getting the ball to check after chipping

[peterj]

i am really struggling to get the ball to check after chipping with my lob wedge from a few metres off the green - i have no problem with either the sort of 'bump-and-run chip - or with the high chip which lands close to the hole

however it is this low(ish) chip shot from off the green (that should check after a bounce or two)that i can never seem to achieve - i cant figure out if it is the wrong club - or even the wrong balls - or ball position in the stance - or some wrist movement needed - or none.

is there anyone out there who has the recipe for this? thanks

[JohnP]

Re: getting the ball to check after chipping

This is what works for me - play the ball off the back foot, use a soft ball (ProV or Callaway HX or something equivalent) make sure the grooves are clean on your wedge, now hit the ball BEFORE turf and hit it about twice as hard as you normally would for that distance, don't use must wrist action and hit down onto the back of the ball, smash it into the turf almost.

The green has to be be pretty receptive too, I wouldn't go trying this into a hard green with water behind!

As always, practise makes perfect, once you are confident with this shot you will use it all the time to great effect - I learned this shot last summer and have been using it ever since, I am sure it knocks at least 4-5 shots off most rounds.

Good luck!

[BrianW]

Re: getting the ball to check after chipping

Make sure you hit through with a firm left wrist while accelerating through the shot.

A couple of tips:

Maintain a good wrist angle in the right hand to support the left wrist.

Hit right through the shot with the back of your left hand pointing to target through the shot.

Make your follow through twice as long as your back swing, this will keep the club accelerating.

[LowPost42]

Re: getting the ball to check after chipping

While you need proper technique (making sure it's ball first contact), you also need a ball that will spin (good luck with TopRocks), and greens that aren't too firm or fast.

[Scragger63]

Re: getting the ball to check after chipping

Having recently switched ball of choice from a Maxfli Revolution to a Precept UTri Tour Balata I have found I am having to go with one extra club on my approach shots and tee shots to the par 3's as the ball really does check nicely.

I even got a low punched 7 iron from about 90m (yup, i'd missed the fairway into the rough and was punching out under tree branches...) to stick on the second hop last week, and for me as an 18 marker, that was really good to see...

[Allen Drummond]

Re: getting the ball to check after chipping

A well struck sand wedge will give you a liitel more spin than the lob wedge. I can get a ball to check at will and it looks cool. But that little spin makes it way less predictable.
Al

[Kumabjorn]

Re: getting the ball to check after chipping

I have noticed the same thing and have been wondering why that is since the LW with its higher loft ought to produce more spin since the ball should travel just a tad more up on the face...??

[Allen Drummond]

Re: getting the ball to check after chipping

I learned about it from Pelz. He claimed his data showed that a sand wedge would produce the most spin. I spent an entire summer practicing with a 47 degree pitching wedge, 52 degree gap wedge, 56 degree sandwedge, 60 degree lob wedge, and 64 degree extra-lob wedge. I would practice half an hour three times a week on a practice green pitching and chipping. I still spend the majority of my warm up time prior to a round doing the same thing. You can tell very quickly how well you are contacting the ball.
Anyway, I can get all of my wedges to check but the sand wedge is by far the easiest and checks the most.
My geuss to the cause is the angle of attack. You need to (slightly) trap the ball against the turf. At some point (some angle) the higher lofted club starts to hit too low and can't trap the ball as well.

[Kumabjorn]

Re: getting the ball to check after chipping

That is very good thinking, your post made me realize that bounce may very well be a factor here. My 56 deg SW has 14 bounce while my 60 deg LW only has four (I want to be able to slash through rough around greens) and that is probably a more important factor than loft. Interesting!

[LowPost42]

Re: getting the ball to check after chipping

Another factor is mass. The SW is the heaviest club in the bag (save some putters). The extra mass adds a touch more velocity and helps the 'down' part of hitting down - both of which will contribute more ball speed and spin.