# A couple of questions on chipping.



## One Planer (Aug 23, 2013)

A couple of questions for those in the know.

I have a few questions on greenside (.... Within 5-10 yards of green) chipping. I played 11 holes (6 over) after work last night and found my chipping to be a little hit and miss. To be honest, it's been that way for a while. I don't have an issue with contact, more how to make a solid, repeatable stroke.

So, with this in mind. 

Assuming the player in question (Me ) has good set-up posture (Checked by pro) and a chip needs to be made onto a green. No slopes or anything to carry, just a straight forward chip:

*Q1: Where would/should you position thre ball in your stance? Front? Middle? Back? Does it matter?
*
I'm currently playing the ball either in the middle, or a ball back of middle.

*Q2: This is what I'm more concerned about. How much do the hips and body play a factor in returning the club to the ball? Should they rotate to target like any other swing? Or should your lower half keep as still as possible and the arms make the swing, smilar to a putt?
*

I've been doing the latter for a while, but I find the stroke feels restricted. I often, when making a practice stroke find my arms moving across my chest and moving left. 

As I said earlier, I don't have an issue with contact. I normally get the ball onto the green, but never seem to get the desired result. Pace is normally pretty good but direction is inconsistent. 

Any thoughts fom you good people would be appreciated :thup:


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## patricks148 (Aug 23, 2013)

my advice would be to get a chipper


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## One Planer (Aug 23, 2013)

patricks148 said:



			my advice would be to get a chipper
		
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I have 13 of those (Any club in  my bag bar the putter )


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## Wolfman (Aug 23, 2013)

Interesting post

You have two schools of thought, the chip like you putt and the chip traditional method where the lower body rotates

I tried the chip putt and left everything short and couldn't judge very well at all

My chosen method having short game lessons this year is the chip where the lower half moves as well 

Ball is played mid to mid back of very close stance and back and front swing must be about the same I movement

Crucial part is to set up next to the ball and take 1 or 2 practice chips brushing the grass and thinking too long too short etc and then play with conviction the actual shot but as stated moving the lower body and upper body like a mini mini pitch swing

Game has improved alot since I adopted this method and remember to vary the club for fly / run variations


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## garyinderry (Aug 23, 2013)

tiger chipping here. very little hip movement at all.  old style.

[video=youtube;5OtHZmxWr44]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OtHZmxWr44[/video]


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## duncan mackie (Aug 23, 2013)

1. either but always the same....
2. this is a chip; by the time you bring the lower half of the body in with a 6 iron  it's going to be leaving the green the other side at pace from a 2ft backswing!

rule 1 - hands lead, or stay connected (like a putt)
rule 2 - accelerate through impact

most of the club players I watch break rule 2 most of the time, and a huge number have only 1 backswing length regardless of the distance required (and no they don't change clubs!)


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## Fish (Aug 23, 2013)

http://youtu.be/g6oUZTca96U


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## DCB (Aug 23, 2013)

I watched several players on the short game area at Gleneagles yesterday and saw a whole variety of feet/ball positions. It really comes down to what you are comfortable with and how much you practice it so that you have confidence you can play the shot when necessary.


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## kid2 (Aug 23, 2013)

All the good players i Play with Gar have really soft hands when chipping.... I think its more of a feel and lot of practice thing.....
I have 2 mates one off +1 and one off 3..... They have similar chipping styles but the scratch golfer is lethal around the greens....

When i ask them the answer i get is always just practice.... Eventually you'll get a feel for the club.....


When i chip i always try to keep the handle forward of the head and i always feel like im going to take a little divot too.... That helps with not blading any......
Open stance, Open Hips, weak grip, and square shoulders and the ball position is off the right foot to keep it low and off the left foot for a more lofted chip.....

Another thing i noted as well is that im right handed.... Everything you come across for putting of chipping always says that you should let the left hand be the dominant one..... But if your naturally right handed then its only natural that you'll be more dominant with the right side and also have more feel..... Try and get a feel for the club head with the right hand and the weight of it and just let the left one go along for the ride....

