The art of the chip: Master one of golf's most important shots

Saturday, November 30, 2013

By Chuck Evans
Special Contributor



We all miss greens and when we do we've got to have the confidence that we can get the ball up and down to save par. A chip stroke is a stroke is like a putt but with a lofted club that has no cocking of the target side wrist. If you can safely land the ball on the green without using a cocked wrist then you are chipping.

The short game, chipping, pitching, putting amount to over 70 percent of all shots

All great chippers of the ball have several characteristics in common:

• They change clubs for different length chip shots - just like you would for different length shots from the fairway.

• The weight is favoring the target side foot - this helps to create a steeper angle of attack into the ball and eliminate those "fat" shots.

• The ball is positioned back of center to ensure a descending blow and proper ball turf contact.

• The ball is struck with a descending blow - Never try and help the ball into the air!

• The clubface does not open or close during the stroke - it "looks" at the ball during the stroke.

• The hands remain passive during the stroke, no flipping of the wrist - a kind of "dead hands" feel.

• At the finish the target side arm and clubshaft should remain in one line - not two!

Remember, a chip has maximum airtime and minimum ground time. We need to get the ball onto the green and rolling like a putt as soon as possible.

While there are variations of this procedure the above is an absolute to control your chip shots. The better your chipping gets then the better your pitching will get. The better your pitching gets the better your ball striking will get.

Learn to control these short shots and you will soon be in control of your game!

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Put purpose in your golf practice

By Chuck Evans
Special Contributor

In order to practice your golf game we must first know how to practice. There are two basic types of practice.

1. Mechanical Practice
2. Playing Practice

A majority of players think that practice is beating golf balls. Wrong, that is just hitting balls. There must be a purpose for improvement. In reality if you're working on something in your swing then "you must work on this correctly even if you miss the ball, until you don't miss it anymore! There is no acceptable alternative," as Homer Kelley said.

Here are some ideas for you to think about the next time you go out to mechanical practice.

Always lay down a reference line for alignment.

Use an 8 or 7 iron to train with, even if you're having trouble with the driver. These clubs are easier to engrain a "feeling" or mechanical imperative than the driver.

Verify your fundamentals, grip, aim, alignment, posture, ball position, plane angle, etc.

Start by loosing up with a sand wedge - it's the heaviest club in the bag - and hitting little chip shots, then move into small pitch shots. This builds a strong foundation for learning the proper impact alignments.

Focus on whatever it is that you are trying to improve on mechanically. Do drills to help enforce this change.

Every half hour put down the clubs and take a break. Alternate between the long game and the short game. Remember, as your chipping gets better your pitching gets better and then your full swing gets better.

Set realistic goals and time frames to achieve them. If you want to win the Club Championship but have a 15 handicap then give yourself time to work on the things that will get you there. For instance, if you putt well but pitch poorly, then spend more time pitching and less time putting.

When it's time to play forget mechanics and focus on the target. You must learn to separate playing from practice.

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Don't get intimidated by your golf partner

By Chuck Evans
Special Contributor

Most of us play golf with others and usually with players of the same caliber. But as long as we play golf there will always be players that hit it longer, straighter, hole more putts, better course management then we do.

I see the majority of players get intimidated by their playing partners and then they try to do things they simply are not capable of.

One player "A" hits a comfortable 8 iron 150 yards and player "B" uses a 5 iron for the same distance. It won't take long for player "B" to start trying to hit their irons farther - and because they are now out of their comfort zone their scores and accuracy suffer.

A prime example of this is former British Open Champion Ian Baker-Finch. This player was world class and was playing great golf when he won the British Open but soon after, rumor has it, he thought he should be hitting it farther. His quest turned into a nightmare, he completely "lost" the game that had won him the Open. His accuracy was completely gone and he no longer had any idea where the ball was going.

After struggling for a few years and not finding his way back he simply retired from competitive golf rather then play golf like most of the golf world does. When you have played golf at this high of a level it is extremely difficult to come to terms that you have lost what you've had.

Can players hit the ball farther without giving up accuracy? Of course, but there are limits to this. Once of those limits is the players physical make-up. If you have the flexibility of Craig Stadler but are trying to swing like Davis Love III then that is not going to work. You will have to rely on building speed into what you do have.

Find a fitness trainer and work on your flexibility; see if you can add more length to your swing but always under control. Think of it like this, your body is the foundation for the golf stroke - just like a sturdy home must have a study foundation - if you overload your foundation then structure will collapse. So don't try to overload your physical structure build a precision golf stroke based on what you can do - not what you can't do.

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Ben Hogan's words and actions still hold true for golfers and instructors

By Chuck Evans
Special Contributor

A few years ago I ran across an old video of Ben Hogan showing some friends how he practiced. The film was taken at Seminole Golf Club - one of Hogan's favorites - in the backyard of these friends.

As Hogan was getting set up he kept directing the person shooting the
video to move the camera so that it would be in the right place - teaching pros that use video take note!

Once he was satisfied with the camera placement he started waggling the
club but in slow motion. Once the waggle was done he started his backstroke - again in slow motion. Once he reached the top of the backstroke he started the downstroke - again in slow motion - all of the way into Impact, follow through, and finish.

One of the ladies present asked, "Benny, why are swinging so slow?"

Hogan replied, "At this pace I can control the golf club and everything in my swing. Whenever I'm working on something I always do it in slow motion. That way I can monitor what I'm doing."

Ben Hogan was way ahead of his time when it came to game improvement and the majority of us would do better if we followed his example.

