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Chipping May be the End of Me!

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JAMKC

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SO back to the game this year after an 18 year break. In the past I did struggle with the y*** when putting with a short putter. Switched to a long putter and all good. Now, back playing regularly, chipping has become my struggle and it feels a lot like my past putter issues.

Scores have been coming down including an 82 last week. That round I found a lot of greens. Played today and shot a 99 and had 8-10 "missed" chips, inc. more than half left in the long grass going ~1/2 way and when not left in the long grass, skulled across the green.

Have tried changing clubs, changing stance and grip, including cross handed (!). Pretty desperate! Looking to find an approach that limits variables and allows me to get back to where I can at least have a putt to make things interesting. Open minded!!!
 
If this hasn't been an option you've looked at, a chipper club and I'm honestly not joking. Will help bring some consistency back to that part of the game until you're ready to repeat the proper motions with a regular wedge. At least in my opinion
 
Cleveland Smart Sole C
Ping ChipR
Either club will do wonders to solve this. Point and shoot with a putting stroke. The Cleveland C can be found used under 100 bucks. Give it a shot!
 
Muchmore18 said:
If this hasn't been an option you've looked at, a chipper club and I'm honestly not joking. Will help bring some consistency back to that part of the game until you're ready to repeat the proper motions with a regular wedge. At least in my opinion
Click to expand...

I agree. When all else fails try something completely different. Even if it’s just to gain some confidence.
 
Probably not the quick fix you want (or maybe it is), but take a lesson from a pro.

I cannot endorse enough how much a lesson can fix some issues quickly!
 
If the goal is to solely give you a putt I would strongly recommend a chipper.
 
JAMKC said:
SO back to the game this year after an 18 year break. In the past I did struggle with the y*** when putting with a short putter. Switched to a long putter and all good. Now, back playing regularly, chipping has become my struggle and it feels a lot like my past putter issues.

Scores have been coming down including an 82 last week. That round I found a lot of greens. Played today and shot a 99 and had 8-10 "missed" chips, inc. more than half left in the long grass going ~1/2 way and when not left in the long grass, skulled across the green.

Have tried changing clubs, changing stance and grip, including cross handed (!). Pretty desperate! Looking to find an approach that limits variables and allows me to get back to where I can at least have a putt to make things interesting. Open minded!!!
Click to expand...

Hmmm, treat it like a putt. Grip down, get a little closer to the ball, not much wrist hinge, let the shaft catch up with your arms - just a bigger putt. When you gain more confidence, hinge more.
 
Desmond said:
Hmmm, treat it like a putt. Grip down, get a little closer to the ball, not much wrist hinge, let the shaft catch up with your arms - just a bigger putt. When you gain more confidence, hinge more.
Click to expand...
D-Man, thanks for this. One challenge is that I don’t have a solid “regular” putting stroke” due to the past y***. I’ll give your comments a real try.
 
ddec said:
I agree. When all else fails try something completely different. Even if it’s just to gain some confidence.
Click to expand...
Too funny! I ordered one and it should be here tomorrow. Figured if I can get that working I can transition back to regular clubs.
 
Similar to what @Desmond said, I think a putting stroke feel the easiest. Choose different clubs for different lengths, all the way down to your mid irons. Let the sole/bounce help you.
 
JAMKC said:
Too funny! I ordered one and it should be here tomorrow. Figured if I can get that working I can transition back to regular clubs.
Click to expand...

I mean they work when it comes to simplifying the short game. It's not a magic club, but definitely worth a shot.
 
Just_Brad said:
Probably not the quick fix you want (or maybe it is), but take a lesson from a pro.

I cannot endorse enough how much a lesson can fix some issues quickly!
Click to expand...
Got a good guy to go to just got to get on his schedule.
 
JAMKC said:
D-Man, thanks for this. One challenge is that I don’t have a solid “regular” putting stroke” due to the past y***. I’ll give your comments a real try.
Click to expand...

A pro gave me that lesson when I was having issues with chipping. The ball will not go far the first several strokes, but you will make solid contact. Try it with the toe of the club slightly down. Then loosen up a bit and do the almost pause at the end of the backswing so the shaft can catch up, and after about 10 strokes, loosen up more.
 
You all are fantastic, very appreciated. How do I approach a good lie on the fairway/apron vs. fluffy rough vs. a bare lie? Do I need to make a bunch of adjustments or can I lock in on Desmond’s guidance and roll via different clubs or the right chipper?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
JAMKC said:
SO back to the game this year after an 18 year break. In the past I did struggle with the y*** when putting with a short putter. Switched to a long putter and all good. Now, back playing regularly, chipping has become my struggle and it feels a lot like my past putter issues.

Scores have been coming down including an 82 last week. That round I found a lot of greens. Played today and shot a 99 and had 8-10 "missed" chips, inc. more than half left in the long grass going ~1/2 way and when not left in the long grass, skulled across the green.

Have tried changing clubs, changing stance and grip, including cross handed (!). Pretty desperate! Looking to find an approach that limits variables and allows me to get back to where I can at least have a putt to make things interesting. Open minded!!!
Click to expand...
Well, since you don't putt with a short putter, I am at a loss on any help with your chipping woes. This because I chip with my putting set up, and stroke.

I will explain it anyways. Perhaps it will help you.

Stand as you would when using a regular length putter. The ball will be in the center of your stance. Your feet will be close to the ball. This also means the the shaft will be more up right, which will also cause the the toe of the club to hang lower than the heel.

