Nina Caldwell
Chipping is one of the most important aspects of golf for achieving consistently good scores. Me and My Golf offers a 5-week coaching plan to transform your golf chipping swing and technique. The course covers how to play uphill, downhill, ball-below and ball-above sloping shots, as well as other difficult lies. It also teaches speciality shots like the flop shot and the one-hop-and-stop shot. The course aims to improve your flexibility, mobility, and mindset to unlock golfing potential and help you chip with confidence, accuracy, and consistency.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Main Focus | Chipping |
| Target Audience | Beginners |
| Course Duration | 5 weeks |
| Course Format | Coaching plan |
| Course Modules | Reading different lies, playing uphill/downhill, speciality shots, improving flexibility and mobility |
| Instructors | Piers, Andy |
| Testimonials | Improved confidence, better understanding of chipping options, improved swing and momentum |
| Related Topics | Short game, putting, mindset, swing technique |
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What You'll Learn
Lofted chip shots
Common Faults and Fixes:
PGA Professional Jack Backhouse and National Club Golfer identify three common issues that hinder golfers from executing effective lofted chip shots:
- Clubface too closed: A shut face encourages shaft lean and causes the club to dig into the ground. Addressing this issue is crucial to prevent chunking chips.
- Stiff wrists: Softer wrists are necessary to add loft and release the club under the ball for a high-soft landing shot. Stiff wrists lead to chunking and thinning the ball.
- Dynamic movement: Keeping your head down and body still is important. Dynamic movement during the swing helps move the low point of the swing in front of the ball, ensuring you hit the ground after making contact with the ball.
Drills:
- Two-finger drill: This drill involves gripping the club with just the thumb and forefinger of your trail hand, promoting a softer wristed backswing and a better feel for opening the clubface.
- Pause drill: At the end of your backswing, pause to check that the club is hinged up and open. This drill ensures your position is correct before hitting the ball, improving your chipping accuracy.
Technique:
When executing a lofted chip shot, it's important to visualize your landing point. Aim to land the ball about 20% of the way to the hole, and let the loft and roll do the rest. Keep your hands slightly ahead of the ball and make a smooth motion, avoiding deceleration. Unlike a pitch shot, a chip shot requires minimal lower body movement, similar to a putt but with a lofted club.
Practice Plans:
Me and My Golf offer a range of practice plans to improve your chipping, including a 10-minute plan focused on lofted chip shots and a 30-minute driving range plan to improve accuracy and distance.
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Chipping from the rough
Judging the Lie
When faced with a chip shot from the rough, the first step is to assess the lie of the ball. Evaluate the thickness of the grass, how far down the ball is sitting in the grass, and what's behind the ball. Different types of grass can impact the lie, and thicker grass will require more force to extract the ball cleanly. Understanding the lie will help you make the necessary adjustments to your setup and swing.
Selecting the Right Club
Depending on the lie, you may need to use a club with more loft when chipping from the rough. A club with more loft will help you lift the ball out of the thick grass and ensure a cleaner strike.
Adjusting Your Setup
To execute a successful chip from the rough, you need to set up for a steeper swing. Open the face of the club slightly to counteract the effect of the grass slowing down the momentum of the clubhead. Position the golf ball 2-3 inches back of the center of your stance, and distribute your weight so that about 70% is on your front foot. These adjustments will help you achieve a steeper swing, which is crucial for effectively navigating through the thick grass.
Executing the Swing
When performing the swing, remember that it needs to be steep to minimize the grass's resistance and impact on the clubhead. As you start the backswing, focus on hinging your wrists upwards to ensure the club works up and away from your body. Avoid taking the club inside or behind you on the backswing, as this will result in catching too much grass during the downswing. Practice swings will help you develop a feel for the wrist hinge and club movement. At impact, aim to drive the clubhead down into the grass to strike the ball cleanly.
Managing Expectations
Remember that chipping from the rough will result in some loss of momentum and follow-through. Don't try to slow down the swing to compensate; instead, let the natural motion of the swing, with the hands leading, guide you through the shot.
With practice and an understanding of these techniques, you'll be able to confidently execute chip shots from the rough and improve your short game.
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Landing spots
The landing spot is a crucial aspect of chipping in golf, dictating how the ball will roll out and its reaction to the surface. Consistently choosing the right landing spot requires practice and an understanding of key factors.
Firstly, it is important to evaluate the lie of the ball and predict its behaviour. This includes considering the margin for error and choosing a landing spot with room for error. For instance, if there is rough or uneven terrain, opting for a safer, higher shot can ensure the ball lands in a more predictable spot. Conversely, skilled players can aim for a closer landing spot.