Here's one of Hogan's best quotes:

"Reverse every natural instinct and do the opposite of what you are inclined to do, and you will probably come very close to having a perfect golf swing."

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Golfers need patience and discipline to thrive during tournament play

By Chuck Evans
Special Contributor

Playing golf with your Sunday group is a completely different animal then playing and preparing for golf tournaments.

First, there is no pressure when playing with your group of regulars. You all generally shoot the same scores, have the same handicap and get out to enjoy the surroundings. If you miss a putt it may cost you some "skin" money or a beverage of choice but you will see these guys again next week.

Tournament play on the other hand is much different. Instead of three players trying to beat you, like your regular group, there are 154 players all trying to do the same thing -- win the tournament.

Winning a golf tournament is a combination of skill and luck. You could hit a great shot, have it hit a sprinkler head and then kick out of bounds. Or you could hit your tee shot into the trees and have it kick back in the fairway.

Preparing for a tournament takes time, if done properly, gives you an edge when the bell rings.

Practice rounds are just that -- practice. In preparation for your tournament you need to know exact yardages to the front, center and back of the greens. How far is the trouble off the tee? What club would you hit off the tee to leave the ball short of the trouble?

Have you considered charting the greens? Divide the green into quadrants then chart the breaks, grain, and any slopes. The pin will be in one of these quadrants during the tournament, so wouldn't it be great to know beforehand where to hit your approach shot and then know how the putts break?

Players need to develop a strategy and then stick to their game plan. You develop that game plan during your practice rounds. For instance, if you decide to hit an iron off the tee on a par 4 or par 5 then keep to that strategy, don't fall victim to what other players are doing.

In fact, during the practice round hit a couple of different clubs off the tee to see which one gives you the best opportunities and plays to your strengths.

I have seen many major championships lost because of the ball over-curving. Yes, the player hits a draw normally and then under pressure hits duck hook resulting in either a shot that now cannot reach the green or even worse: a penalty shot of some kind.

Take your time and chart the course, find yardages from every possible location - you may not hit the fairway on every hole so what it the yardage to the green from these locations and what shot options are you going to have.

Take these tips and apply them and you will see a difference the next time the "bell" rings.

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Controlling the golf club can help lead players to golfing nirvana

By Chuck Evans,
Special Contributor

As players we need to understand that we must control the three parts of the golf club in order to strike quality golf shots. These three parts are:

1. The clubface

2. The clubhead

3. The clubshaft

These three parts must be controlled through three stations - from address, to the top, and to the finish. You'll notice that Impact is not included in these locations.

Impact does not have the rank of a station simply because it happens if you have controlled the club through the three stations.

The three stations

1. The left hand controls the clubface and its job is to impart "Hinge Action" to the face supplying direction, trajectory, and curvature. These three "Hinge Actions" are known as (1) Vertical: a wall, (2) Horizontal: a floor, and (3) Angled: somewhere in between.

In a geometrically correct golf stroke (ideal application) the Horizontal Hinge Action is used. This action works just like a door that is opening and closing. While on a Horizontal Plane it is clear to see that there is no turning or rolling in either direction. But on an Inclined Plane of motion there is a turn to the right and a roll to the left.

2. The right hand - more specifically the first joint of the right index finger - controls the clubhead, its job is to sense where the clubhead is at all times and to direct the action of the clubhead. Using what is known as the "Aiming Point Concept" the direction and point of location in the downstroke varies according to hand speed, and the club being used. The shorter the club the more in front of the golf ball the "Aiming Point" is.

For example, when hitting a greenside bunker shot the player should be looking at a spot behind the golf ball. This is because that's where we want the club to strike the sand.

The same principle applies here. A wedge for example would be in front of the ball. A 5 iron would be at the ball, and a driver may be behind the ball.

3. Finally, the clubshaft controls the plane. The Plane is the angle that the club moves back and down on. It can stay on the same inclined plane back and down, shift to another angle, or even have several shifts during the stroke. The simplest is to not shift at all. The next easiest is to only shift this plane angle once, then two shifts, then three shifts, etc.

Annika Sorenstam, Tiger (when he's on), Adam Scott, Michelle Wie, and host of others use either a "single" shift in their procedures. Nick Price, Nick Faldo and others use a "double" shift while Jim Furyk uses a "customized" plane and multiple shifts.

You can use any of these and obviously play great golf, but remember - Any plane shift is dangerous! Learn to control these three parts of the golf club and you will be on your way to golfing "Nirvana."

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Pausing your golf swing can help it

By Karl Fischer
Contributor

This is an often-used instruction with some merit, but let's look at it for a moment.

Any time there is a "direction change on a single plane" (such as a pendulum changing direction at the top of its swing), the clubhead speed is zero. It is stopped at the top. Stopped is certainly a pause.

We think that the discipline sought here is not to pause but to "recognize the top of the swing" so that we actually get there and make a "full swing" as opposed to the often ineffective "abbreviated" version.

Teachers at the IRGO Golf Academy have often observed swing's being critiqued as "too fast" ... "slow it down." I do not agree with this generally as such guidance has the real tendency to cause clubhead deceleration, which can be worse than what is already in use. Even swing balance can be compromised.

An abbreviated swing naturally appears to be "too fast" but primarily because the "duration" is short ... the swing does not take very long. Why? Because it did not swing to a comfortable top. When we make "half a trip," it usually takes half as long. Certainly it's fast!

A directly beneficial "duration" improvement is to simply say "and" when you feel the comfortable top of your personal swing. Make sure you get to the top in all "full swings."

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