LOW
SHOT
MEDIUM
SHOT
HIGH
SHOT
Improve your
short game by
pitching to targets
of varying lengths.
A sure-fire way to avoid inconsistency in your
chipping is to take a putting grip, position the ball
back in your stance and hit the shot like a putt.
Concentrate on accelerating and brushing the
grass on the through movement.
TRAJECTORY TESTS
When you practice, try to pick three different targets on a practice chipping green. The target
holes should get incrementally farther away, requiring scoring shots from low, medium and
high trajectories and distances.
For all shots around the green, it’s important to land the ball onto the green as soon as
possible. Determine how far you think the ball will carry in the air and how much roll it will
have on the green. Once you have considered the ball’s carry and roll ratio, you can better
select the proper club to use for your shot. When playing these shots, you should have an open
stance with square shoulders. Keep your weight on your left side.
Typically, a sand wedge is one part carry and one part roll. A gap wedge is one part carry
and two parts roll. This formula can go right on down the line to a 7-iron, which would be
roughly one part carry and six parts roll.
THE LOW RUNNER
Use the low pitch shot
when you have a lot of
green to work with. You’ll
need a little more power
than what is needed for
the “Putt-Chip” because
the ball is farther away
from the hole. This shot
is about one-third carry,
two-thirds roll.
Set your club in its
normal lie on the ground
rather than having the heel
up in the air. You can grip
down a bit and set your
hands slightly ahead of the
ball. Play the ball back in
For a target that is farther away, use your eyes to gain a feel for how far
your stance, under your
you’re going to have to hit the shot. Make a descending strike and swing
to a lower finish to get the ball rolling quickly.
right eye.
It is best to use the low
trajectory whenever you can. Your contact will be cleaner because the ball is farther back in
your stance. The ball will roll out more like a putt, which makes it more predictable because
you won’t have to guess how much grab you will get from the first bounce on the green. Use
either a 9-iron, pitching wedge, gap wedge, sand wedge or lob wedge.
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