Secondly, personal comfort with different shot types is vital. Choosing a landing spot that suits your strengths and preferences will give you better control over the outcome. It is crucial to know the distances needed and the type of shot to hit. Practising with multiple clubs from varying distances helps understand how the ball will react to loft and distance.
Additionally, the choice between focusing on the landing spot versus the ending spot (the hole) is an important consideration. While aiming at the pin allows natural athletic instincts to take over, focusing on the landing spot improves decision-making and uses more golf experience and practice. Visualising how the ball will roll by experimenting with different trajectories during practice can help make quicker and more confident decisions on the course.
Finally, understanding the carry-to-roll ratio for different clubs is essential. Each club has a specific ratio, such as the 9 iron's 1:3 ratio, which means the ball touches down at a carry of "1" and rolls out 3 more. These ratios provide a starting point before considering other factors like slope, wind, and green speed. They are also useful when deciding between different types of shots, such as the pitch/lob, pitch and run, and chip.
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Uphill and downhill shots
Mastering chipping on sloped terrain is essential for improving your confidence and saving strokes in your short game. Uphill and downhill chips require adjustments to your setup, club selection, and swing technique. Here are some tips to help you execute these challenging shots effectively:
Uphill Shots
Uphill chips can be deceptive. While the slope helps launch the ball higher, it also reduces roll, making it easy to come up short of the target. To execute these shots successfully, you need to adjust your stance, ball position, and swing to work with the slope. Here are some specific techniques to consider:
- Adjust your stance: Take a slightly wider stance than usual to improve your balance. Position your feet wider apart to provide stability on the uphill slope.
- Align your shoulders: Tip your shoulders so that they are parallel to the slope. This alignment ensures that your swing follows the natural incline, helping you make clean contact with the ball.
- Shift your weight: You'll naturally feel more weight on your back foot, but it's important to keep your body weight travelling forward through impact onto your left side. Keeping your weight on the back foot can affect your balance and cause mishits.
- Club selection: The uphill slope adds loft to the shot, so compensate by taking a lower-lofted club than you normally would. This will help you manage the higher trajectory and reduce the risk of the ball popping up too high.
Downhill Shots
Downhill chips are among the most challenging shots in golf due to their low trajectory and increased rollout. These shots require precise adjustments to ensure clean contact and control over distance. Here are some techniques to help you navigate downhill lies effectively:
- Take a normal chipping stance: Start by taking your normal chip shot stance. Adjust by taking a slightly wider stance to improve your balance on the downhill slope.
- Align your shoulders: For a downhill lie, align your shoulders parallel to the slope, with your spine at a right angle to the slope. This alignment ensures that your swing follows the incline, reducing the risk of mishits.
- Weight distribution: Keep your weight predominantly on your front leg. Any weight on the back foot can lead to thin and fat chip shots and affect your balance during the follow-through.
- Swing technique: Swing down the slope with the club, matching your swing path angle to the downhill slope. Keep your knees flexed if you want height on the shot.
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Specialty shots
Chipping is one of the most important aspects of golf for achieving consistently good scores. It is also one of the simplest ways to lower your score and build your confidence. The "Me and My Golf" website offers a 5-part coaching plan called Complete Chipping that promises to transform your golf chipping swing and technique, showing you how to play all the different awkward lies and positions, as well as chipping from the rough. The final course in the plan teaches speciality shots, including the flop shot and the one-hop-and-stop shot.
The "Me and My Golf" Target Chipping Net is another product offered by the brand, which includes instructional training videos. The net provides instant feedback on your chip shots, with a small net for great shots, a large net for good shots, and misses equating to poor shots. The multiple rings and target zones allow you to practice a variety of shots to improve your short game.
Some general tips for improving your chipping include adjusting your ball position to change the trajectory of your shots, keeping your hands forward throughout impact, and maintaining good posture by bending forward from the hips and letting your arms hang directly below your shoulders.
Jordan Spieth, a professional golfer, has shared his favourite chip shot, which is a low-flying, quick-checking shot called the "nip-spinner." He describes it as a shot that comes out hot and low, takes one big hop, and then quickly settles. To execute this shot, Spieth emphasizes the importance of maintaining speed through impact to prevent the ball from popping up high and short of the intended target.
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Frequently asked questions
The Complete Chipping course is a 5-week coaching plan that will transform your golf chipping swing and technique. It covers how to play all the different awkward lies and positions, as well as chipping from the rough.
The course will help you to chip with confidence, accuracy, and consistency. You will learn how to play uphill, downhill, ball-below and ball-above sloping shots, as well as other difficult lies.
Some testimonials include: "I have gotten so much more confident around the greens as a result" and "Feel much more confident over the ball to not duff a shot close to the green!".
