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| Chipping |
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| CHIPPING ONTO THE GREEN (Todd Lawton) | |||
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Let's
take
a
look
at
chipping
onto
the
green.
With
a
setup
that
is
about
10
feet
from
the
green
with
a
25-foot
roll
to
the
hole,
we
will
discuss
club
choice,
ball
and
hand
position
and
the
motion
of
the
swing.
The first thing we will determine is the best club to use. Contrary to grabbing a wedge like many golfers tend to use, we use an 8 iron. You should use an 8 iron because we want to eliminate the loft of the club. The goal is to get the ball to land somewhere on the edge of the green and then complete its roll. We do not want to carry the ball all the way to the hole because rolling the ball is an easier shot and it is easier to repeat. Now, we will look at ball and hand position, the positioning of the weight and most importantly the motion of the swing. The stroke is similar to the putt in that you will use more of your shoulders in the rotation than the wrist; we actually want to eliminate the wrist as much as possible. The ball position is in the back of the stance. Depending on the angle that you create setting up to the hole, the position may vary a little. However, it should be in the back third of your stance and maybe even off your back foot. Your weight should be towards the left side because you want to lean into the shot a little. The hand position is out in front of the ball. The picture that you want to create is that if we extended the shaft of the club through the arm, it should be on the front side of your body. The back swing of the stroke is directly proportional to the length of the follow through. As with the putt, you want a little shorter back swing than follow through so you can get the acceleration that you need. The stance is open to the target at about a 30 degree angle, the club face is pointing at the target and the shoulders should be square with the line that you are trying to hit. The main thing to work on is to get the pendulum motion down, which is similar to the smooth motion of a metronome. This will allow you to concentrate on the acceleration of the club and the softness of the ball hitting the club head. The
difficulty
with
this
shot
is
you
may
tend
to
force
it
and
use
the
wrist
to
lift
the
ball,
and
then
hope
to
get
it
to
stop
once
it
hits
the
green.
Instead,
you
should
slide
the
club
head
under
the
ball
in
a
smooth
motion. |
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