Chipping - Club selection

[One Planer]

Although I've been chipping pretty well of late, the one area of my game that hinders a good score is my greenside chipping.

I don't struggle so much with contact, I have no isuse there.

Where I struggle is in the choice of club to get the ball close enough to leave a tap in. A typical example being last Saturday at Wychwood park. The 18th there is a 479 yard par 5 that plays all the way up hill to the green.

Driver into the fairway and a 19* hybrid to be greenside in 2. I have to chip over about 5ft of grass (Not close mown) and 2ft of fringe with the flag being about 25ft away. Putting the ball wasn't an option.

Chose my 52* wedge. Nice contact landed in the fringe and only ran out a couple of feet leaving me about 15ft for birdie, suffice to say I missed and left a tap in par.

This is pretty much my issue. I rarely get a chip from greenside past the hole.

I'm pretty sure my choice of club selection is what's letting me down as quite often I'll take either a 52* or PW* when greenside.

My question for the experts of the forum. Would it be better to practice what I already do or take more club, say a 7, 8 or 9 iron and play the shot that way?

As an aside, I'll quite often bump a 7 or 8 iron when I'm quite a way back from the green, but rarely use these clubs greenside.

Any thoughts appreciated folks :thup:

 

[BTatHome]

Most of my practice time is taken with putting and chipping practise. Putting is pretty much for getting a true representation of the course green speeds, whilst chipping is also for green speed, its also for quality of strike. I practise to see long much air each chip is gonna get (helps figure out where the chip is gonna land, to avoid those fringes). I usually only use PW/50/56 for this, although can use others like 9 and 60 wedge for the same things I rarely use them on the course.

I'm not saying I knock it dead every time but certainly for me understanding the carry of the club is very important to getting away from those chips that get left short. Sometimes I simply go to the 56 knowing that the ball is carry a lot more but roll out less (maybe to get further up a slope, or to avoid a larger break on the green).

Anyway in summary it's down to practise practise practise for me to gain the confidence on carry distances.

 

[Region3]

If you're playing all your chip shots with the same technique, you need to know what trajectory you hit each one with.

My first thought greenside is where do I want to land the ball? I want it rolling as soon as possible but I don't want to land it inches on the green in case I'm a foot short as the longer grass will take the pace out of the ball, so everything else withstanding it'll be a couple of feet on the green. If that lands me on a steep-ish slope I'll pick a spot further on because if you plan to land on the slope and miss you'll either be way short or way long.

Once I've decided where I want to land the ball it's a case of using your imagination in deciding which club puts the ball there with enough roll out to reach your target. Obviously it helps if you've practised with different clubs to know how much carry/roll each one gives.

 

[SGC001]

If you're considering club selection one approach would be to Google rule of 12 and have a look at a video or site with it explained on.

 

[chris661]

Or a hybrid.

I often use a 7/8/9 if I am in a situation you describe, and if the green is above me as well, as I can never judge the distance with a putter.

I would practice all the shots and you will become proficient at them, once that happens you have many options round the greens then.

 

[Val]

If there is nothing in front I try and get the ball rolling as early as I can mainly because im a poor chipper with lofted clubs. I always feel that with a 7 iron from off the green with a bit of fringe or rough to go over I get get it reasonably close.

That said, off a 16 HC, par is a good score at any hole so dont beat yourself about about not getting birdie on a par 5 :thup:

 

[One Planer]

That said, off a 16 HC, par is a good score at any hole so dont beat yourself about about not getting birdie on a par 5 :thup:

It's not so much that Val'.

What grates just lately is I'll hit 2 good shots, in this case being greenside on a par 5 in 2, then leave a chip woefully short giving me an outside chance at birdie rather than a realistic 3 footer.

Thanks for the replies so far :thup:

 

[duncan mackie]

Chose my 52* wedge. Nice contact landed in the fringe and only ran out a couple of feet leaving me about 15ft for birdie, suffice to say I missed and left a tap in par.

This is pretty much my issue. I rarely get a chip from greenside past the hole.

I'm pretty sure my choice of club selection is what's letting me down ...

Any thoughts appreciated folks :thup:

1. don't see this a club selection issue per se - you simply failed to land the ball anywhere near where you were aiming (I hope). as you will need to hit that club, and land it where you want to, at times anyway you should work on it.
2. as mentioned the rule of 12, or similar, is important (and simple) in chipping. spend some time in your practice sessions building your confidence in it, or your version, and appreciating how club selection, trajectory and roll all relate on your greens - and their slopes.
3. when looking at a chip shot you are looking to maximise your scope for error when selecting the shot you are going to make. It's realy that simple. Taking the example you have given, and assuming that there are no variables on the green at all, you have 5/2/18 in terms of grass, fringe, green. Your largest non restricted target would be to play the ball to land at 12ft (halfway) and roll out (which for many would be a 52 degree) although 10ft and roll out is still a safe option with plenty of scope for 'getting away' with landing a couple of feet short and, importantly, a slightly safer shot overall - the less loft and higher proportion of the time the balls rolling on the green are both considered safer options for accuracy purposes.

