Chipping drills, any recommendations?

[sweaty sock]

Hi All,

I'm dropping shots with increadible regularity from greenside. Does anyone use any specific drill or practice that they've found effective?

My technique seems ok, I dont often duff or thin and lessons have only ever recommended minor tweaks, but I think I'm a bit one dimensional (think Steve Stricker not Phil Mickleson? All my wedges are newish and custom fit by titleist so no excuse there either.

My normal routine is just to through balls randomly about the chipping green and play them from where they lie (in effect random practice) but Im not really seeing any improvement or increase in confidence?

Any ideas greatly appreciated...

 

[Bdill93]

Dropping shots by not placing it close enough to go up and down I assume?

Nothing can replace hours of practise on the chipping green - I'm told. I practise like this -

Greenside
10 balls, hit them high. (56/60 LW)
10 balls, hit them low. (52 chip and run common here)

5 yards
Repeat

10 yards
Repeat

Gives me the option to play whatever shot I deem necessary on course depending on the situation. I dont go high if I dont have to!

 

[Voyager EMH]

I learned to play golf on Thornes Park Wakefield. Age 7 to 8, on the 18 hole putting green. Age 8 to 9, on the 18 hole pitch and putt course. Then moved on to Barnsley municipal from age 10. I had learned to putt, chip and pitch long before I took a full swing with a wood. Rarely practice anything these days. I would recommend that if you feel the need to practice chipping in order to become better at it, you should spend a good one or two hour session at it twice a week - that is the importance I attach to chipping. To answer the OP, yes, practice all sorts of shots from all sorts of ranges, but be prepared to put in the time for improvements to be made. Improvements made are not easily recognisable. It is a very long-term thing. There is very little to stop any serious golfer from becoming professional standard at chipping. And it is far less tiring than slogging away with full swings on a range.

 

[Fabia999]

It would be helpful to know why they're irregular. too short or too long? I find it helpful to find the spot on green where i want to the ball to land as I know it'll roll, depending how I play the shot.

You say your technique is okay, but there plenty of videos of Phil Mickelson explaining his wedges and that helped me massively.

I play 1 high shot (front foot) and then 1 low shot (back foot) and keep alternating. If its ruining your score, play a bump and run on the course while you're practicing wedges.

 

[spongebob59]

If you want a practice drill rather than a technique tip

If you want a technical tip

 

[Voyager EMH]

It would be helpful to know why they're irregular. too short or too long? I find it helpful to find the spot on green where i want to the ball to land as I know it'll roll, depending how I play the shot.

You say your technique is okay, but there plenty of videos of Phil Mickelson explaining his wedges and that helped me massively.

I play 1 high shot (front foot) and then 1 low shot (back foot) and keep alternating. If its ruining your score, play a bump and run on the course while you're practicing wedges.

 

[sweaty sock]

I think its shot selection, a bit of not really understanding the relationship between roll out and flight for different trajectory so lack commitment to landing spot, and a bit of self doubt.

Dont get me wrong, I'm not in a state where I cant get club on ball, Im just getting a bit frustrated with good shots not finishing where I had planned, so was interested in what drills people are using to see if there are any I hadnt heard of...

 

[hairball_89]

I'm by no means an expert... But I avoid the high shot unless I have to - bunker to go over etc. I love an 8i bump and run, at most a 50º. But the absolute key is to have practiced these shots. Spend a good length of time practicing the shots you want.

For me? unless I'm trying to chuck one up in the air, I set up pretty square and it's mostly a rock of the shoulders. doesn't change an awful lot depending on the club I've got in my hand and works for me. Annoyingly, it's all about finding out what works for you!

 

[Curls]

I play pretty much everything around the green with my 54*, sometimes I’ll loft it up and bit and sometimes knock it down, using one club doesn’t necessarily mean you’re one dimensional lots of tour pros are the same and the notion that you must play a certain chip and run with an 7, 8 Or 9 iron for example is not for everyone imo.

When I do a practice round a local club there are a couple of greens that have good undulations around them. I’ll play the hole as normal and then do a clock face drill - ie go around the green and play from different lies, side slope, down slope, bare lie, fluffy lie etc. Just 4 balls, 12, 3, 6 and 9 o clock around the edge, you’re not doing the green any damage close range and move onto the next hole. It’s all about variety in your practice imo. Hitting 10 balls from the same lie is fine but by the end you’re just using repetition that you might not be able to call on when asked out on the course because you haven’t just hit 4 of the same shots! So if you’re technique is okay by your own admission, you might benefit from having more imagination and the only way you can do that is experience of many different situations.

