GOLF INSTRUCTION - CHIPPING Top Tips

The shot that requires the most authority is also one of the shortest. Golf instruction chipping without authority can be thin, fat or even shanked shots. You name what can go wrong and it will. You'll be tapping in your next, when you hit chip shots with authority, you will improve your chances.

A few things lead to poor or bad chipping and a lack of authority, they are fear, lack of strength, and indecision. Think about your golfclub like a horse.(i know but stay with me here) confidence plays a big part, it has a knack of 'knowing' what's going on and plays up. If you show it who’s boss and in charge, the results are often far more satisfactory.

To ensure authority, the best way is by repetition. Add that with these two strength drills (below) and bring some authority back to your short game.                                           
First Drill- Hold your club horizontally out in front of your body, then cock the wrists. These simple exercises will gradually build strength and flexibility into those wrists, repeat each drill for 10 repetitions.

Second Drill; Hold your arms outstretched with a weight, anything weighing about a pound or so, hand weights are good, and lift up and down with your wrists.

Strength of your Wrist
Hitting a shot with any authority can be hard if the golfclub feels heavy in your hand. The chip is a firm wristed action, so the wrist must secure the golfclub to make sure you're in control of your swing. For many beginners, weak wrists can be a problem, however it won't hurt all golfers to spend some effort on these drills.


Always be decisive
There are countless articles covering club selection and type of chip shot for a particular situation. Whatever your decision, convince yourself that it’s the correct shot - eliminate doubt.
Practice repeating the same golf shot over and over again on the practice green.
If you’ve got some time at home, place a basket or bucket in the backyard and practice chipping the ball into the target. Regularly hitting the target could mean that your decisive, have strong wrists and on your way to getting a lot more of your chip shots closer.

Learn the proper chipping set-up; weight on lead side, ball slightly back of centre in your stance, eyes and hands closer to the target than the ball is at address.
During the backswing use your favoured hand (left for left handed) and hinge the club slightly.
Then, in the follow through, hold this position post impact. That is, don't let your clubhead pass under the lead hand before impact. The ideal position at impact is the back of that hand should be nearer to the target than the ball is. After reaching impact, you may release the club a little.
Tensing up is no good. What is the number 1 problem when chipping for amateurs? trying to scoop a chip shot into the air, getting to wristy.

Golf Instruction Chipping Tip- Bet on the percentages

Those high loft greenside shots of the pros might look fancy, but they are very risky, with an increased chance of error when you increase your loft. Extra loft decreases the margin for error at impact and decreases the size of the landing  zone on the green.
One of the hardest shots in golf is the second bounce check-up, it's best left to them for now.
I encourage any amateur golfer to go for maximum roll and minimum air time, remembering to land the ball on the green.. When faced with a chip around the greens, relying on a simple formula means using less lofted golfclubs. An amount of on course management is primary to any shot in golf. As is a brush up on the finer points of golf instruction for a balanced posture

Golf Instruction Chipping, the method
Take aim at your landing spot as your target and not at the flag when chipping. Depending on the loft of the club you're using and the condition of the green, this will vary. Use the following ratios, start with a five iron and increase the loft depending on the amount of the green available.

• 5 IRON

20 percent flight, 80 percent bounce and roll. ?

• 8 IRON

33 percent flight, 67 percent bounce and roll

• WEDGE

50 percent bounce and 50 percent roll.

Use an 8 iron to chip and master the bump and run, then and only then move onto your wedge.

Here is a great golf instruction chipping tip I learned a while ago, try this. Use a golfball, take a normal stance for a chip shot, and throw the ball 'under arm'(softball throw) at the target to get a feel for how hard to swing your club.
Use this method to imagine how much strength is needed to fly the ball onto the green and roll up to the hole, throw the ball two thirds of the way onto the green back to the cup. This is a great technique to get a feel for the shot.


I hope these few golf instruction tips will help you to improve your short game and reduce the number of shots in your round the next time you go out on the course.