What ever club you chip with, you'll grip down on the shaft to get the same length as your grip on the putter.

Aim the club face on your chosen target line.

Without changing the club face aim, move your front foot back a little giving you a slightly open stance.

Then like a putting stroke, just stroke the ball using only the triangle formed by the hands, arms, and shoulders. Wrists, and lower body stay silent.

Distance from the turf to the landing spot on the green, and the distance from the landing spot to the hole determines which club is to be used. I've chipped with every club from my 6i to my 60* wedge.

It's not hard to learn this chipping stroke. The only knock on it is the lowered toe would tend to cause fat shots. With some practice this is not the case.

Give it a try for what it's worth. ;)
 
JAMKC said:
You all are fantastic, very appreciated. How do I approach a good lie on the fairway/apron vs. fluffy rough vs. a bare lie? Do I need to make a bunch of adjustments or can I lock in on Desmond’s guidance and roll via different clubs or the right chipper?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

I play them all the same. Maybe put the ball a little back for heavy rough where I really need to hit down and get some pop on it.

THP got me straightened away on the putt-stroke approach a week or two ago, and it works.
 
I feel your pain having gone through the chipping yips. When it was at it's worst, I was a nervous wreck and just decelerated and stabbed at the ball. A chipper, helped bridge the gap along with practice. However, I have chipped my best with the XL Halo iron pitching wedge. It has a lot of bounce and I've never chipped better.

I also use a putting stroke when I am near the green.
 
JAMKC said:
You all are fantastic, very appreciated. How do I approach a good lie on the fairway/apron vs. fluffy rough vs. a bare lie? Do I need to make a bunch of adjustments or can I lock in on Desmond’s guidance and roll via different clubs or the right chipper?
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

What I do.

Fairway/apron - more weight on front foot, feet not far apart, front foot a bit open. If you need more distance, turn your hips when it's beyond a putting stroke. People make the mistake on the range of using their arms too much in chipping and pitching when it's more than a putting stroke. I see it all the time - all arms - and you see all types of misses.

Rough - play it more in the middle of stance with even weight or you may go under the ball.

Bare lie - play it back with weight on front foot to make sure you hit ball first.

The putting stroke, toe down, no hinge is just a start for you to gain confidence. I use this stroke when I want to roll the ball from off the green. After you gain some comfort, you can slowly add hinge and hips and less arm
 
WLG1952 said:
Well, since you don't putt with a short putter, I am at a loss on any help with your chipping woes. This because I chip with my putting set up, and stroke.

I will explain it anyways. Perhaps it will help you.

Stand as you would when using a regular length putter. The ball will be in the center of your stance. Your feet will be close to the ball. This also means the the shaft will be more up right, which will also cause the the toe of the club to hang lower than the heel.

What ever club you chip with, you'll grip down on the shaft to get the same length as your grip on the putter.

Aim the club face on your chosen target line.

Without changing the club face aim, move your front foot back a little giving you a slightly open stance.

Then like a putting stroke, just stroke the ball using only the triangle formed by the hands, arms, and shoulders. Wrists, and lower body stay silent.

Distance from the turf to the landing spot on the green, and the distance from the landing spot to the hole determines which club is to be used. I've chipped with every club from my 6i to my 60* wedge.

It's not hard to learn this chipping stroke. The only knock on it is the lowered toe would tend to cause fat shots. With some practice this is not the case.

Give it a try for what it's worth. ;)
Click to expand...
Yeah, that's the rub since I cannot rely on a typical putting stroke. I've also tried using my hybrid and 5 wood as it gets me more length but hard to control. Had a little luck with going cross handed but really only good when right off the green. Thanks for the good advice!
 
Watch this and see if it doesn't help:



I showed that to a friend of mine who was struggling and he realized instant improvement.

It's not quite the way my first instructor first taught us, but, when he later happened across me practicing chipping and saw me struggling to remain connected during my swing, he said "You can also do this," and demonstrated the same thing.
 
If you go out on YouTube and search for Lee Trevino he has a chipping method that eliminates 90% of the variables. Basically he has you take the club back with the hands and then return it by keeping the hands there and turning the body. He says the key is to make sure the clubhead never passes the handle.
 
Duffer Seamus said:
Watch this and see if it doesn't help:



I showed that to a friend of mine who was struggling and he realized instant improvement.

It's not quite the way my first instructor first taught us, but, when he later happened across me practicing chipping and saw me struggling to remain connected during my swing, he said "You can also do this," and demonstrated the same thing.
Click to expand...

Holy c***! I love this video. Gots to go try this!
 
@JAMKC, one thing I do for chipping swing practice is bat one of those yellow limited-flight balls around in the back yard, off the top of the grass. No, you don't get the same feel as you would hitting a real ball off real turf, but I've found it helps get my form right. I did a lot of that my first season playing. My chipping game was my strongest suit.

I just did a session out back. When I got it right--came straight back, kept my head down, followed-through, the ball went where it was supposed to, the way it was supposed to, way more times than not. When I didn't get them all right, it usually did not.

I guess you could call it kind of like putting on the carper, or even on a putting mat. Neither of those is like a real green, but you can still refine your putting stroke that way :)

Plus, on a nice afternoon like we have here in S.E. Mi. right now: It's pleasant and relaxing :)
 
JAMKC said:
Holy c***! I love this video. Gots to go try this!
Click to expand...


Yes, that is a good video. But you must crawl before you walk.
 
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