If you are in a position where you are chipping, you might have hit a monster drive and are now right up next to the green, more likely, you missed on your approach shot and are now looking to get out of the mess you put yourself in.
First, what's the difference in a pitch and a chip?
Well a chip is usually within about 20 yards of the green, it has a low flight and runs up to the hole.
A pitch involves throwing the ball high in the air and trying to land it soft up near the hole. Usually you are going to be using this from 40-50 yards out or if you need to clear an obstacle.
They are two different shots and require you to do things accordingly.
The pitching will be worked on at the range. So I will cover that on the range posts coming up. The chip will be practiced at the chipping green, lets give that a go, since that is where you are probably throwing more shots away.
First the good news, you are really close to the green. Now the bad, you are more than likely in some sort of trouble since the greens are where they put all the traps and rough. Here are a few tips to make it a little more bearable.
1. Pick your landing spot. Walk up on to the green and get a feel for it, how far will it roll? Is it uphill downhill, cross hill? How far do you expect it to roll if you land it on the green vs the fringe? Go pick where you want to land it and then focus only on getting the ball to that spot.
2. Open up your stance about 30* and put the ball back by your back pinky toe, feels weird at first but try it, now do everything to keep your eyes focused on the ball. It will be almost impossible to blade it if you do this. So now you can feel out the swing and be confident that it will get up in the air and do what is supposed to do.
If you do nothing else, try those first 2!!! It will make a world of difference.
3. Practice, practice, practice. Take a range session where you spend 45 minutes chipping. Pick out targets at the back of the green, now go through steps 1 and 2 and hit it to stop at a pin or marker 5-10 ft off the back. Do this at least 20 times. Now repeat but this time pick a target that will allow the ball to roll to the center. Now, do it another time through trying to land it in the fringe and letting it trickle 10 ft past the front. Watch each shot, how does it roll? Now I would repeat the process from different angles so I could see the difference of landing on a cross hill or a down hill. What you are trying to learn is how far the ball will roll once it lands, once you know that you will know where to land it, then you just repeat steps 1 and 2 on the course. Simple as that.
4. Give yourself a goal, if you know how well you putt from the different distances, then you know where you need to land it to have a chance. So your goal will be to be within 3 feet and on the downhill side (so you have an uphill putt). Remember that a 8 footer that is straight uphill is usually easier than a 4 footer with a downhill left to right break. Give yourself the best chance to 1 putt!
Other: I practice most of my chipping in my back yard, I pour out 70 practice balls and I give myself a small target (a 1'x2' amazon box, etc) and try to land it in the box. I'm not worried about the roll here, just getting a feel for how far it flies and how accurate I can be on hitting my landing zone. I will do 70 from 9 yards, then from 12, then 18. Try it in different lengths of grass, or prop some up and push some down, learn to adjust the swing to the grass you are in, the goal is always the same, get it about 5 feet in the air and land it in the box. Best ever was 12 out of 70 from 9 yards (with about 50 with 2').... go try and beat me!
Thanks for the read! Now go hack it!
G
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