Wow I suck at chipping!!

[Barnie]

Allright here's my problem. I headed out to Cloverdale today (my friends choice of courses) to play a round. I hit 9 of 18 greens in reg resulting in even par for half the course, not to shabby but should be better considering I'm playing cloverdale. 6 of the other nine holes I was max 15 yards and min 4 yards from the pin (not from the edge of green) resulting in some very straight forward chips which, theoretically, I should be making over half of them. For these 6 holes I was 13 over par, absolutely disgraceful!! Didn't even think it would be possible. The other 3 holes I messed up or duffed a shot before I got to the green resulting in some poorly played holes.. So be it, it happens. As for being 15 yards or closer on 6 holes and paring 9 yet getting into the nineties (at cloverdale.. YIKES!!) makes me realize how ty my chipping and putting are. I've never been able to rely on it. Basically my question is if anyone is heading to Kevin Haime to practice their chipping and putting I'd be willing to pay for the price they charge to use the facility for an hour. All I ask is the person has a low-handicap (single digits) and wouldn't mind giving a bit of instruction while they practice. I can't afford a lesson from a certified instructor (tuition, rent, and whatever else to pay for already) so I'll toss this out. I'm probably going to head out sometime this wednesday or thrusday. PM me if your interested..

[jvincent]

If you have access to a field or a back yard, just take your wedges and a few balls and practice hitting short chips and pitches a few times a week. Just pick a target where you want the ball to land.

Most of chipping is about feel. This kind of practice will dramatically improve your touch with the shorter clubs.

["Richard"]

I used to shoot in the mid 100's and I started doing some simple chipping drills and it really helps. My chipping and putting have imroved alot and my scores have gone done really fast. I never realized how many strokes you lose to simple chipping and putting mistakes. I was told by a CPGA pro that if you chip with a 60* wedge you want to land it 70* of the way and have it role the rest of the 30%. If its a SW then you want to land it 60% of the way and let it roll the rest of the way. He gave me a chart that gave me the %'s all the way down to my 6 iron. Does anyone know the exact Percents? THanks

[broken27]

You'll find varying numbers on this. I have a ratio chart that suggests there is no club that does less than 1:1 (flight:roll). I don't believe that, as spin can even make the ball come back a bit if you can do it.

You're probably better off doing what was recommended and hitting tons of balls with your clubs. Figure out what YOUR clubs do with YOUR swing. Any chart you get is only a basic guideline anyways. Of course, I'm not very good at golf, but I find that helps sometimes in answering questions about really basic stuff.

Cheers, and if you find anything that works well for ya, I'd be interested to hear it!

Dan

["Richard"]

can you post your ratio chart? Would be intresting to look at

[Barnie]

Yeah well getting more time in too practice my chipping and putting is a must.. Obviously today isn't how I always chip but I don't find I get up and down as often as I feel I should. If I could chip and putt half decent I know my scores would drop from the mid 80's and reach into the 70's much more often than they do. My biggest mistake is in chipping, I think, is the deceleration.. I always seem to slow down my follow through and flub the ball 2 yards.. Classic move on my part.. Anyway the offer still stands..

[beatnik58]

Pick a part of your backyard you don't like and sacrifice it to the chipping gods.

[Barnie]

I used to shoot in the mid 100's...

Are you saying you used to shoot around 150

["Richard"]

ahah, mid 100's meaning 100-110 hahahah

[Chieflongtee]

Let's be realistic here. Are you retired or a student ? Not to my knowledge. You have a full time job and do not have time to devote to practicing. Correct? Then your only solution is: Pick one club and stick with it. A go to club that you can trust.Forget this fancy stuff i.e lob shots etc. Use a 7 iron or whatever works and roll the ball to the hole i.e use your putting stroke for chipping. Jack Nicklaus once said: it is a lot easier to understand a rolling ball than a flying ball. Unless you can devote hours and hours of practicing various shots stick to rolling it to the hole. If you skull it a bit you'll still end up a lot closer to the hole than any missed flop shots.

[Barnie]

Definitely true Andre.. I usually use my pitching wedge or nine iron and play the chip and run game.. Flopping it to the hole is my last option. I don't necessarily skull it too often I definitely favour the deceleration on the downswing from fear of skulling it haha. I'll just spend some time at a golf course putting green.. Hopefully for free too Too bad The Marshes doesn't have that deal for all you can hit driving range and use of practice facility.. That was a sweet summer before they got the machine.

[broken27]

Let's be realistic here. Are you retired or a student ? Not to my knowledge. You have a full time job and do not have time to devote to practicing. Correct? Then your only solution is: Pick one club and stick with it. A go to club that you can trust.Forget this fancy stuff i.e lob shots etc. Use a 7 iron or whatever works and roll the ball to the hole i.e use your putting stroke for chipping. Jack Nicklaus once said: it is a lot easier to understand a rolling ball than a flying ball. Unless you can devote hours and hours of practicing various shots stick to rolling it to the hole. If you skull it a bit you'll still end up a lot closer to the hole than any missed flop shots.

I would agree with this in a lot of cases, but I tend to have the opposite success. I can't figure out how it will roll. If I can get it up high at impact, I can gauge the power fairly well. I am early in my "golf development" though, and mention this only because sometimes a lot of technical info can get overwhelming...

