Lesson #3

In this lesson we covered 2 different techniques to hitting a low and high chip. First up we have the low shot. In the pictures above you’ll notice a taller posture paired with getting close to the ball much like putting. Raise the handle high up so that the heel of the club almost comes off the ground. It helps to strike the ball slightly off the toe of the club face to take spin off and allow the ball to roll like a putt.

The pictures above show your ball position in the back of your stance with the club shaft leaning forward towards the target. A simple hinge and hold motion driven by the shoulders will allow the shaft to stay leaning forward into impact. The most important fundamental to all chip shots is to have at least 60% of your pressure in your front side and do not let it shift during the swing. These shots require accuracy, not power and setting the weight forwards ensures we get interaction with the turf.

You did a great job executing the high shot here. You’ll notice posture is low and wide and far away from the ball. We want that handle low to help add more loft to the club. We also open the club face up to point towards the sky so that we may slap the bounce against the turf and not have the club get stuck in the ground.

The pictures on the right is just more of the same stuff here but off tighter lies, aka less room for error. Very nice job with keeping your pressure in the front side through the shot and returning the shaft to the setup position ensuring correct loft.

In the 5 pictures above you should see at least 60% of your pressure set on the front side, a shaft that is leaning backwards in order to add loft, and a club head path that resembles a “V” shape which represents a steeper angle of attack into the ball. You can also see the club face is very open coming into the ball which is what we want. Your club shaft that is returned to its original setup position at impact which ensures proper loft into the ball.

We finished with the same high shot but from a downhill lie into a short sided hole location. These can be some of the hardest shots in golf to pull off so only use this when you absolutely have to. Choking down almost to the shaft will help keep this shot short with our landing spot being so close to us. The 2nd picture on the left is something I’d like to see more of in your full swing. Practicing your chipping and keep your pressure forward will start to help your full swing get more comfortable shifting into your left side. Great work as always!