Chipping, wristy or stiff wristed?

[delc]

I played with a partner yesterday whose chipping stroke was almost purely wrist action, and he was pretty good at it. One of the best golfers in our club, who is a former Portuguese Amateur Champion and still plays off 2 at the age of 69, has a pretty similar style. When I was a teenager and played pretty natural golf, I also had a rather wristy chipping stroke, but every time I had a lesson I was criticised for this, and told to use a more stiff wristed, arms only type swing. The nett result of this is that I am now about the World's worst chipper (for my handicap anyway)!

Surely the big advantage of a wristy chipping stroke is that it is less complicated because there are fewer moving parts and the pivot point doesn't have to move very much, and to me it feels more natural. But this is not what is generally taught. Any views on this?

 

[ShankyBoy]

Have to say I have more success with a wristy feel, easier to get a good angle and get the ball up in the air. Arms only for me needs a pure strike, which isn't that easy for me. And a lot of chipping is about confidence, wristy helps there for me also.

 

[jamielaing]

I always think that chipping is as individual as putting. It's whatever works for you and is most repeatable. Some of the best I have seen are very wristy.

 

[Capella]

I think it is natural to use the wrists when chipping. It is a small and rather delicate movement and it absolutely makes sense to use your wrists instead of your shoulders for it. I know it is taught differently and I am sure there are reasons for that, but I bet everyone who will just approach a chipshot without ever having a lesson is going to use the wrists.

The ball totally does not care if you use your wrists or not, btw. It cares about clubhead speed, direction and angle of attack. If you get consistent results by using your wrists, then great. If not, taking the wrists out of the equation might make things easier.

Personally, I find it a lot easier to get the pace right when I don't use my wrists, but I have a lot more control about direction with them. It is a trade-off. And the best chip shots happen when I don't think about it at all.

 

[Junior]

I tend to use the 'arms only' feel when pitching, but for chipping I do feel I am too wristy......as long as the clubhead doesn't overtake the hands at impact, do what works

 

[bobmac]

Surely the big advantage of a wristy chipping stroke is that it is less complicated because there are fewer moving parts

Do you think so ?

 

[Spear-Chucker]

It's almost as individual as putting to my way of thinking (post #3 hits the nail on the head). Use what feels right.

I use my wrists quite a bit to get the ball to do different things. Same as ball position, it all has to vary according to lie, conditions, amount of green to work with, speed of the greens etc. etc.

 

[delc]

Do you think so ?

Well you don't have to swing your arms or turn your shoulders quite as much, and less body movement required, helping you to keep still on the shot.

 

[ruff-driver]

If someone has reached cat 1 with a wristy technique then it obviously works

A lot of teaching seems to be based on the clockface drill which has it's place dependant on the shot facing you,
i use both.

 

[bobmac]

Well you don't have to swing your arms or turn your shoulders quite as much, and less body movement required, helping you to keep still on the shot.

Interesting
I feel the opposite with more body movement on the wristy chip which isn't disimilar to the pitch shot.
If I'm using the no wrist technique, I treat it as a putting stroke so almost all my body is very still.

 

[delc]

Interesting
I feel the opposite with more body movement on the wristy chip which isn't disimilar to the pitch shot.
If I'm using the no wrist technique, I treat it as a putting stroke so almost all my body is very still.

I know what I am saying is heresy to most teaching pros, but is the methodical push through the ball with stiff wrists necessarily the best chipping stroke for everybody? If you hinge from the wrists you will get a smaller radius of swing, so less likely to catch the ground behind the ball, which is my normal problem.

 

[bobmac]

I know what I am saying is heresy to most teaching pros, but is the methodical push through the ball with stiff wrists necessarily the best chipping stroke for everybody? If you hinge from the wrists you will get a smaller radius of swing, so less likely to catch the ground behind the ball, which is my normal problem.

When was the last time you duffed a putt?

 

[delc]

When was the last time you duffed a putt?

Yesterday actually!

 

[FairwayDodger]

Less can go wrong if you take the wrists out of it but it will also limit the type of shot you can play.

Horses for courses, I think. If I want to play a chip and run I'll not have much wrist action but if I want to get the ball up in the air and stop quickly I'll be using my wrists much more.

 

[bobmac]

Less can go wrong if you take the wrists out of it but it will also limit the type of shot you can play.

Horses for courses, I think. If I want to play a chip and run I'll not have much wrist action but if I want to get the ball up in the air and stop quickly I'll be using my wrists much more.

Spot on.

If you hinge from the wrists you will get a smaller radius of swing, so less likely to catch the ground behind the ball, which is my normal problem.

If you hinge from the wrist, what happens to the angle of attack and the length of the swing?
I would guess the swing gets longer and the angle of attack gets steeper which, especially on the shorter chips, leads to deceleration and the duff.

 

[chrisd]

For me the amount of wrist movement is dictated by the shot that I want to play but I definitely like the feel of a release in anything but a really short chip

 

[delc]

Spot on.



If you hinge from the wrist, what happens to the angle of attack and the length of the swing?
I would guess the swing gets longer and the angle of attack gets steeper which, especially on the shorter chips, leads to deceleration and the duff.

But I do chip with stiff wrists (like putting) because that is what various pros have told me to do over the years. If you just hinge around your wrists as a fixed pivot point, what can possibly go wrong? I am only talking about short chips here btw.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Everytine i have seen someone hinge wrists when chipping they duff it regualry

 

[Green Bay Hacker]

To me 'wristy' = guaranteed thin.

 

[garyinderry]

Big Phil's hinge and a hold.



I am certainly an armsy type chipper. I find it easier to put the precise amount of power into the stroke with my hands and arms being the main player. I can inject speed when I want. kill the finish if needed.

Trying to to use pivot only is like trying to move a chess piece with boxing gloves on.


People talk about less moving parts. You can move the club quite far with a simple wrist hinge without moving much else.

Seems like how grip the club has an effect of this. The stronger tend to hinge and dig.

At the end of the day it depends what you are looking to do on each individual shot.