Problem And Fix Golf Chip Shots Fat Or Thin Golf (Video) - by Pete Styles
Problem And Fix Golf Chip Shots Fat Or Thin Golf (Video) - by Pete Styles

As a golfer we should find that chipping the golf ball is not actually that difficult. Generally when we're chipping or pitching the golf ball we're relatively close to the target, it's not a very long or particularly difficult shot. And although we're aiming for the flag or the hole ultimately, the green is relatively wide. So it's not a long shot, and it's not a shot that's particularly taxing in terms of accuracy. But generally speaking, chipping and pitching is the harder part of the game than that basic outline would entail. And the problem is the quality of the strike is so fundamentally important to everything we're doing with chipping. We know we can get enough power to get the ball to the hole, and we know we can get the club online to get the ball to the hole. But to combine that, and get the right contact on the golf ball is increasingly difficult for other golfers, and that's why chipping the ball badly can be so frustrating.

The main issue with chipping the ball badly for golfers is the quality of the strike, predominantly hitting the ball thin or fat. Hitting the ball thin is when the club is going to strike above the equator of the golf ball, sending the ball forwards and low to the ground. Chipping the ball fat is the opposite, the club will hit the ground, hit the grass first, getting a poor contact, sometimes not even making contact with the ball at all or making contact but with a lot less power than intended. That's going to leave the ball short of target. Thinning the ball will often send the ball into the bunker or the pond in front of the green. If it doesn't do that it'll probably clear the green on the other side. So what should be a relatively easy quite short shot on to quite a large target becomes very difficult because of the quality of the strike. So as a golfer if we can chip the ball well with a good contact we're generally going to find some pretty decent results. In this next lot of miniseries we're going to look at the intricacies, if you like, of how we could hit the ball better with a better contact, not hitting it thin and not hitting it fat either. 2016-10-14

As a golfer we should find that chipping the golf ball is not actually that difficult. Generally when we're chipping or pitching the golf ball we're relatively close to the target, it's not a very long or particularly difficult shot. And although we're aiming for the flag or the hole ultimately, the green is relatively wide. So it's not a long shot, and it's not a shot that's particularly taxing in terms of accuracy. But generally speaking, chipping and pitching is the harder part of the game than that basic outline would entail. And the problem is the quality of the strike is so fundamentally important to everything we're doing with chipping. We know we can get enough power to get the ball to the hole, and we know we can get the club online to get the ball to the hole. But to combine that, and get the right contact on the golf ball is increasingly difficult for other golfers, and that's why chipping the ball badly can be so frustrating.

The main issue with chipping the ball badly for golfers is the quality of the strike, predominantly hitting the ball thin or fat. Hitting the ball thin is when the club is going to strike above the equator of the golf ball, sending the ball forwards and low to the ground. Chipping the ball fat is the opposite, the club will hit the ground, hit the grass first, getting a poor contact, sometimes not even making contact with the ball at all or making contact but with a lot less power than intended. That's going to leave the ball short of target. Thinning the ball will often send the ball into the bunker or the pond in front of the green. If it doesn't do that it'll probably clear the green on the other side. So what should be a relatively easy quite short shot on to quite a large target becomes very difficult because of the quality of the strike. So as a golfer if we can chip the ball well with a good contact we're generally going to find some pretty decent results.

In this next lot of miniseries we're going to look at the intricacies, if you like, of how we could hit the ball better with a better contact, not hitting it thin and not hitting it fat either.