How Can I Correct My Inconsistent Chipping? (Video) - by Pete Styles
How Can I Correct My Inconsistent Chipping? (Video) - by Pete Styles

How can you improve your inconsistent chipping? I really think there are two main factors that would cause inconsistent chipping. One would be called technique and one would be lack of practice? So let’s address the technical side of things first. To chip the ball efficiently we need a slightly different technique the one we would use to hit a full shot. And here’s what I would like you to change. I would like to start off with a relatively narrow stance, that provides more control and less power, gripping down on the golf club towards the base of the handle even one thing going to the mantle, again provides less power but more control therefore shuffling nearer to the golf ball to make it feel it’s the right distance the way again.

Also from this position we want to focus on having the ball on the center of the stance and the body weight ahead of center, leaning nicely ahead of center with the body weight encourages the club to hit the ground slightly after the ball and that’s a great way of improving the consistency of your strike. A lot of bad chippers generally find themselves behind the ball trying to scoop the ball into the air that’s more of an instinctive movement. If you think if I was trying to throw the ball in the air, I would lean back and throw it up or hit a tennis ball from underneath to hit it up in the air. We don’t want that in golf, in golf we have loft on the club face, so if we can hit down with the club that will pop the ball up into the air. So we have a narrow stance, lean left and hit down and that’s how the golf ball will fly into the air better. And then control the length from my back swing and the length of my follow through, so it’s appropriate for the length of the shot and it’s even 50-50 the same distance back and the same distance through. And I think that’s the best way you can improve the consistency of a chipping from a technical aspect. Then we want to improve the quality of your practice, so when you’re practicing your chipping, practice with a few different clubs because on the golf course we’re not always set the same challenge, we may have a high shot or a low shot or a long shot or a short shot. So you need to practice all these different areas. And if you’re really struggling with your chipping it wouldn’t be -- it wouldn’t be a problem to say that maybe 50% of your practice time should be dedicated to chipping for a period of a couple of months. So have occasional goes with the drive and a few goes with the irons and a few goes with the putter. But spend 50% of your practice time focusing on the shots around the green. Because if that’s a bad part of your game I think there’s probably a lot of shots that are going missing in that area. So I think if you can improve the technical aspects of your chipping then also improve the amount of time you’re practicing with different clubs going for different distances, that should help you improve your inconsistent chipping. 2014-05-13

How can you improve your inconsistent chipping? I really think there are two main factors that would cause inconsistent chipping. One would be called technique and one would be lack of practice? So let’s address the technical side of things first. To chip the ball efficiently we need a slightly different technique the one we would use to hit a full shot. And here’s what I would like you to change. I would like to start off with a relatively narrow stance, that provides more control and less power, gripping down on the golf club towards the base of the handle even one thing going to the mantle, again provides less power but more control therefore shuffling nearer to the golf ball to make it feel it’s the right distance the way again.

Also from this position we want to focus on having the ball on the center of the stance and the body weight ahead of center, leaning nicely ahead of center with the body weight encourages the club to hit the ground slightly after the ball and that’s a great way of improving the consistency of your strike. A lot of bad chippers generally find themselves behind the ball trying to scoop the ball into the air that’s more of an instinctive movement. If you think if I was trying to throw the ball in the air, I would lean back and throw it up or hit a tennis ball from underneath to hit it up in the air. We don’t want that in golf, in golf we have loft on the club face, so if we can hit down with the club that will pop the ball up into the air. So we have a narrow stance, lean left and hit down and that’s how the golf ball will fly into the air better. And then control the length from my back swing and the length of my follow through, so it’s appropriate for the length of the shot and it’s even 50-50 the same distance back and the same distance through. And I think that’s the best way you can improve the consistency of a chipping from a technical aspect.

Then we want to improve the quality of your practice, so when you’re practicing your chipping, practice with a few different clubs because on the golf course we’re not always set the same challenge, we may have a high shot or a low shot or a long shot or a short shot. So you need to practice all these different areas. And if you’re really struggling with your chipping it wouldn’t be — it wouldn’t be a problem to say that maybe 50% of your practice time should be dedicated to chipping for a period of a couple of months. So have occasional goes with the drive and a few goes with the irons and a few goes with the putter. But spend 50% of your practice time focusing on the shots around the green. Because if that’s a bad part of your game I think there’s probably a lot of shots that are going missing in that area. So I think if you can improve the technical aspects of your chipping then also improve the amount of time you’re practicing with different clubs going for different distances, that should help you improve your inconsistent chipping.