Beginners Guide To Chipping
Transcript
00:00 (gentle music)
00:02 Hi, Dan Grieve here, head professional at Woburn Golf Club.
00:07 Here to talk about chipping basics
00:08 so you can get that nice, solid contact every time
00:11 when you're on your fringe lie
00:12 and you have a little bit of green to work with.
00:14 So the good news here is if you do get the setup right,
00:16 you are 90% of the way there to making a good contact.
00:19 Doesn't make a bad shot impossible,
00:21 but it makes it difficult.
00:22 So let's make sure firstly we don't stand too wide.
00:25 Let's trap the center of gravity.
00:27 Let's make our feet really nice and narrow,
00:28 round about one club head apart
00:30 when you're playing a chip and run like this.
00:32 Ball position, just back of center.
00:34 Have a slight forward lean of the shaft,
00:36 so you don't lean it too much,
00:37 just a little bit is all you need.
00:40 And let's make sure the left foot here
00:42 is slightly flared out,
00:43 which is gonna allow you to put your pivot line,
00:45 your weight running from your left foot
00:48 through your knee, through hip into your shoulders.
00:49 So you set that pivot line,
00:51 that's the line in which you're going to rotate around.
00:54 It's also important that we make sure
00:55 the left wrist here is nice and flat.
00:58 We don't wanna get too far away
00:59 and start to create an angle here,
01:00 because this angle is likely to create too much wrist action.
01:04 For a chip and run, we're trying to take the wrists out.
01:06 So nice and close to the ball,
01:07 and let's make sure this is nice and flat.
01:09 Also, your shoulders need to be level.
01:12 We don't wanna get too much tilt.
01:13 Let's save that for the long game.
01:14 So nice and level in the way in which
01:16 you approach it with the shoulders.
01:17 And if you get all those ingredients right,
01:19 add a slightly lighter grip as well.
01:21 Most people grip it way too tight when they chip.
01:23 You're in a good position to hit a nice running chip shot.
01:26 Make a nice contact and get that ball
01:28 running close to the pin.
01:30 And one of the lost arts in chipping
01:31 is the ability to actually change your club
01:33 to change how the ball runs out.
01:35 So I'm never a great fan of players
01:37 sticking to the same club all the time around the greens,
01:39 because you end up having to hit the ball
01:41 so much harder to get the ball to the green.
01:43 If you can just have this one chipping technique
01:45 and change the club in your hand
01:47 to let the ball react differently,
01:48 that's a much easier way of getting
01:50 the ball closer to the pin.
01:51 So for example, I put a towel down on the green,
01:54 a third of the way on,
01:56 and there's two thirds between there and the hole.
01:58 So what I'm gonna try and do
01:59 is land the ball next to that towel
02:01 and see if I can get it to run two thirds of the way out.
02:03 So nine iron in my hand here,
02:05 normal chipping technique,
02:07 land it by the towel,
02:09 and you can see how that ball's running out
02:10 close to the pin.
02:12 Now, if I have other options,
02:14 I mean, that's obviously a good choice there,
02:16 but if I wanted to get that ball on the ground
02:18 a little bit sooner and run out,
02:19 I've got my seven iron in my hand.
02:21 Now a seven iron is around about a 25% carry
02:24 and a 75% roll.
02:25 So I need to bring my target back
02:28 or I'd like to land the ball.
02:29 So you'll see this land a little shorter,
02:31 but the speed will be greater in the ball.
02:34 And you can see how that ball is now running out
02:36 more towards the pin.
02:38 So another good option.
02:40 Okay, there's not particularly one way to do it,
02:41 it's what you're most comfortable with,
02:43 but I think generally,
02:44 if you end up using straighter face clubs,
02:46 you're gonna get a lot more joy.
02:48 So I've now got a 56 degrees,
02:49 this hand wedge in my hand,
02:51 and really I'm looking at carrying this
02:52 around about 75% of the way.
02:54 So it's much more in the air.
02:56 So it won't run that far at the other end.
02:58 So you can see how that is spinning more
03:01 and not running as much.
03:02 So I've just shown those three different ways to chip
03:04 with three different clubs.
03:06 And it's up to you to find out
03:07 which you're most consistent with,
03:09 but I really would try and encourage you
03:10 to get the ball on the green and running as soon as you can.
03:13 So one final point,
03:14 I do recommend that you do use the same golf ball
03:16 that you practice with, that you play with.
03:18 It just makes sense.
03:19 You can get the same feel
03:20 that you'll be able to take to the golf course.
03:21 So I use the Atelier Maite TP5.
03:23 I feel like it's really soft
03:25 and it gives me that touch around the greens,
03:26 but go out there, have a ball fitting with your local pro,
03:28 see what's best for you.
03:29 And yeah, make sure you have that consistency
03:31 in what you practice with and what you play with.
03:34 (gentle music)
03:36 (gentle music)
03:39 (upbeat music)