Losing so many strokes around the green help please?

I had a lot of success with chipping and pitching by aiming really carefully (over a peice of grass 6 inches in front of the ball in line with the target) placing the ball right in the middle of my stance then just hit it with your arms, ie no lower body movement, no weight shift.
I hardly ever mishit anything like this and it's very accurate.
As for distance, you only get this with practice, but it's important to concentrate on where you want the ball to land and not the hole. When you get to know your clubs you'll get closer and closer.

How I chip=feet slightly aimed to left of target(open stance), shoulders more open than feet, ball back toward right foot, hands ahead of ball, line grooves of clubface at target(fine tuning,) firm grip, left shoulder pushes club back and right shoulder pushes club through(by using shoulders this way gives me best distance control, even when putting. However, I square everything when putting and keep putter shaft straight up and down to use the effective loft(about 4 degrees) of the putter face for optimal roll off the putterface.http://www.golfonline.com/golfonline...125353,00.html

for me if it all starts going as badly as it seems to be going for you then its time to reboot.

Pick a less lofted club, you should concentrate on chip 'n runs for a while; less risky and even if they do go wrong its not as bad as a messed up flop for example.

Use a putting stroke with a 7 or 8 iron and as everyone has already said, you cannot quit.
Take a few practice swings and settle on your swing length, then accept the fact that that is how hard you are going to swing at the ball.
If you misjudge it then you will either be too long or too short, so be it.
You just need to commit!

There are a lot of "pros" around that have the papers but not the knowledge. I can and have beat all 3 pros at our local courses any day of the week, and I've only been golfing for 4 years.



On chipping around the green. I tend to play the ball just back of center if I'm just on the fringe or short grass and it will release good, so pick a spot about 1/3 the way to your target. If you are in heavier rough back off the green a bit, this same shot won't work because most times the club will just go right under the ball and you end up coming up short of your target. For the heavy rough, I like to play the ball way back, almost on my back foot and play it like a punch shot. Pick your target about 2/3's the way to your target for this one, because the ball will tend to check up a bit quicker. I use the same 54 degree wedge for all these shots around the green.

I also always play a bit of an open stance with the front of your body kinda of almost facing the target.

Tiger, if you are serious about the name, and, from
what am seeing here, there's good reason you
might wanna be, you've got to start getting into
some state and regional amateur tournaments.
The one that come to mind is the state amateur.

Eonomo:
A main cause of screwups chipping -- you know,
things like hitting the ground first and advancing
the ball halfway to the hole, or blading the ball
the ball to the fringe on the other side of the
green, things like that -- is when the hands do
not remain ahead of the ball. Keeping the hands
ahead is kind of like the number one rule for
chipping.
There is a feature of club design that could be
called the most distinguishing feature of the
golf club, as opposed to other sports hitting
sticks like a baseball bat, and it is a feature
that receives virtually no attention. In fact,
even though everything in golf seems to be labelled,
I dont think this feature has a name. I am talking
about the fact that as the clubs get higher in
number, the hands get set further and further
ahead of the ball.
The only club that sets the hands even with the
ball is the putter. The driver sets the hands slightly
ahead of the ball. Can you tell me how far ahead
of the ball the hands are set with a seven iron, eonomo?

I've only been golfing for 4 years now, and had a really hard time with the pre tee off nervousness or not being able to finish a good round when I was close or in the hunt. Our local pro told me last year the only way to get over that was to get out there and just do it for the experience for a while with no pressure on playing good and just get used to the atmosphere of having people around, etc. I played in 4 tournaments since, still have the nerves to start off with, but it's getting better. I found that entering with no expectations was best as I ended up playing some really decent golf. I've got a 12th, two 6th's and a 1st place finish off them last 4 tournaments. We have a provincial tour up here in Canada so I've been picking a few tourneys off of that where I don't have to travel too far. I'm working my way up to taking a run at our provincial/state amateur next summer. I'll keep ya posted on how that goes. I've got to get back to my "Mind Over Matter" book to help get rid of some of the pretourney nerves.

__________________
Driver: Titleist 905R 9.5 Proforce V2 stiff shaft. Wicked long and straight!!
3 wood: Callaway Steelhead III Penley stiff
5 wood: Callaway Steelhead III Callaway uniflex
Irons: KZG cavity back forged blades AWESOME!!!!
Wedges: KZG forged
Putter: Odyssey 2 ball

Hi,

I can relate exactly to the way you feel. I used to feel my stomach knotting when looking down an approach shot to the green. I now love the short game. I had some help with chipping that sorted most of it out, I can now chip shots from 80 yards down to one with confidence. This is a bit long but I hope it will help you:

When taking a chip shot keep the legs, hips, shoulders and wrists out of it. line up with your feet together (or a few inches apart for longer chips) and open them left. play the ball off your back toe with your weight 70% on the front foot, hands ahead of the ball.