The biggest mistake people make is to 'just land it clear of the fringe' - now there can be good reasons you are forced to make such a selection but the example given, as set out, is exactly the opposite; you want to select the shot that takes the slightly underhit shot that catches the fringe such that your slightly underhit chip ends up very short of the hole out of the equation!

 

[Jay Gee]

If you're considering club selection one approach would be to Google rule of 12 and have a look at a video or site with it explained on.

That's very interesting, I was told something similar, by a clubfitter. He advised me to practice with just 2 clubs to begin with, say a 9i and SW and pay attention to the carry and roll out distances, then take these distances and turn them into a percentage. So if you are chipping to a pin 10 yards away and the 9i gets 4 yards of carry, your carry percentage is 40% or just less than half. If the SW gets 7 yards of carry, then the carry percentage is 70% or about 2 thirds of the distance.

The rule of 12 is more comprehensive and already has things worked out for you. It'll be interesting to see if the percentage method coincides.

 

[Imurg]

If you're still using ProV's it could be that the quality of strike is such that your T4's are spinning the pants off it and it's biting...
Playing the same shot with the PW shouldn't put as much spin on the ball, should come out a lottle lower and run a little more.
Or be a bit more agressive with the 52.....

 

[pendodave]

I think that prediction of roll out is easier the lower the trajectory of the chip.

Taking a putt as an example of zero impact angle and therefore easiest to predict.

Therefore, a low running chip will react very similar to a putt and therefore be very predictable. Once you start adding loft to the chip, you have to be able to predict how the ball will react when it bounces AND how it will roll. The bounce may be affected by the spin on the ball, the angle of the green, the hardness of the green etc etc. Therefore it is much harder to estimate the total length of a shot which combines a bounce and a roll. Easier to estimate = nearer the hole.

Executive summary - keep it as low as possible !

Plus, a slightly dodgy contact on an 8 or 9 iron chip is often quite similar to a perfect strike. Once you start adding loft the difference between perfect and dodgy is progressively more marked (viz the bladed 60 degree across the green).

 

[spawn_ukuk]

There is only one 1 way to chip the ball and its brilliant for me

Take your P or 9 and swing it like you do your putter read the green as usual and I have been making a few chips now so happy days

 

[Beezerk]

There is only one 1 way to chip the ball and its brilliant for me

Take your P or 9 and swing it like you do your putter read the green as usual and I have been making a few chips now so happy days

I've noticed when I try the putting type shot on the side of the green with my PW or SW I get quite a lot of backspin which hinders the balls progress to the hole.
Should I be aiming to reduce backspin for chip and run type shots and if so how? I think my initial problem is I'm trying to "lob" it too much instead of letting the club do the work if that makes sense.
Apologies for the thread hijack btw.

 

[Snelly]

I use a 60 degree lob wedge for every chip and can make it go high or low depending on what I want the ball to do. Works for me and I chipped in last Wednesday and yesterday too. In fact Rick can vouch for me as I chipped in on the 18th to win the match that he ad I last played as partners in!

This is a question of each to their own though. My only advice would be to use the same club as often as possible as you develop a feel for what the club will do to the ball in various situations.

 

[Fish]

I used my P/W (MP52) around the greens yesterday at Silloth and was very pleased, I once used my T4 but it checked too quickly so I need more practice sessions with it. I've always flopped my chip shots prior with my S/W or 60 degree but now I'm getting more to grips with a bump & run and feel more comfortable with the P/W than a 7,8 or 9 iron.

 

[Foxholer]

I feel your pain. Its the main area of my game that is pants!

I too don't seem to be able to get the ball to the hole. As a note, I thought I'd hit a beauty the other day to set up a course PB but while it looked great from where I was, it was 5-6 feet from the hole!

I'm improving by using an 8-iron rather than the 52. The adage 'get it rolling asap' works - though that has to be on the green.

However, my best improvement has always been hen I've practiced sufficiently to get the proper feel for the distance - and concentrated on getting the ball to the hole - however scary it feels! My thought is that 3 feet long is much better than 4 feet short!

 

[duncan mackie]

However, my best improvement has always been hen I've practiced sufficiently to get the proper feel for the distance -

this is the real key - it doesn't matter what works for you as long as
1. you can deliver what you are aiming to deliver consistently in terms of trajectory and landing point
2. when you deliver what you aim too; it produces the result you envisaged!

whether you use a formulae to help you with 1, whether you change the club or they way you use it to deliver the trajectory - doesn't matter (but some alternatives are easier!).

an understanding of the basic underlying formulae for you and your course will make a huge difference - even at a single club/trajectory level eg PW = 1:3 carry to roll (if it does) or 7 iron = 1:6 etc

 

[Alex1975]

I want it rolling as soon as possible

How come Gary? I would like to ask a more intelligent question really... Is flying the ball to the hole and having it stop a higher precentage shot, or is it easier to judge roll than carry with a shot shot?

 

[Val]

How come Gary? I would like to ask a more intelligent question really... Is flying the ball to the hole and having it stop a higher precentage shot, or is it easier to judge roll than carry with a shot shot?

To get it on the deck quickly less can go wrong in the swing IMO

 

[One Planer]

To get it on the deck quickly less can go wrong in the swing IMO

I was just going to say it takes out the variable of flying it too far or not far enough in my case.

Thanks for the replies chaps :thup: