Chipping Instruction – Please Skip This Article If You Hit Lots of Greens in Regulation
Chipping instruction – now why in the world would I need to spend any time or money on that? Chipping’s just a short little shot before you get your putter out. Does chipping really play much of a role in an 18 hole round of golf? You bet it does, for touring pros as well as beginners.
The best players in the world only hit 65% of the greens in regulation. So what does that mean? Well, hitting a green in regulation means getting your ball on the putting surface by the first stroke on a par 3 hole, the second stroke on a par 4, or the third strokes on a par 5. Touring pros only do that about 12 times per 18 hole round. But on the other holes, they chip it close to the pin nearly every time. That’s a really big difference between average players and the guys on TV.
An 80 shooter only hits about 8 greens in regulation per round, a 90 shooter only hits 3, and a 100 shooter plays most of his rounds without ever hitting a green. So where should we spend our practice time – on the driving range or around the putting green? That’s right, grab your shag bag, get over to the practice green or out in the backyard, and work on the chipping basics that follow. You’ll very quickly see the results of your efforts on your scorecard.
Chipping Instruction – Mechanics-Based Fundamentals
Address the ball with most of your weight on your front foot
The ball should be positioned slightly towards your back foot
Place your hands ahead of the ball
Keeping your lower body quiet, make a short backswing with your arms and accelerate the club through impact
Check Point – Make sure your hands lead the clubhead through impact
Check Point – Make sure there is only minimal body movement except with the arms
A tendency of poor chippers is to allow the clubhead to overtake the hands, causing a flipping of the hands in an effort to scoop the ball into the air. Keep the hands in front of the clubface throughout the downswing, letting the loft of the club elevate the ball.
Another major cause of poor chipping is taking too long of a backswing and then decelerating the club at impact to prevent hitting the ball too far. Keep the backswing short so you can accelerate through the ball on the downswing while keeping the clubface square to the intended line.
Practice the chipping instruction above and you might just cut 5, 10, maybe 15 strokes off your 18 hole scores.
For more help with your chipping, you might want to visit Short Game Instruction. And, you might also want to get a copy of my Free Short Game Guide.
“Perfect practice makes perfect, but any practice will help.”
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gary_Jack_Palmer
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