Bottling the shot.

[Vincent Gary]

Does anyone else bottle shots around the green? Lately i've lost many shots because i'm not committing to the chip etc!!! Even with a practice swing i under hit the ball "a lot" I'm not sure if it's down to me thinking too much about power to distance ? Interesting to see if anyone else does or has done this and how you overcome it!

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

When my timing goes (as it has at the moment with my med-long irons) I just think about getting a good strike - I largely forget about what I'm trying to achieve - you might well be worrying about 'what if' this or that happens - rather than focussing on the here and now of hittng the damn thing nice and sweetly. Worrying about the consequence of possible outcomes of every shot is a sure route to failure and madness.

 

[Vincent Gary]

Yes i do over analyse around the green, annoying when you get there for two on a par 4 and end up making 6 just because i didn't commit to the shot. :angry:

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Yes i do over analyse around the green, annoying when you get there for two on a par 4 and end up making 6 just because i didn't commit to the shot. :angry:

Sounds like uncertainty breeding fear - and fear breeds quitting and steering. Really try and put the past behind you - every pitch shot is the first time you've ever played it so what happened before happened before. You know how to execute the shot - because you have done it before. So just do it again for this shot.

 

[G1BB0]

guilty as charged m'lud. I have what can almost be described as a complete meltdown over chips around the green. It almost gets to the point I can't swing the club. I have recently resorted to putter only its got that bad

I have a v-easy and going to practice like mad. I know its mental as its only recently crept in. Not sure what advice I can give except either practice until confident or maybe a short game lesson.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Another chipping victim. Its a mental problem. Pro has shown me the technique and drills and it works on the practice green but get me on the course and fear and technical thoughts fill my head and it goes wrong.

 

[Region3]

Find a decent chipping/pitching video on Youtube (I think Butch Harmon's one is good) and practice, practice, practice.

Then on the course don't think about anything except your landing spot.
Don't think about how far to take the club back.
Don't think about how hard to hit the ball.
Don't think about where the clubface is.

Just concentrate on your landing spot (seeing it in your 'mind's eye' as you're looking down at the ball) and trust your brain to figure the rest out. You'll be pleasantly surprised how often it get's it right without you trying to consciously control what you're doing.

Train your swing on the practice ground then TRUST IT on the course.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Find a decent chipping/pitching video on Youtube (I think Butch Harmon's one is good) and practice, practice, practice.

Then on the course don't think about anything except your landing spot.
Don't think about how far to take the club back.
Don't think about how hard to hit the ball.
Don't think about where the clubface is.

Just concentrate on your landing spot (seeing it in your 'mind's eye' as you're looking down at the ball) and trust your brain to figure the rest out. You'll be pleasantly surprised how often it get's it right without you trying to consciously control what you're doing.

Train your swing on the practice ground then TRUST IT on the course.

I think that this is good advice. I sort out where I want the ball to land - try and picture the ball landing there - then just try and land it there - without 'trying'

 

[Vincent Gary]

Thank you all, some great comments and i'm sure if i take your advice it will help me. Great to know others feel my pain :mmm:

thank you

 

[NWJocko]

Just concentrate on your landing spot (seeing it in your 'mind's eye' as you're looking down at the ball) and trust your brain to figure the rest out. You'll be pleasantly surprised how often it get's it right without you trying to consciously control what you're doing.

.

I listened to this advice when I was having chipping issues and it has helped a great deal.

 

[One Planer]

Train your swing on the practice ground then TRUST IT on the course.

Best bit of advice on this thread :thup:

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

According to Bob Rotella...... play without fear!

 

[G1BB0]

thats all well and good until I thin one again....

 

[Region3]

thats all well and good until I thin one again....

Having confidence is believing that the next shot will go where you want it to, regardless of previous results.

If a bad shot dents your confidence then its conditional, and no good for your game.

The confidence might be misplaced, but trying to be confident can't be any worse for your game than the alternative

 

[HomerJSimpson]

My pro is trying so hard to get me to hit the chips without fear of the consequences but as someone else has seen, watching one scurry through the green or stay by your feet, I don't care who you are, at our level you ARE going to think about it and that leads to technical thoughts creeping back in

 

[elmoag]

im in a deep crisis with this that has lasted about 5 years its mental fraility at its worst and its commiting to the shot as you say that is doing me in. like others im great at the practice green but as soon as i have a tight ish lie around the green i go to bits. i actually went asfar as to buy an odyssey chipper which was fantastic for a while then it went off as well. if i hit greens in regulation i play to my handicap or better if im missing greens forget it.

 

[JustOne]

My biggest tip to bottlers is to grip right down the club onto the metal, from there you can be a little more aggressive without the ball flying too far.... bottlers have a tendency to stand too tall, grip the club too high and then totally de-accelerate into the ball.

 

[One Planer]

One of the things I often see with people who struggle to chip is they have too much loft in there hands and aren't agressive enough to make the most of the loft.

They'd be much better suited to taking a 7 or 8 iron and running it in like a putt.

 

[garyinderry]

[video=youtube;S2ueDwu2cXk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2ueDwu2cXk[/video]


re-posting this video for those who are struggling with chipping. have those who are still mucking up around the green watched this and tried it?

 

[Robobum]

Using the word aggressive with chips makes me cringe, especially if you are struggling in the first place.

Conjures up images of a horrible, short jabby shot with downswing started in a blur before any backswing is finished.

Key word for me when I had chipping issues was 'time'. Time so that the club goes back, no rush in transition, then collects ball on way back through. Absolutely no aggression involved.