Boot Camp For Chip Shots

By: Max Johnson

Are you frustrated with your short game? It happens quite often. You feel like you have put in your time at the practice facility and do not know what to do next. Knowing the fundamentals of a chip shot will help you get the golf ball close to the hole or chip in. This will quickly lower your scores and your golf handicap.

Many golfers are confused on what the actual definition of a chip shot is. To make sure we are all talking about the same thing, what is the definition of a chip shot? A chip shot is a golf shot that has minimum air time and maximum ground time. To say it in English, the golf ball is on the ground longer than it is in the air. So a properly executed chip shot will be lofted over rough or uneven ground, and then roll the majority of the way to the hole.

A Fundamental Chip Shot
The fundamental chip shot is just that fundamental. To fine-tune your chipping use these fundamentals to guarantee more accuracy and lower scores, do the following:

First, as you address the golf ball, the ball should be positioned equal to where the logo would be positioned on your right chest for a right handed golfer and positioned on your left chest for a left handed golfer. With the ball position towards your back foot, the iron will be descending through impact and the ball. Your arms should hang freely and hang straight down and not pointing out.

Second, simply set up with sixty to seventy percent (it is individual) of your weight on your left foot for right handed golfers or on your right foot for left handed golfers. Then you make your putting stroke with your iron. Your weight will not shift. Your weight will stay in the same place. Setting your weight forward will make sure that the chip shot will be hit with a descending blow while you are in balance and you do not have has many moving parts.

Now to finish your golf set up, as you look down at the golf ball, move your hands so they are equal to your left thigh which is forward of the golf ball. Simply make a putting stroke, your hands will return to this same position at impact and then through to your finish position. With your hands ahead of the ball at impact, the momentum of your iron is more likely to be moving forward towards the hole. In English, this means your ball will be starting on the target line more often than not

Whether you are at the country club or in the back yard using a golf chipping net, you will be on the track to better chipping and to lowering your scores.

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