 

[Fabia999]

I'm by no means an expert... But I avoid the high shot unless I have to - bunker to go over etc. I love an 8i bump and run, at most a 50º. But the absolute key is to have practiced these shots. Spend a good length of time practicing the shots you want.

For me? unless I'm trying to chuck one up in the air, I set up pretty square and it's mostly a rock of the shoulders. doesn't change an awful lot depending on the club I've got in my hand and works for me. Annoyingly, it's all about finding out what works for you!

I've watched a video where Gary Player says the exact same thing.

 

[Blue in Munich]

You can have all the technique in the world, if you can't see the shot then you'll never execute the shot.

 

[stefanovic]

Is there's a book called The inner game of chipping from the greenside?
Would be interesting.
I imagine it would recommend not allowing your head to move in front of the ball.
If playing on an up slope you will be giving the club face more loft so allow for extra distance.
Up slope - play the ball a bit more forward in stance. Down slope - a bit further back.
If inclined to shanking then play the ball off the toe of the club.

 

[bobmac]

Find out which club will fly half way and roll the other half, GW (50 deg) possibly.
Then do the same with fly a third and roll two thirds, 8 iron maybe.
That will give you a start

 

[sweaty sock]

So it sounds like very few people actually practice chipping or read posts.

Ive found a book called 'Golf scrimmages' its basically a list of golf practice games, with an entire section on chipping games, hopefully will spark some ideas!

 

[sweaty sock]

Find out which club will fly half way and roll the other half, GW (50 deg) possibly.
Then do the same with fly a third and roll two thirds, 8 iron maybe.
That will give you a start

Good idea, could expand on that significantly and build a bit of a mental database for ball position, face angle, wrist positions at impact!

 

[sweaty sock]

I play pretty much everything around the green with my 54*, sometimes I’ll loft it up and bit and sometimes knock it down, using one club doesn’t necessarily mean you’re one dimensional lots of tour pros are the same and the notion that you must play a certain chip and run with an 7, 8 Or 9 iron for example is not for everyone imo.

When I do a practice round a local club there are a couple of greens that have good undulations around them. I’ll play the hole as normal and then do a clock face drill - ie go around the green and play from different lies, side slope, down slope, bare lie, fluffy lie etc. Just 4 balls, 12, 3, 6 and 9 o clock around the edge, you’re not doing the green any damage close range and move onto the next hole. It’s all about variety in your practice imo. Hitting 10 balls from the same lie is fine but by the end you’re just using repetition that you might not be able to call on when asked out on the course because you haven’t just hit 4 of the same shots! So if you’re technique is okay by your own admission, you might benefit from having more imagination and the only way you can do that is experience of many different situations.

I sort of do this already, i go to the practice green and throw ten ball into random positions around it, which also provides random lies distances etc. I think i may be too random and so dont really learn anything from the shots, your idea seems like a bit of a simplification of my usual that might mean its a bit easier to apply to future situations.

 

[stefanovic]

Though I've never read much of it, "From 60 Yards In" by Ray Floyd is a good book.
I think he recommended having the same grip for putting and chipping.
Might be good for a few holes!
Nicklaus liked the idea of using an iron which would hit the front of the green then rolled the ball to the hole.
So try chipping with a 6 or 7 iron when the flag is in the middle to back of the green.

 

[clubchamp98]

I chip by putting two tees in the green then landing the ball close to the tees as a target.
Then change clubs to get different fly/ rollout by landing on the same spot.
Do this for all shots and you will learn what you can do and what you can’t.
I always try land the ball on the green.

In the air only if nessesary is good advice.
But no substitute for practice.

 

[MarkT]

My advice comes from a place of short-game self-loathing that goes back 25 years. I've been to all manner of places, spiritually, physically and mentally and I'm now in a slightly more logical state.
I play my chips with either a 6-iron or a 64˚ wedge, advice you won't find in many places. The 6-iron has enough loft to get the ball fractionally up and running and is hard to whiff and it does give me the feeling of what I should (but can't) do with more lofted clubs.
The 64 SureOut is a miracle club, loads of bounce and no need to add any loft; just swing it.
There's not a method that I haven't used around the greens and now I've simplified things marginally.

 

[garyinderry]

What do you play off mark? A 6iron or 64 is certainly a strange approach.