I recently started doing this with the lob wedge with what i think are slight adjustments to the why phil mickelson describes it…the face slightly hooded swinging slightly out and up to down n across, i almost just drop the toe into the ground… and while i may misjudge the distance it really dramatically reduced the amount of fat chips and thin chips of which i used to have a lot of and has been working for a couple weeks now and my theory is the toe digs in and the heel kind slides under on slight mis swings and adds forgiveness to the shot. But the thing is….i don't know why its working so well and id like to have some kinda thought as to why its working so well for me, i had been struggling w chipping for years before i randomly ran into this tip online lol.
Question about toe down chipping
Birdman03
Well-known member
I've been taught this in golf schools as one alternative for greenside shots. It reduces the chance of ground-first contact, and you can use a simple putting motion. For thin lies they also teach bump and run with a hybrid, again with the toe down and a putting motion.
I like the opposite, toe cuts and heel digs.
Raddawg
New member
I started using this technique last year. It added a lot of consistency around the green for me. It just allows less contact of the club with the ground.
I started doing it a couple years ago at the recommendation of some Morgan Cup teammates when I was playing on Bermuda for the first time. It helped a little but felt like I still struggled quite a bit on that trip. After that I kept using it on the bent grass I play on here and now it's my preferred way to chip in a lot of scenarios. Best way I can explain it is it works the same way clubs with rails work - minimizing the amount of turf the sole has to contact.
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I do essentially the same thing. I use my putting stance, posture, and stroke, gripping down on the club shaft to mimic my putter's length. Since the club is more up right, this puts the toe lower, while having the heel higher.
Using this set up , and stroke, I contact the ball towards the toe end of the club face. Since Im using my putting stroke, as long as I don't move my sternum up, or down, I dont hit thin, or fat chips.
As long as I read the green correctly, and land the ball on the green, on my line, my accuracy is pretty good. All that's left is getting the speed of the ball correct. Since I'm using my putting stroke, the back/forward length of chipping club is about the same as with my putter.
I have no answer as to why hitting chips off the toe of the club works, other than lower part of the club face prevents thin shots that could be caused by the higher heel end.
The only other adjustment I make is a 6i for up hill chips, and my PW for down hill chips.
I do a lot of the above. I also move the ball toward my back foot which delofts the club and keeps the hands ahead of the ball. I also have the club a bit more in the palm of the hand up through the lifeline that keeps the hands quiet. I change clubs sometimes depending on how far I need to fly the ball to get it onto the green and how much I want it to roll out.
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- #8
Oh yea i absolutely do this too!! when i get the club upright my right hand in particular gets turned much more under the club than with a usual pitch shot. Im just a little befuddled on why it works so much better i guess just having less contact w the ground is the simplest answer
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- #9
I need to try this with my other irons ive only done it w lob wedge n a little bit w the gap
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- #10
Oh yeah for sure this is where i saw one of the biggest boosts, i used to break out in a cold sweat from the sheer terror of the prospect of chipping from a thin lie lol now it doesnt feel so bad haha
I chip toe-down and have improved tremendously around the greens. One difference is I don't hood my wedge. Instead, I open up the face and play off the toe. The result is consistent contact and a ball that sits pretty quickly. I play the Maltby Max wedges that have full face grooves so that helps. I'll try out the hooding and see what happens.
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- #12
Sorry could u explain what toe cuts heel digs means. Is this in relation to my feeling that the toe hits the ground and then the heel feels like it is sliding under? My best shots feel like the toe keeps sliding through the shot with minimal grab but theres definitely grab from the ground n immediately after it does make it feel like the heel slides under to me. I feel like if the heel digs the face would get shut.
Toe down chipping is great if you don't want to fat a chip shot and you want it to run. Great for helping an in to out swing and a little draw spin.
Also, the best players in the world often play it that way.
Also, the best players in the world often play it that way.
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It works with just about every iron. I've even done it with my 7W.
The key is making the club the same length as the putter by sliding the hands down the shaft.
Before I got really consistent with my bump and run control I did this a lot. And it’s still handy if you have a little short chip shot that you can’t putt for some reason. It’s literally putting with loft.
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I use this method all the time with excellent results. With a nearly vertical shaft, you can pretty much approach the shot like a long putt without a lot of wrist break. And, you can fearlessly contact the ground after the ball every time with a slight downward blow for consistent shots.
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- #17
It really is similar to my putting stroke just a little more out and up to in and down jn terms of sensation in my hand. I cant quite seem to figure out a dead hand chip bump n run style shot without getting chunky i dont know why
yes exactly!!! im almost adding like 30 degrees to the shaft when i get it vertical to where i would normally hold it… and i used to be terrified of contacting the ground with chip shots especially on thin lies, now i feel like i can kinda even almost chunk it quite badly or misjudge the pace quite badly and still get a decent result. N i think the toe kinda kills the speed so i can give it a healthy pop with feeling scared of skulling it or hitting it too far
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It's also great for hitting off of hardpan and wet/tight lies, or chipping it out of a bunker for a low running shot when the lip is low!
What you feel using a toe down-vertical shaft chip could be, and often is, different than someone else's feel doing the same procedure.
It takes heel out of play as a heel miss will stall the heel which tends to close the toe and when a toe turns in it turns down, which is the dig, and sounds similar to what you said above. Great way to chip when situations cause puckering.
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I think the key to your answer is: works well compared to what? And under what conditions?
You obviously had problems before chipping though I don’t know what those problems were.
Common ones are:
You obviously had problems before chipping though I don’t know what those problems were.
Common ones are:
- Digging in with the leading edge causing fat and thin chips
- Swaying causing inconsistent bottoming out points and again fat and thin
- Not turning through which causes bottoming out behind the ball (fat and thin again)
- Taking the clubhead back inside the target line causing the club to bottom out behind the ball
- Weight not on your front foot
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- #21
Just general inconsistency with contact, thin shots skull shots chunk shots chunk bounce shots, happens so much i could never focus on feeling out distance. Now almost none of that happens so i can focus on distance. And it works on all kinds of lies!
yes it def feels like the heel is out of play
I use it often off hardpan/tight lies. It's also good for delicate little shots from the rough around the green, where my usual mistake is to dump it and leave it short.
Been practicing both version. Toe down and toe cuts great for soft feel chip that are delicate green runs away and only need get it 10 feet I use it when the lies are bad and either the ball is covered with grass. I prefer toes down. If I have bare lie and need a get it up right away 20 feet only then toe cuts worked well
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Yeah, toe down is great for Bermuda.