It surprises me how many people stick to chipping with just one club, it makes the task of chipping so much harder than it should be! The reason we select to play a chip is that were forced to, normally by an obsticle in the balls path that it cannot roll over or through successfully. We only ever want to fly the ball as far as we need to i.e. up to where the obstacle ends which is normally where the green begins. This is my golden rule of chipping!
So many people fly the ball half way up the green before it lands, the technical demand & risk for this type of shot is so much higher, leaving a far greater possibility of failure, so why do it? The less time the balls spends in the air the more consistent the shot will be!
Now a lot of you by now will be saying in your head ‘surely my Pw wont always roll enough to get up to the hole if I land it at the start of the green every time’ well this is where the art is in picking the right club for the job.
The easiest way to make it safer and simpler is to choose the right club for the job and here’s how –
Different clubs will fly and roll different amounts so we need to break the shot down into a fraction, the total distance being a whole. You need to work out how far your going to roughly fly the ball vs how far you want it to roll
i.e. at what point does the green begin and how much of the total distance are we looking for the ball to roll.
Here’s the formula to use –
- A Sw will Fly roughly 2/3 of the total distance and roll the remaining 1/3
- A Pw will fly roughly 1/2 of the total distance and roll the remaining 1/2
- A 9 Iron will fly roughly 1/3 of the total distance and roll the remaining 2/3
- A 7 Iron will fly roughly 1/4 of the total distance and roll the remaining 3/4
These fractions are based on a flat green and you will need to adjust them accordingly for up and down hill chips
e.g. 1/3 to 2/3 up hill would probably be an 8/7 iron instead of a 9 iron.
This will form the basis of your new short game and from here you can start to develop your own feel and touch around the greens but remember my golden rule only fly the ball as far as your need to, the shorter the better!
Good luck with your chipping and feel free to leave a comments about your progress…..
