stopping the ball

[jkgt]

My short game is improving, I'm getting ever so close to breaking 90. But all too often a carefully targeted, beautifully arcing chip shot will land softly on the green, then take off like a scalded monkey and run ten feet past the hole. I envy people who can put the brakes on their chip shots, even the low trajectory shots. What's the secret? What does the technique for spinning the ball to a quick stop look like?
Thanks,
Jerry

[LowPost42]

Re: stopping the ball

You need first rate impact and a clean lie.

[BrianW]

Re: stopping the ball

Yes, good impact and technique are important, you should also use the right club for the job, sometimes you need the ball to land and roll on a good distance, sometimes to check up quickly.

In my opinion it is best to get the ball onto the green as near to you as reasonably possible then allow it to break the required distance. If you want it to land and check use a LW or SW. The longer the break you require you should use a club with less loft, don't be afraid to use a 5 or 7 iron if need be.

[bill reed]

Re: stopping the ball

hi
also check the groves are clean and deep too, tiger changes his wedges every 4 to 6 weeks so he had the deepest groves. also the pros have milled wedges that put extra bite on the ball but do tend to cut into the ball a bit and it could mean a new ball every few holes if you use the wedges a lot so its a trade off for us handicap playes who have to play for clubs and balls.
bill

[jkgt]

Re: stopping the ball

Allow me to be more specific about my technical concerns here. In snooping around on this issue, I'm getting the idea that if my hands are more than one ball in front of the clubhead I'm de-lofting enough to offset any spin I might generate. Also, at this point my mantra is "Follow Through!" but I'm wondering if I need to commit to even more clubhead acceleration on these chips and pitches in hopes of generating more spin.

Thoughts?

Thanks,

Jerry

[BrianW]

Re: stopping the ball

Allow me to be more specific about my technical concerns here. In snooping around on this issue, I'm getting the idea that if my hands are more than one ball in front of the clubhead I'm de-lofting enough to offset any spin I might generate. Also, at this point my mantra is "Follow Through!" but I'm wondering if I need to commit to even more clubhead acceleration on these chips and pitches in hopes of generating more spin.

Thoughts?

Thanks,

Jerry

Hi Jerry,

A couple of issues here.

Yes, hands ahead of ball will deloft the club and create more roll, so it is possible to get more than one effect from a single club. More upright creates more loft = more spin. Leaning forward less loft = more roll.

I always accelerate the club into the ball with a chip shot, even a short distance, just take a smaller back swing. I make the follow through at least twice the backswing distance. Give in on the shot and you are toast

[RandomHero1090]

Re: stopping the ball

Hi Jerry,
I make the follow through at least twice the backswing distance. Give in on the shot and you are toast

To anyone out there who is not doing what BrianW just said, you can't have a great short game. By taking a shorter backswing, you force yourself to accelerate through the ball. Deceleration is death in the short game...lobs, pitches, chips, bunker play and of course putting.

The more I feel I make a "swing," the better the shot is. You need to turn through the ball. Nothing aggressive, but you gotta shift the weight a little....IMO.

As for the "Tiger-Like" check up.... Only way I find to his the shot is to hit down hard on what feels like the mid-back of the ball, compressing it against the ground. It doesn't fly as high as you might think, but after 2 to 3 bounces, it checks. The right club, clean and deep grooves, and a soft covered ball have a lot to do with it also. From inside 50-100 yards I use my PW. From 30-50 yards I will use my SW. Inside 30 yards, I don't feel I can hit this shot. I will use a LW or a true rolling pitch, and just like BrianW said, I want the ball landing on the green as close to me as possible and let it roll out to the hole.

Now, if you need to get it to stop on a dime (short-sided yourself and have to get it over a bunker, which is a common shot) I will open the face up on my LW to about 2 o'clock and make a swing right under the ball. Very handsy. I still accelerate, and the acceleration launches the ball high into the air and usually only rolls a couple feet, if any. Again, you will see Tiger hit these better than anyone else I know. His swing looks like the ball would go 50 yards, but it only goes 10.

Ok, I shut up now

[bill reed]

Re: stopping the ball

hi
i also like to think i have soft hands when i try and play a shot i want to stop quick and it is so important to catch the ball on the sweet spot or very close to it, check where your hitting the ball with impact tape and make sure its not out the toe as that dont seem to check anywhere like it does when his on sweet spot.
bill

[jkgt]

Re: stopping the ball

Thanks everyone...NOW we're gettin' somewhere!

I've been laboring under the impression that my job was to slide the clubhead right into that little crease between the ball and the earth. What I'm hearing is that I need to learn how to strike the back of the ball first, which begs my next question: Is it the leading edge of the club or, just above it, the lower part of the clubFACE that actually makes contact with the ball? I know it sounds like a crazy nit-picky question, but I have seen profound changes in my game by getting my head around tiny details that I never even knew existed.