Take your arms straight back and through and ensure you keep the back of your leading hand pointing towards the target as long as possible (No wrist rotation) like a putt.

Take a few practice swings back and forward while looking at the target, feel how much you need to swing, pick out the exact place you wish the ball to land on the green before it breaks to the hole. Now move to the ball and without taking your eye off it play the same shot and don't look up until the ball has gone.

ALWAYS hit down into the back of the ball with an accelerating blow(NEVER,NEVER give in on the shot) and allow the follow through to match the backswing.

You should vary the club you use, wedges will pitch high and stop quicker, use a 7 or 8 iron if you have a longer approach or need more roll to the hole. It is possible to get good results with a 5 iron if under trees or you need a good flying shot with lots off roll for say 50 + yards. It is also possible to use the same shot with a lob wedge to pop the ball over a bunker with a soft landing.

Try getting onto a practice green and using a range of clubs, you will soon be enjoying these shots and making a big difference to your score and confidence.

Good luck and best regards
Brian

It was said of the great Walter Hagen that
he gave the impression he couldn't wait
to get at it -- this after taking what seemed
like forever to put his shoes on in the locker
room. I liked that image and adopted the
impression until it became a real habit.
It was a small help. Also, remember that
there is nothing wrong with tournament
nerves -- most of the good ones get them.
Just play conservatively until you get
it going is my advice. In your mind, you
are a future great with much riding on it.
To the gallery, you're just another
competitor in the lineup.

Jim Allen Totally With You Right On!
David Pelz Is The Path To Go Few Month Ago My Chipping Was The Worst In My Group After Try Few Tricks Of David Voila! Im Second In My Group Also Tom Watson Short Game Is Very Good!!

Like Brian W said ... keep your eye on the ball. When one gets tense or anxious one can have a tendency to want to see the results of the shot before you've made it!

Tigress

OK chipping has been way too made difficult for normal golfers. Eye over the ball, using a putting stroke, (lock out the top hand of the stroke if required, meaning put it on top of the shaft, NO Hands on the stroke)Look at the landing area you want to land it, take a number of practice strokes, basically use your putting preroutine, then LOOK AT THEN BALL, take the stroke, and listen, for practise see what he grass does after the ball has left, means you watched the ball. Use different clubs, step on the ball to put it down, fluff it up, use different clubs but maintain the same stroke. Pelz wants you to use wrist,,, we are not that good. The common golfer and man normally doesn't have that abilty. The pros are that good. Play around with it, there is no easy way, you have to play and try different things,,, it takes time. Let me know when you can do the skid stop chip.

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hi
something to try, take a 5,7,9 and wedge and start with wedge and use your putting stroke and work back from the hole only swinging back past your your right foot a little, like a 7 o clock shot, but when you swing through finnish at 3 or 4 o clock, you feel your soon making better contact and have more confedence from 30 yards in.
hope this helps some
bill

Luckily this can be easily rectified.
The reason for your thin and fat chips are a breakdown of the left wrist.

There are a couple of causes for this. One, on a chip shot your weight needs to be on your left foot. If your weight falls onto your right foot, your left wrist breaks down and the leading edge contacts the ball instead of the middle of the club face. This breakdown can also cause fat shots. Two, if your left shoulder dips down toward the ball this will cause a fat shot. Three, if your backswing is longer than it needs to be, you will quit on the shot. You always need to accelerate through the ball. It is better to take a shorter backswing and a longer follow through than the opposite.

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Jordy Scerbo
Golf Instructor

Guys,

Having been playing for two months after a 20 year layoff, I'm finding my shortgame lacking BIG TIME. After playing last Saturday I could have shot a 78-82 If I could chip and Pitch decently. So I've been out, Sunday, Monday , and today practicing just chipping and pitching. Today I did also hit a bucket of Balls with the Irons and Woods. I plan to continue working alot on this aspect daily till I'm a bit better. In just two days I'm better at it already with the chipping and short pitches. It's the Longer pitches where I stink and need the most work. Good thing my local course is near my home and has a good pitching hole to practice on. Besides Peltz's Books , who else has a good book out on this subject?

Barry

Single most important short game tip is same as with the long clubs: Lead the swing with the hands- the butt of the club remains ahead of the clubface through impact. I see higher handicappers scooping the ball which leads to fat shots, thin shots, topping etc. Concentrate on a shorter backswing and longer forward swing and not using much wrists, lead with hands through impact.