If you are decelerating when playing long chip shots then you will be experiencing results that may not even get half way to the hole.

As the club head is slowing down as it approaches the golf ball, there is not a high enough level of speed to transfer from the club head into moving the ball and therefore the golf ball does not move forward enough. Deceleration also usually sees the club head dig into the turf before contact with the golf ball which further slows the club head speed and produces a shot that hardly moves forward at all.

If you think you may be decelerating when chipping then look at your follow through position when you have played the shot. To correctly play a chip shot, however far you moved the club head away from the golf ball to the right on your backswing, should be mirrored with how far you move the club head to the left once you have struck the chip. If you swing waist high on your backswing playing the long chip, you should finish with the club head waist high on your follow through. If you are decelerating when chipping, your follow through club head position will be short of the mirrored backswing position. The club head will have stopped very quickly after striking the ball.

To encourage you to keep the club head speed through impact as you chip, try the following drill. Initially, make a backswing to a waist high club head position, then strike the ball and finish with the club head in a waist high follow through position. Don’t worry where the ball goes, just chip without a target and get yourself following through correctly and maintaining the club head speed needed for the shot. Once you are doing this more confidently, notice how far the golf ball travels with this swing. If you need a shorter shot, reduce the distance that you swing the club head back, but still mirror that position in your follow through. If you imagine a clock face in front of you with 12 o’clock by your head and 6 o’clock by the ball, then swing back to 4 o’clock and finish at 8 o’clock.

You can also count to yourself as you play your long chip to help maintain the club head speed during the shot. Count steadily and say 1 to ready yourself to play, 2 as you reach the end of your backswing, 3 as you strike the ball and 4 as you reach the end of the shot. Count steadily and work on getting the club head into the correct position for when each number is said.

These two drills will really help to improve your long chipping and help you to get the golf ball up to the flag and really close to the hole.