short chip shots

[sandbagger1]

I have been playing golf for quite a few years now and am relatively good but the one thing i really struggle with is short chips. I struggle with keeping the ball on the green sometimes because they just don't stop rolling. I was hopping someone could give me some tips. These are short chips to about 10 yards and they land quite short of the hole but just never stop. I have new wedges with good groves and even soft golf balls so i just am hoping for a little advice.

 

[drawboy]

Play them like a putt, use your putting grip on the club. stand straighter and swing like a putt, remember the extra loft is only to get the ball over the fringe onto the putting surface.

 

[RGDave]

welcome sandbagger...

I find the short ones the most tricky. I had a lesson on chipping once; my pro watched me chip a few 8 irons across the green (which went well) then asked me to hit a few SWs to a short-cut pin. What a disaster.

I ended up practising them not too far back in the stance, with an open face (not a hooded one) and a short swing with very little follow-through. Takes a bit of practice but as you get more confident try moving the ball further forward, even more open and trust the loft/grooves to get it up but then stop quickly. Works for me (most of the time) but others may not use this technique.

 

[Roops]

Here's my method and I find it pretty foolproof.
1. Choose a club you think you can play the shot with. Something you feel comfortable with. This may be a 4 iron, lob wedge, driver, doesn't matter, but you have to feel you can play the shot with it. I use a 50 deg. Gap wedge
2. Feet almost together, but stance slightly open. Ball placed adjacent to right foot.
3. Knees bent, weight 60/40 on the left side.
4. Hands forward, club delofted. The swing is back and forwards keeping the hands forward of the impact. The grip should be soft enough to feel the weight of the club in your hands.
5. Too tight a grip will probably result in duffs. No wrist break on the back swing, this will result in spooning at the ball.
6. Body stays quiet throughout the stroke, hands and arms only for this shot.

HTH Good luck.

 

[pokerjoke]

Short chip shots with a driver?

 

[Robobum]

....No wrist break on the back swing, this will result in spooning at the ball.
.........

Really?? Please tell more

 

[Roops]

Yup, try and conteract the tendency to flip at the ball. If you watch poor chippers a lot suffer the scoop/flip. They break their wrist on the back swing and then let the club head get ahead of the hands on the down swing, in an effort to get under the ball. Having no wrist break or limiting it to virtually none will prevent this. Afterall, if we are talking about chips from fringe to green, the backswing is going to be minimal so no wrist break should be required.

(as for chipping with the driver, it was a figure of speech. The point I was trying to make is that use the club you feel comfortable with, not what someone else tells you is the right club. For some that's a PW/GW/SW/LW, for others it's a 7/8/9 Iron etc etc.)

 

[Robobum]

You'll see that most (if not all) the good chippers have a little hinge in their wrists on the backswing. They then hold this "angle" has they pull the back of the left hand through the ball to the target.