Pete Finch – PGA Teaching Pro
If you are looking to hit successful chip shots, the setup needs to be absolutely bang on. Now, I’ve already spoken a little about ball position and how putting the ball further back and leaning those hands a little bit further ahead can encourage that impact position to match what you’ve done at setup. But there are other aspects of the chipping setup, which need to be present if you are going to hit successful shots.
Now, body alignment is absolutely crucial into where the ball will set off, where it will land and then where it will run to, but it’s also crucial in how the overall technique also works. So, for example, if I’m getting set up to my target, I will use this alignment stick as my target line. I want to set the ball off along this target. So, I need my club face at the point of impact to be pointing in that direction. But I need to preset a lot of things that I want to happen at impact because my swing technique is going to be very short. So, I want to open on my feet and my hips, presetting that impact position, that would be there at impact in a full swing with my hips opening to the target. I’m going to put my weight on to the left side to preset that impact position and that weight transferring left and as you have already seen those hands are going to be ahead of the ball. But just notice here how my feet, my knees and my hips are all pointing off to the left, but my upper body, my shoulders are going to be sitting square to the target line. That’s because I still want my swing path to be working quite straight back and quite straight through the impacts area. I want the ball to be taking off strike. I want to be mimicking my impact position that I had to address, but I also want the direction to be absolutely spot on. So, I’m going through that setup and away from my hands and my shoulders, nice and square and then I’m going to move my shoulders back and through, get that ball set off along the target line with that nice consistent strike that you should see if you are going through the proper chipping setup. 2016-10-11If you are looking to hit successful chip shots, the setup needs to be absolutely bang on. Now, I’ve already spoken a little about ball position and how putting the ball further back and leaning those hands a little bit further ahead can encourage that impact position to match what you’ve done at setup. But there are other aspects of the chipping setup, which need to be present if you are going to hit successful shots.
Now, body alignment is absolutely crucial into where the ball will set off, where it will land and then where it will run to, but it’s also crucial in how the overall technique also works. So, for example, if I’m getting set up to my target, I will use this alignment stick as my target line. I want to set the ball off along this target. So, I need my club face at the point of impact to be pointing in that direction. But I need to preset a lot of things that I want to happen at impact because my swing technique is going to be very short.
So, I want to open on my feet and my hips, presetting that impact position, that would be there at impact in a full swing with my hips opening to the target. I’m going to put my weight on to the left side to preset that impact position and that weight transferring left and as you have already seen those hands are going to be ahead of the ball. But just notice here how my feet, my knees and my hips are all pointing off to the left, but my upper body, my shoulders are going to be sitting square to the target line.
That’s because I still want my swing path to be working quite straight back and quite straight through the impacts area. I want the ball to be taking off strike. I want to be mimicking my impact position that I had to address, but I also want the direction to be absolutely spot on. So, I’m going through that setup and away from my hands and my shoulders, nice and square and then I’m going to move my shoulders back and through, get that ball set off along the target line with that nice consistent strike that you should see if you are going through the proper chipping setup.
