Double Hit

What the heck am I doing wrong? Twice recently I have double hit a short chip from just yards off the green. It has got me rattled as I don't know what caused it. Help!

You will probably find you are lifting your head to see where the ball is going before you have hit it. Focus on the blade of grass directly behind the ball and do not take your eyes off it till after you have struck the ball, this way you will develop a better feel for distance and speed. I sometimes practice putting with my eyes closed once i have set up to develop feel for speed

I think it's a case of flipping at the chip. If your hands are leading the clubhead, the ball is long gone before you have a chance to flip the clubhead past the hands.

If you're flipping the club (ie hands are equal with or behind the clubhead) then when you stop the small chip swing, the clubhead is out there to contact the ball again.

Hold your trailing wrist in the cupped position, and rock your shoulders. Make some chips this way to see what I mean.

Then intentionally setup so that the clubhead is equal to or in front of your hands, and rock your shoulders that way. You can see how the clubhead gets right in the flight path.

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This method works for me. I take a deep breath, choke down on the club (ie. hold the handle further down) to get a better feel. Lower my posture to get close to the ball. I make couple of mock swing while looking at the pin. This enable me to visually the swing path I going to hit and the speed I going to employ. Without changing posture or moving away and hit it immediately.

Hope that's of some help.

That's it ... plus don't be afraid to hit the ball - that might cause you to decelerate at impact, which brings all sorts of unhappiness on you.

Always swing through more than you swing back. That ensures acceleration through the ball.

Thanks for all the good advice. I believe that I am indeed afraid to hit this shot now, as Mox suggests. I also think that I have not had my hands leading the club face, and furthermore I may have been peeking before I hit. This is the hardest shot in the game for me. I need to practice, practice, practice.

What club are you typically using for this?

In my experience, the bounce on the club is very important, and if you pick the wrong club, the shot becomes a lot more difficult to execute.

Personally, I prefer my pitching wedge. My sand wedge has way too much bounce for anything but the softest sand.

More often than not it is my pitching wedge. I have little success using my sand wedge unless it is sitting atop fluffy grass.