W GOLF
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CHIPPING
BY TOM ATKINSON, PGA GOLF PROFESSIONAL
Chipping - the bane of many amateur golfers life. Those eagle eyed
viewers may have seen the shot I'm about to teach you numerous
times in last month's Open at Portrush. Why have I left it until now
to show you it? It’s now that the ground is firm that you need to
keep the ball as low as possible... here’s the reasoning.
Why do we thin our chips? Because we are trying to get the ball
airborne, but do we need to actually get it airborne? One of my
favourite golfing quotes is as follows: "If golf was designed to be played
in the air there would be grass on the clouds."
Never has a truer word been spoken. I can’t imagine many of you
would try and pitch a bowling ball two thirds of the way down the
alley in order to get a strike! Golf is no different.
So you’d like to putt it but you can’t, the ground won’t allow it, so what
now? You choose your 7, your 9 or your wedge, these clubs carry lots
of loft, you don’t need loft. Try something that has far less loft, your 5
wood or your rescue club.
THE TECHNIQUE
Here’s the beauty of it. It’s so
simple, there’s not much technique
involved. The skill is in judging
the weight of the shot, much like
a long putt. The very nature of
the head means that your brain
won’t allow you to try and scoop
or flick it up in the air, the wide
sole will glide along the ground
preventing the heavy contact. To
get the best strike just grip down
the shaft somewhat, move the ball
up in your stance and stroke the
club like you would a putter.
After half a dozen or so attempts,
you will learn how the ball reacts
off the face and it won’t be long
before you can create a nice little
grouping around the hole.
This super low trajectory won’t be
affected as much by the wind, by
a bad bounce, a poor contact or even the wrong power, leading me onto
my second favourite quote, from Ben Hogan: "Golf is not a game of good
shots, it’s a game of bad shots."
Compared to your miss hit wedge the outcome of mishitting this one will
leave you with a smile on your face.
Grab some balls, your rescue club or 5 wood and see how many shots it
takes you to hole one, I guarantee it won’t be many.
You can contact Tom at Heswall Golf Club on 0151 342 7431
www.heswallgolfshop.co.uk or @heswallgolfshop.
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