How to develop a tour level chipping action
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Here’s how to develop a tour-level chipping action to give you an advantage with your wedges
One of the biggest short game mistakes that I see among club players is too much manipulation from the hands. A tour-level chipping action means eliminating the hands and feeling the shoulders and turn are controlling the blade. That helps you create a shallow attack that lets you take advantage of the curved sole’s forgiveness.
➤ Use a narrow stance to promote feel and reduce power. I favour the weight to be on the lead side for a standard chip or pitch shot with mid trajectory.
➤ At set-up, drop the club and splay both hands, palms facing upwards. Turn back and through with your hands in this position; it eliminates independent hand action, helping you feel how shoulder turn controls the blade. (see below)
➤ Through impact, keep your wrists quiet and allow your body to accelerate the club smoothly. Listen for the nice sound of the sole of the club hitting the turf.
➤ Develop distance control by focusing on how far back the handle (grip) will travel: knee to knee, thigh to thigh and hip to hip with smooth acceleration.
➤ Turn fully towards the target, still using the body and not wrists or hands. The ball will pop up softly off the clubface.
