Martin's Blog - Chapter 7: Chipping It Close

• By Martin Hall
• Mar 14, 2012 7:30 PM ET

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Cliff Notes
Keys to Chipping:
-Distance control is more important than direction. You must work on distance control first.
-Land the ball on the green when possible, not before the green.
-Visualize the chip shot in your mind's eye before you make your practice swings.
 
Drills for Chipping:
-Put a head cover under your lead arm and hit some chips. This will keep the body engaged throughout the chip and will also keep the club on a good plane.
-Put an alignment rod coming out the grip end of your club and have it point to your lead hip. Always have the grip pointing to the hip.
-Make sure you turn your chest through the chip. After you hit your chip, your chest needs to be pointing at your target.
 
A rule of thumb for the average golfer is play a chip with minimum air time and maximum ground time. Let the ball travel on the ground towards the hole instead of traveling in the air.


Facebook Question from The Class
Q: 30 - 70 yards in simply kills my round. Easily 8 to 12 strokes per round. My sense of tempo goes away, I have trouble keeping the face square at impact and my quality of contact is all over the place. I need serious help building a partial swing I can count on. (Mitch Lennon)

A: It’s easy to think because it’s a partial swing the body doesn’t move, bad thinking. Truth is, with a small swing you still need to pivot and move the body. The way to keep the grip and arm pressure light is to understand that motion offsets tension.


Martin’s Library
“The Art of the Short Game" by Stan Utley


Homework Assignment
-Practice Distance Control When Chipping
-Point the Grip to the Hip


Next Week’s Show (Bay Hill Special)
Chapter 8: Becoming a Better Driver (March 21, 2012)
Post your questions for next week on Email or Facebook