Watch this Video of Freddie... Watch how soft his hands and wrists are... Around 3:00 mins....


[video=youtube;3pwG8dDhdRw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pwG8dDhdRw[/video]


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## duncan mackie (Aug 23, 2013)

kid2 said:



			Watch this Video of Freddie... Watch how soft his hands and wrists are...
		
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this is where there is the potential for so much confusion - to me Freddie doesn't hit a single chip in the whole of that video, he is hiting pitch shots (even the commentators refer to them as such) which are a completely different thing.


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## Jimbooo (Aug 23, 2013)

kid2 said:



			But if your naturally right handed then its only natural that you'll be more dominant with the right side and also have more feel.....
		
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Why would you have more feel?


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## duncan mackie (Aug 23, 2013)

Jimbooo said:



			Why would you have more feel?
		
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I was going to ask what exactly is all this feel!

It's generally accepted that it represents an inherent understanding at the sub-concious level of the likely outcome of a particular motor function eg throwing a ball to someone; you don't think about how much effort to put into it, your subconcious does all the calculations based on experience.

Thus the more you practice the more feel you have for club, swing speed, trajectory and distance - but it's nothing to do with hands! (that's not to say that 'soft hands' aren't an important part of golf - they are)


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## kid2 (Aug 23, 2013)

Jimbooo said:



			Why would you have more feel?
		
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Ok ill rephrase it.... try and throw a ball with your left hand and then throw it with your right if your right handed....Which comes more natural to you...

Its the whole reason that people are left hand dominant and right hand dominant.....
Feel has a lot more to do with the short game than most people think.....


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## kid2 (Aug 23, 2013)

duncan mackie said:



			this is where there is the potential for so much confusion - to me Freddie doesn't hit a single chip in the whole of that video, he is hiting pitch shots (even the commentators refer to them as such) which are a completely different thing.
		
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I know the difference between a pitch and a chip Duncan..... What i was trying to get Gareth to relate to were having soft hands....I dont think anywhere in my post i said watch freddie chip shots here.


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## duncan mackie (Aug 23, 2013)

kid2 said:



			I know the difference between a pitch and a chip Duncan..... What i was trying to get Gareth to relate to were having soft hands....I dont think anywhere in my post i said watch freddie chip shots here.
		
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but the thead title, and the OP questions, were very specifically about chipping, which is arguably the least 'soft hands/wrist break' shot in golf, along with putting...........


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## Jimbooo (Aug 23, 2013)

kid2 said:



			Ok ill rephrase it.... try and throw a ball with your left hand and then throw it with your right if your right handed....Which comes more natural to you...

Its the whole reason that people are left hand dominant and right hand dominant.....
Feel has a lot more to do with the short game than most people think.....
		
Click to expand...

I don't buy the whole feel thing related to handed-ness.  I'm a left-hander but I play golf right-handed.  My golf swing is like a back-hand tennis stroke.  Does this mean I have less feel around the greens?  And isn't Phil Mickelson a natural right-hander that plays golf left-handed?  You won't get a player with much more short-game feel than big Phil.


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## kid2 (Aug 23, 2013)

Jimbooo said:



			I don't buy the whole feel thing related to handed-ness.  I'm a left-hander but I play golf right-handed.  My golf swing is like a back-hand tennis stroke.  Does this mean I have less feel around the greens?  And isn't Phil Mickelson a natural right-hander that plays golf left-handed?  You won't get a player with much more short-game feel than big Phil.
		
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Doesnt matter whether your left or right handed Pal..... Your just trying to confuse the issue even more...... You must have one hand that is dominant with the majority of things that you do.....Whether thats your right or left its totally up to you..... 

You might be the exception to the rule and be ambidextrous in which case you have the best of both worlds......

Let me put it to you this way then.......When you hit a golf ball...are you pulling the club through with your left hand seeing as you are a left handed person... Or do you push it through with your right hand?


