Golf Chipping Impact Position (Video) - by Pete Styles
Golf Chipping Impact Position (Video) - by Pete Styles

So if you're now improving the way you're playing your chip shots, your technique is getting better, your strategy is getting better. One thing we've got to encourage you to do is make sure you make a really good impact position with the golf ball; there is no point having a great set up and then ruining it right at the last minute. And this move here is the thing that ruins it for most golfers, this flicking scooping action just before they get to the golf ball. So here is a couple of really good exercises to encourage you to avoid that position. The correct position you're aiming for once you set yourself up here you notice this flat front wrist. So as a right handed golfer is a flat left wrist, we take the club back we bring it back to the golf ball, we want to keep that flat left wrist all the way through to a finish.

We want to avoid any flicking and any scooping and the great exercise to help you with that is the extended shaft drill. We are going to take an alignment cane or a guarding cane would be fine and we are going to grip it down the side of my club here and so the cane rests against the left side of my body at set up so I'm holding it here. I'll make a nice little backswing and a nice little through swing and I shouldn’t feel any Impact between myself and the cane it should stay away from me all the way through as I follow through. Because I'm turning my body, correctly, I'm using my hands correctly or as this case may be not really using my hands and that keeps the club in a good position and the cane in a good position. The in correct motion there that a lot of golfers fall foul off is that flick and as soon as you they make the flick, you can see the cane hits the side of my body. So I'm back and then I flick through the ball and it hits and if you are flicking through the golf ball this is a great exercise to encourage you to correct the right feeling and it will feel very strange actually it will feel very, very alien to push through this way. Because you're not doing that you're flicking, you're scooping you won't believe how far you have to push your hands through to avoid getting hit by the cane. Another great exercise to encourage you to generate the same feeling is actually a drill that we take from a good putting exercise. So some golfers myself included actually putt with left hand below right hand so it's a reverse grip we putt left hand low. The reason why we do that with putting is to stop the left wrist breaking, so it's a good exercise to take and to chipping and pitching as well. That we grip the club here left hand low and we push through and it feels a lot easier actually to keep the left wrist straight. I'm not necessarily advocating that should be something you take on to the golf course but it's a great practice drill. Just on the practice ground on in the back garden just chip golf balls around left hand low and it will feel very strong and it would feel like you want to avoid the flick, you'll certainly feel the flick happening if it is happening. One other section I'd like you to look at with your impact is falling back if you have a fall back move you swing and you fall back as you hit the ball that would encourage a lot of scooping and flicking which as we've talked about really want to cut out. So we are leaning into the left side hands forward follow through and avoid the flick and the fall back move, bring those little drills and exercise into your chipping game and you'll start chipping the ball closer to the hole more often
2015-11-04

So if you're now improving the way you're playing your chip shots, your technique is getting better, your strategy is getting better. One thing we've got to encourage you to do is make sure you make a really good impact position with the golf ball; there is no point having a great set up and then ruining it right at the last minute. And this move here is the thing that ruins it for most golfers, this flicking scooping action just before they get to the golf ball. So here is a couple of really good exercises to encourage you to avoid that position. The correct position you're aiming for once you set yourself up here you notice this flat front wrist. So as a right handed golfer is a flat left wrist, we take the club back we bring it back to the golf ball, we want to keep that flat left wrist all the way through to a finish.

We want to avoid any flicking and any scooping and the great exercise to help you with that is the extended shaft drill. We are going to take an alignment cane or a guarding cane would be fine and we are going to grip it down the side of my club here and so the cane rests against the left side of my body at set up so I'm holding it here. I'll make a nice little backswing and a nice little through swing and I shouldn’t feel any Impact between myself and the cane it should stay away from me all the way through as I follow through. Because I'm turning my body, correctly, I'm using my hands correctly or as this case may be not really using my hands and that keeps the club in a good position and the cane in a good position.

The in correct motion there that a lot of golfers fall foul off is that flick and as soon as you they make the flick, you can see the cane hits the side of my body. So I'm back and then I flick through the ball and it hits and if you are flicking through the golf ball this is a great exercise to encourage you to correct the right feeling and it will feel very strange actually it will feel very, very alien to push through this way. Because you're not doing that you're flicking, you're scooping you won't believe how far you have to push your hands through to avoid getting hit by the cane. Another great exercise to encourage you to generate the same feeling is actually a drill that we take from a good putting exercise. So some golfers myself included actually putt with left hand below right hand so it's a reverse grip we putt left hand low. The reason why we do that with putting is to stop the left wrist breaking, so it's a good exercise to take and to chipping and pitching as well.

That we grip the club here left hand low and we push through and it feels a lot easier actually to keep the left wrist straight. I'm not necessarily advocating that should be something you take on to the golf course but it's a great practice drill. Just on the practice ground on in the back garden just chip golf balls around left hand low and it will feel very strong and it would feel like you want to avoid the flick, you'll certainly feel the flick happening if it is happening.

One other section I'd like you to look at with your impact is falling back if you have a fall back move you swing and you fall back as you hit the ball that would encourage a lot of scooping and flicking which as we've talked about really want to cut out. So we are leaning into the left side hands forward follow through and avoid the flick and the fall back move, bring those little drills and exercise into your chipping game and you'll start chipping the ball closer to the hole more often