Thanks again so much, and if I don't get back to you right away it's because I'm out in the backyard practicing my new chips and pitches!

Jerry

[RandomHero1090]

Re: stopping the ball

Thanks everyone...NOW we're gettin' somewhere!

I've been laboring under the impression that my job was to slide the clubhead right into that little crease between the ball and the earth. What I'm hearing is that I need to learn how to strike the back of the ball first, which begs my next question: Is it the leading edge of the club or, just above it, the lower part of the clubFACE that actually makes contact with the ball?
Jerry

I have a golf mag at home that has a great illustration of this. Can't find a good one online to show you. I'm going to go nuts later digging around my mags looking for it

Anyway....

1) You cannot hit the ball with the leading edge. That will cause a skull. The ball cannot role up the face of the club if you smack it on the leading edge (the role up cause the backspin BTW).

2) The leading edge does slide under the ball, BUT IT DOESN'T DIG INTO THE GROUND BEFORE HITTING THE BALL. You might even say the leading edge/sole of the club contacts the turf at the same time the face of the club contacts the ball. The reason why so many people, IMO, say "ball-1st contact" because its just an easy thought to remember.

When I make practice swings, I make sure the club contacts the turf just past the ball. Hope this helps, maybe someone else can explain a bit better...

Also, check out this article. Talks about accelerating and stopping quick, NOT slowing through impact and then stopping.

How to Make Pitches Bite | Instruction | Golf.com

[GoNavy]

Re: stopping the ball

My short game is improving, I'm getting ever so close to breaking 90. But all too often a carefully targeted, beautifully arcing chip shot will land softly on the green, then take off like a scalded monkey and run ten feet past the hole. I envy people who can put the brakes on their chip shots, even the low trajectory shots. What's the secret? What does the technique for spinning the ball to a quick stop look like?
Thanks,
Jerry

You also have to consider, to get that kind of spin you need a very high spin soft cover ball. They are usually very expensive and don't last long, pros get them free, we have to pay for them. You also must consider, the pro is playing on the very good green, beautifully manicured, we have to play on some what less then perfect greens. Your not likely to get the kind of action you see on TV, but using a soft covered ball and as mentioned clean grooves and a sharp desending blow on the ball will get you a good deal of checking on them chip shot.

Now having said that, it might look pretty, but trying to check a chip is highly unpredictable, you are far better off using a less lofted club and getting the ball onto the green quickly and allowing for the roll out like a putt, much more predictable and controlable.

[jkgt]

Re: stopping the ball

Well said! And well worth considering for someone at my level, knowing that I'm not going to magically start checking my chips tomorrow just because I worked on it for an hour or so today. Thanks to all...

[BrianW]

Re: stopping the ball

As I suggested you should be prepared to use a number of different clubs for chipping as less loft creates more roll.

The general rule I use for club selection when chipping is:

SW = 75% carry and 25% roll

PW = 50% carry and 50% roll

7 iron = 25 % carry 75 % roll

OK, you can use other clubs where you feel the shot needs it, if you have a real long roll out then use a 5 iron. If chipping from the fluffy rough use a fairway wood or hybrid.

[AussieGolfBoy]

Re: stopping the ball

i've been practising on getting the ball to keep low and stop within 2 or 3 bounces. and it's suprisingly easy.

but.

i have to admit that there are a lot of minor factors that come into play. the distance i'm talking about here is within 25m where u want the ball to stop absolutely dead.

i use a Pro V1 golf ball. very soft cover, grips the club nicely.

i've found using a SW is the best choice for this shot. reason i find is it's added weight of the club head and more bounce. LW i feel doesn't have the weight needed for this shot, and who ever u are is a damn hard club to hit time and time again.

like the others have said. you need to hit down on the ball with clean groves on the club face.

my stance is feet close together, heals no more than 2" from each other, leading foot offset to square. use your club head to align the shot first so you know where to set your footing up. ball position dead centre. 85% weight on front foot, hands forward.

take a short backswing (depending on how far u want to hit the ball) and follow through quicker. if you decellerate your shot you get into problems, unconsistancy being one of them..

when hitting the ball make sure you hit down on it hitting the top part of the ball. say 1-2o'clock and follow through.

all things going well the ball should have a low flight path and an incredable amount of spin. i played this shot from 20m out and had the ball check and spin back 5ft. wasn't impressed as i was on the wrong side of the hill on the green and i wanted it to roll. but hey it's a new shot i learnt and put into practice on the green with great consistancy.

[kbp]

Re: stopping the ball

Another factor not mentioned is club head speed. In order to really lay on some spin, the club needs to be moving pretty quick. This means using more loft and more speed. Could also open the club face and cut across the ball, to allow more speed.