chipping - help! Solved...I think

[RoverRick]

I am a great chipper. Short game is the best part of my game, although it's taken longer to come back after my lay off than the rest of my game. I played 18 Friday and Saturday and 27 today. During those 63 holes, I had at least 5 chip ins and 2 more lipped out. The guys I play with said they expect me to chip in at least once per round.

 

My secret, which isn't really a secret because I wrote about it here on MGS back in January of 2012.

 

Happy Gilmore Grip

 

You don't necessarily have to read that thread, I have not reread it so I'm not sure if it even applies by itself. BUT! the Happy Gilmore Grip is where you take you bottom hand and slide it down to the club end of the grip. This will break you of the tendency to "flip" or "scoop" the club.

 

Why do I do this?

 

To me for anything inside 65 yards, the distance is controlled by the body turn, not the hands. By taking this hockey style or Happy Gilmore Grip, you take the hands completely out of it. I do this sometimes to get the fell but generally my chipping and pitching grip is a 10 finger grip. Outside of 65 yards I have a normal grip, except for sand shots because while they may only go 10 yards, it is still a 65 yard swing but hits the sand not the ball. This is the only time I use a 10 Finger Grip, but I digress.

 

So inside of 65 yards to the flag, I first major step is club selection. The goal is to get the ball on the green as soon as possible and let it roll out.

 

So I look at the distance to the flag and the nearest part of the green. Club selection is determined by the carry to roll ratio.

1. LW= roll
2. GW is carry = roll.
3. 9 iron = 1 carry and 2 roll.
4. 8 iron = 1 carry and 3 roll.
5. 7 iron = 1 carry and 4 roll.
6. 6 iron = 1 carry and 5 roll.

Example: I approach the green and see that I have about 3 times as much green as I do rough to traverse. So I grab an 8 iron. I walk by the flag on my way to the ball, and then pace off how much distance there actually is. Let's say there is 32 paces from the flag to my ball, and that there are 5 paces of rough and fringe to the edge of the green. Since I have an 8 iron with me and my number is 4, then I need to have 8 paces or carry and let it run 24 paces. So I pace back 8 paces and find a spot on the green that I want the ball to land at.

 

Now, I need to read the green like it was a putt from those 8 paces from the ball. Don't get too caught up with it, but it won't hurt to know where it is going. 

 

Adjust your aim point accordingly based on the read.

 

Now the most important part. FOCUS ON THE LANDING SPOT. If you were to pitch the ball under handed using your body rotation for the speed you would probably land the ball on the spot pretty easily. So imagine doing that. I even take practice imaginary tosses at that spot. As a right handed golfer, I hold the club in my left hand and go through the motions of tossing a ball under handed and while I do move my hand, I am focusing on how fast and how much to turn my shoulders.

 

After doing that 2 or 3 times I make practice swings with the club I only want to fly the ball to that spot. I often have (even now) have the Happy Gilmore Grip in the practice swing. This reinforces that I am not flipping the club, but hitting down on the ball and allowing the loft to fly the ball.

 

Then finally, I know how hard to hit the ball and know that it is going to roll, so I just take my 10 Finger Grip, set up with the ball slightly back of center, but inside the back foot, and hit the ball just hard enough to fly it to the spot on the green. Hopefully, it will fly near my spot and roll out to near the hole, or even better in the hole.

 

You may have noticed that I skipped the Sand Wedge and Pitching Wedge, These replace the GW depending on it being up hill or down hill.

 

Also, I realize that 40-65 yards off the green is more of a pitch than a chip, and obviously I use the LW for this since it has more carry than roll, but I still use the body rotation and grip in this swing provided I have some green to work with. With no green, it will be more of a flop type swing.

 

If you grabbed a 9 iron, and then find out you could have used an 8 then that's no big deal. You had 32 paces (I used paces rather than yards because it's the ratio that is important not the actual distance.) I simply move my aim point from 8 paces on to roughly 11. (32/9 is close to 11.)

[perseveringgolfer]

excellent 'new' insight, thank you. I tried a 10 finger grip 2 years ago for all shots and quite liked it- doing it for chips and small pitches sounds a great idea especially as I'm a renowned flipper ( I airmailed my 3rd shot to a par 5 3 days ago, 75 yd pitch and it cleared the green and was still rising with a badly timed thin 54*)

 

 

*edit* sorry I'm not fully getting the ratio part '32/9 is close to 11' can you explain the ratio in basic 'stoopid' language pls...sorry 

[RoverRick]

So I look at the distance to the flag and the nearest part of the green. Club selection is determined by the carry to roll ratio.

1. LW= roll
2. GW is carry = roll.
3. 9 iron = 1 carry and 2 roll.
4. 8 iron = 1 carry and 3 roll.
5. 7 iron = 1 carry and 4 roll.
6. 6 iron = 1 carry and 5 roll.

Example: ...Let's say there is 32 paces from the flag to my ball, and that there are 5 paces of rough and fringe to the edge of the green. Since I have an 8 iron with me and my number is 4, then I need to have 8 paces or carry and let it run 24 paces. So I pace back 8 paces and find a spot on the green that I want the ball to land at.

 

If you grabbed a 9 iron, and then find out you could have used an 8 then that's no big deal. You had 32 paces (I used paces rather than yards because it's the ratio that is important not the actual distance.) I simply move my aim point from 8 paces on to roughly 11. (32/9 is close to 11.)

 

I can understand your confusion because I left some words out. Oops! (32/9 is close to 11.) should have read, 32/3 because we have a 9 iron is close to 11. If we had a 7 iron then it is 32/5, but that would be 6 paces from the ball. That would be right at the edge of the green, and if you are just 1 pace short, it could get caught in the fringe.  

 

Any of the three clubs will work in this example, just change your aim point.

 

I have added the loft on my clubs, because a lot of sets are much stronger lofts. This may or may not effect your roll, but it is one of the reasons I have not moved on to distance irons. I have played clubs with the hotter face and I don't like chipping with them. They are sometimes too hot.

1. LW (60) = roll
2. GW (52) = carry = roll.
3. 9 iron (42) = 1 carry and 2 roll.
4. 8 iron (38) = 1 carry and 3 roll.
5. 7 iron (34) = 1 carry and 4 roll.
6. 6 iron (30) = 1 carry and 5 roll.