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## kid2 (Aug 23, 2013)

duncan mackie said:



			but the thead title, and the OP questions, were very specifically about chipping, which is arguably the least 'soft hands/wrist break' shot in golf, along with putting...........
		
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So whats the story with this method by leftie then?
Hands have to stay soft to break the wrist going back!



[video=youtube;q4DevROGzXM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4DevROGzXM[/video]


Wrist break in putting!
You have to break the wrists slightly for long lag putts...... It comes down to the feels thing again for distance control.....


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## Jimbooo (Aug 23, 2013)

kid2 said:



			Doesnt matter whether your left or right handed Pal..... Your just trying to confuse the issue even more...... You must have one hand that is dominant with the majority of things that you do.....Whether thats your right or left its totally up to you..... 

You might be the exception to the rule and be ambidextrous in which case you have the best of both worlds......

Let me put it to you this way then.......When you hit a golf ball...are you pulling the club through with your left hand seeing as you are a left handed person... Or do you push it through with your right hand?
		
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Maybe I misinterpreted your post - I thought you were saying that if you chip right-handed, and you are naturally right handed, you'll have more feel than someone who chips right handed who is naturally left-handed. If you are saying this, then I don't agree   If not, then my apologies 

In answer to your question, I'm doing both.


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## kid2 (Aug 23, 2013)

Jimbooo said:



			Maybe I misinterpreted your post - I thought you were saying that if you chip right-handed, and you are naturally right handed, you'll have more feel than someone who chips right handed who is naturally left-handed. If you are saying this, then I don't agree   If not, then my apologies 

In answer to your question, I'm doing both.
		
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No Pal.... whether your right handed or left handed doesnt matter one bit...All that matters is which one you are more dominant with......
Me personally im right handed at everything...... But i chip mush better when my right hand controls the club....And also with putting...
In putting everything on the net tells you that you should contol your putts with your left hand being dominant..... But i find that very hard to do being right handed.....And for the record.... My putting is one of the better parts of my game.... Go figure.


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## Jimbooo (Aug 23, 2013)

For me, a two handed sport is either played as a forehand or backhand.  Personally I prefer a backhand, but I still don't think of the shot being controlled by one hand over the other.  I think if I did that bad things would happen.

So are you left or right-eyed?


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## kev_off_the_tee (Aug 23, 2013)

From 5-10 yards I'd be using a hybrid as a putter and going for the pin


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## JustOne (Aug 23, 2013)

Just as a note: Mickelson says the immortal words "hold off the club" in his video.

That would mean there is no release, no flipping and no closing of the club face.


Just thought I'd mention that.

As far as I'm concerned generally around the greens you want as little action as possible, hands leading and a very passive (almost putting stroke) backswing. The name of the game is to get the ball on the green as fast as possible with the chip, carrying only 20-25% of the distance to the flag, and the rest is roll-out. The Simple-ierâ„¢ you can make your swing the easier it will be to master and to rely on.

With a longer 'chip shot' then the ball is played more central, (hands still forward) but with a more lofted club so you can carry the ball further to the pin (50-75% depending on the slope of the green where you're landing it).


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## kid2 (Aug 23, 2013)

Jimbooo said:



			For me, a two handed sport is either played as a forehand or backhand.  Personally I prefer a backhand, but I still don't think of the shot being controlled by one hand over the other.  I think if I did that bad things would happen.

So are you left or right-eyed? 

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:whoo::thup:


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## kid2 (Aug 23, 2013)

JustOne said:



			Just as a note: Mickelson says the immortal words "hold off the club" in his video.

That would mean there is no release, no flipping and no closing of the club face.


Just thought I'd mention that.
		
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Thats the way i chip James....Small set of the wrists in the backswing and keep my lead arm and wrists straight it the throughswing..I keep the leading edge of the club square to where the ball is going..Works fine for me... Plus there are less variables for duffing and blading a shot....


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