Dan

[Chieflongtee]

Definitely true Andre.. I usually use my pitching wedge or nine iron and play the chip and run game.. Flopping it to the hole is my last option. I don't necessarily skull it too often I definitely favour the deceleration on the downswing from fear of skulling it haha. I'll just spend some time at a golf course putting green.. Hopefully for free too Too bad The Marshes doesn't have that deal for all you can hit driving range and use of practice facility.. That was a sweet summer before they got the machine.

I read your other post about the Champlain. You may not like the conditions but that's another story. However there is a practice green with bunkers next to the restaurant free to use and also a putting green next to the pro shop . The bunkers at the Champlain are hard packed. You can learn from practicing in these bunkers. As you know you are not allowed to take a practice swing in bunkers. But burying your feet can give you an excellent feedback as to the the type of shot to be played.

[Chieflongtee]

I would agree with this in a lot of cases, but I tend to have the opposite success. I can't figure out how it will roll. If I can get it up high at impact, I can gauge the power fairly well. I am early in my "golf development" though, and mention this only because sometimes a lot of technical info can get overwhelming...

Dan

Back to Jack. Use whatever works for you. He suggests the following for people like you and I. Pick 20 balls. Pitch and run the first 20. Then get it up high the next 20. Then the in between shot. From there take whatever works for you.

[broken27]

Back to Jack. Use whatever works for you. He suggests the following for people like you and I. Pick 20 balls. Pitch and run the first 20. Then get it up high the next 20. Then the in between shot. From there take whatever works for you.

A great piece of advice if you ask me... I generally spend about 25 balls on lob-ish shots and about 25 on bump-n-run shots at the range before my round. In close, I do about 15 of each and like you (or Jack) said, 15 in between. It's fun, good practice, and a great way to gauge how you should play.

I'm a firm believer in the whole "muscle-memory" thing, and also believe that because golf involves (for most people) a fairly violent and unnatural motion, most people will never reach their potential until they get a swing they can understand and repeat. The type of swing may not matter too much until you try to get competitive.

Cheers,
Dan

[chollyred]

My short game generally saves my sorry tail. It's my full swing that keeps me in trouble. It seems that I'm always chipping from just off the green (I usually chip in 2-3 time a round). I agree with Andre. Take a 7 or 8 iron and practice bump & run chips from all around the green. From each location, take the time to read the green just like you would a putt.

I play my chips off of my left foot with the ball almost even with the left foot. Use a putting type of stroke and keep the wrists firm. Practice from 2 feet off the green, then move a few feet back, etc. until you learn to feel where to land the ball.

These are the shots where imagination really comes into play. You have to visualize the shot before pulling the trigger. You can't always fly the ball onto the green. Sometimes you have to hit a spot in the fringe, or hit into a bank to help kill the speed of the ball.

[Golfpeasant]

Save some cash, get Dave Pelz's short game bible, and practice in a field. My game overall is not great, but my chipping gets me pars a lot of the time. Confidence is key. So is the knowledge of various options...I use my 7, 8 and 9 iron to bump and run whenever i can...looks lame, but great overall results.

[Marmotte]

In my pre-game practice, I prefer to drive 10 balls and use the rest of the basket with my wedges. Seems to build touch, feeling and confidence. When I do it with application, I get a much better game after that. My driving abilities still suck, but I recover with the short game.

[faldo]

In answer to the chart "Ratio" request of a few posts ago, here's what I obtained after a one-day short-game clinic at the Kevin Haime Golf Academy two summers ago. I have it taped to my 7-iron so it's always handy. Their philosophy is "get the ball rolling as-soon-as-possible". It's now mine too!!

Distance-of-carry to Distance-of-roll:

Sand or Lob Wedge 1-1
Pitching Wedge 2-1
9-Iron 3-1
7-Iron 5-1

So if I'm 3 ft off the green and 50 ft from the pin (with nothing to get over) I will plan to hit the 7-iron 10 ft and watch it roll up to the hole. If a bunker was in the way, I would plan to hit the 9 about 1/3 of the way to let it roll the rest.

It sure worked on the weekend at our OttawaGolf Event as I chipped in with my 7 on #16 from 5 ft behind the green, about 75 feet away.
We won by a stroke and I grabbed a skin with the Net-Eagle.
Of course my Partner, Kevin, carried me most of the day until I could contribute something.

Bottom Line: Get a lesson or try it all, but be flexible and don't get stuck with the one-club idea. It cost me years of trying hard shots with only one idea in my head.

[el tigre]

In answer to the chart "Ratio" request of a few posts ago, here's what I obtained after a one-day short-game clinic at the Kevin Haime Golf Academy two summers ago. I have it taped to my 7-iron so it's always handy. Their philosophy is "get the ball rolling as-soon-as-possible". It's now mine too!!

Distance-of-carry to Distance-of-roll:

Sand or Lob Wedge 1-1
Pitching Wedge 2-1
9-Iron 3-1
7-Iron 5-1

So if I'm 3 ft off the green and 50 ft from the pin (with nothing to get over) I will plan to hit the 7-iron 10 ft and watch it roll up to the hole. If a bunker was in the way, I would plan to hit the 9 about 1/3 of the way to let it roll the rest.

I don't want to be too picky with the math George cuz I understand what you mean, but shouldn't the numbers (or the title) be reversed?

[faldo]

OOPPSIE.. Thanks Terry.

Please switch the numbers to be the reverse. IE: 1 part carry AND 5 parts roll...