place the ball back in your stance, which will lean the shaft forward and make the trajectory lower with more spin. This is useful when you have a lot of green to work with or when the pin is in the back of the green.
To get a feel for these different trajectories, head to the short game area and practice hitting a few different chip shots, moving the ball from the middle position of your stance to the front and then to the back, using the same club. Then, change the club and do it all over again. See how the ball reacts and how far it rolls out with each club and ball position change.
Remember, the key to using any of these ball positions is practice!
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Frequently asked questions
Bend forward from the hips and let your arms hang directly below your shoulders. This creates a space for your arms and club to swing through. Keep your arms intact and quiet during the motion, forming a triangle with your shoulders.
Place your feet close together, about one clubhead apart. This will prevent you from falling onto your back foot and scooping the ball into the air.
Shift about 55% of your weight to your front foot. This will help you create a descending angle of attack and optimise rotation on the downswing.
