short game help

[hydestik]

I could use some tips on practice drills to improve putting and chipping specifically the short chips off the fringe. I am trying to lower my handicap beneath 100 and the struggle mostly is with 3 putting or occasionally blading a chip across the green. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[GolfJunkieSr]

Re: short game help

Practice, practice, and then more practice. When you contact the ball on your chip shots make sure your hands are leading the club head. A good drill with out using a ball, is to grip the club with your hands a head of the club face. Your hands can be in front of your belt buckle. The club face would be some where near your rear foot. The distance your hands are in front of the club head is what ever is comfortable for you. Your feet might only be 6" a part, and maybe a little open. Then just drag the club face, while keeping your hands a head of the club face along the top of the turf. (or whatever surface you are practicing off of) After you do this for a while, you will know the feeling of the chipping stroke. Add a ball, while doing the same drill, and just let the ball get in the way. When using a ball be sure to not let the club head actually touch the surface you are standing on, until the leading edge of the club head would be forward of the back edge of the ball. In other words hit the ball first, then the ground. Sounds a little strange I know. But, I have taught more than few folks to chip this way with nothing but great results. With just a few modifications you can also use this same drill for pitch shots, and full swings. You can use this practice method with any of your irons. Most likely at some point you will find your "go to" chipping club that works the best for you. I use a LW from the fringe, but that is just me.

Here's a link on chipping. http://www.ehow.com/how_3196_chip-golf-ball.html

Other posters on here will have some other good ideas to help you. GJS

[Neil18]

Re: short game help

For me, short game is all about set up and then learning the feel. As GJS says, it's practice practice and more practice!

Blading a chip usually comes from using the hands in the chipping stroke.

Start with the basics and work from there. From the fringe with the pin about 15 - 20 feet away, use your 48 degree (maybe up to 52) wedge, play the ball off your rear big toe, be fairly stiff wristed, weight forward and just putt the ball with your wedge. The loft will do the work and pretty soon you'll figure out how high it goes, how much it spins and you can work on variations from there. Eventually you'll just be concentrating on where to land the ball on the first bounce then let the ball do the work.

For getting the proper perspective on putting, there's nothing like the following:

Start with 6 balls and put them around a cup at roughly the same distance from the hole. To start, do it from 3 feet. No prescribed amount of time really, just go round the clock, going through your full routine on every putt. If you miss one, start again. Once you've holed all 6 in a row, move them out to 4, or 5 feet. Repeat. It will teach you focus, and after the third time of getting to 4 or 5, the pressure comes in to play!

Once you've holed all 6 from this distance you should be well and truly in putting mode. Now comes the fun bit.

Take your 6 balls and go to a spot 10 feet from the hole. Now putt whilst looking at the hole. Don't be scared of wiffing it. In my experience I hit the sweet spot of the putter more whilst looking at the hole. Just line up, and at the moment of truth, don't return your eyes to the ball, keep them fixed on the smallest mark/blade of grass on or around the cup. It's mildly scary how many putts you hole this way, and with good speed too. The really scary step is next though.

Putt from 10 feet with your eyes closed. Feel the putt. Feel the distance. Take a mental picture of the cup, close your eyes and roll it. You'll hole just as many as if you were looking at the hole, but more than using your old method.

After doing that for just one hour, you'll be on the course looking at putts in a completely different way. "I can hole this with my eyes closed!".

And you can.

[dagoos]

Re: short game help

I could use some tips on practice drills to improve putting and chipping specifically the short chips off the fringe. I am trying to lower my handicap beneath 100 and the struggle mostly is with 3 putting or occasionally blading a chip across the green. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

yo hydestik ,,,good chipping is a matter of acceleration though the ball ,in order to make it simple think of using a few muscles going back arms and shoulders and more muscles going though hips core arms hands club.What this last part means is a full body pivot.if you watch the pro you always see this in their short game ,,,it make them look very gracefull and balanced . Basically it is the impact zone of the full shot . you have to use the big muscle to have control , I know it sounds like "why should I use big muscles for a small shot but you watch good short game masters and you see that pivot .do a you tube of stan utley and he will show you better then i can explain it ,let me know if it helps you dagoos

[bill reed]

Re: short game help

hi
get David Pelz book the short game bible. it cheap on e-bay or get it from your library.
lots of drills and help there for your short game and i think the best book out there on the short game. before that it was Tom Watson. getting up and down.
cheers
bill

[thomash]

Re: short game help

it may have been said already but i will give you my technique, right or wrong. when i practice i take say a 8 or 9 iron for chips and i will use an extended putting stroke and the most important thing for me is concentrating on hearing the "click" of the club hitting the ball. then it is much easier for me to control the distance just as i do with my putter. it has seemed to work for me and i hope that you give it a try, although not the right shot for lies off the fringe.

[BrianW]

Re: short game help

For lies off the fringe try using a rescue or fairway wood, they cut through the grass nicely.