3 Big Chipping Mistakes Amateur Golfers Make

Hello

golfers

, PGA Teaching Professional Todd Kolb, Director of Instruction for USGolfTV and the Todd Kolb Golf Academy; and today we are talking about one of the things that I am very passionate about, and that is

chipping

. Raise and lower the ball. And why am I passionate about that? Because, unfortunately, much of the information you have been given could be incorrect. Let's talk about that. The 3 most common things people tell you about how to improve your

chipping

are simply wrong. And we're going to talk about that, but most importantly we're going to show you and help you understand what you need to do to get the ball up and down.

So let's get into it. First of all, three chip errors: three things, if you have problems with the chip, I guarantee you have been told; Or you read it in a magazine or saw it on TV, or maybe even a local golf pro or someone told you. Number one, handle on the front, right? We've all heard that. If you've played golf, one of the first things you're told when it comes to chipping is to move the handle and tilt the shaft forward. I'm going to tell you why this is absolutely wrong and why it's probably killing your chip.

Number two: move the ball back, right? That's the second thing they always tell someone when they're new to the game. Move the ball back into your stance; Again, it's just not right, unless you're trying to perform a special type shot, which we'll talk about a bit. Number three is, what do they tell you to do? Hit the ball. They really want you to hit the ball, like you're going to drive that club and drive the ball into the ground. Let's talk about how there is a glimmer of truth in hitting the ball; but not to the point where we're just trying to shove that damn thing in there.

So if these are three things that you may have heard about your chipping, if you're having trouble with your chipping, then the rest of this video is for you, because we're going to answer some questions, we're going to uncover some secrets. and, most importantly, we will get you to hit better chip shots around the green. So let's go ahead and get into it. So I'm going to delete this word—Errors—because we're going to get it over with; We are not going to

make

any more

mistakes

. Let's get back to normal. So the first thing we're going to talk about is what I call “effective scrolling and bouncing,” okay?

Effective loft and effective bounce. Now I'm sure you've heard of the word Loft, you know what it is. Every golf club has a loft. The one I have here today has 58 degrees of loft. But there is also rebound; There is a bounce in the golf club. Now what is rebound? Well, bounce is the curve you see here on the bottom of the club. Now, without getting too deep into golf club design, first of all you need to know what bounce is and why it is probably the best invention in wedges. So the bounce is the curve at the bottom.

If I place this on a flat surface, you'll see the leading edge come off the ground. Some clubs have more curvature (more bounce) than other clubs. But here's what you need to know: Bounce is your friend. The rebound is good. It

make

s the shot easier because it allows the club to do exactly what the word says: bounce. Allow the club to bounce off the grass. So the first thing is that when we hit good chip shots, we need to have effective loft and effective bounce. Alright, do you remember the first suggestion that the error that we delete, we are deleting those errors?

Do you remember the first one? Move the handle forward, right? So let's think about this. I have a chance; I grabbed my 58 degree wedge. So I guess I want 58 degrees of loft when I hit the golf shot. Because if I wanted 45 degrees of loft, I have a club that has it. It's called a pitching wedge. If I wanted 30 degrees of loft at impact, I have a club for that. It just has a different number. So, the first thing is an effective loft. So when you hit the shot, you want to deliver the loft of the golf club to the ball it is designed to hit.

And the only way to do that is to deliver it at what we would call a neutral axis angle. If I deliver this shaft angle, I will have deflated the golf club. And most people know it. You're probably thinking, "Todd, I already knew that." But here's what you probably didn't know. When you tilt the shaft forward (this is important, get this), when you tilt the shaft forward, you cancel out all the bounce. The leading edge descends. Now, can you make good shots from that position? Yes, you can, but you better practice a lot. Because when you negate bounce (remember, bounce is one of the best things you have going for you), when you eliminate it, you decrease your margin for error, because the club won't bounce off the grass. .

So that's the first thing I want you to know, is that when you tilt the shaft forward, you do lose loft, which first of all doesn't make any sense on its own, because if you wanted less loft, just grab a club with less. loft. But the most important thing is that you lose all the bounce. Hopefully that makes sense. If it doesn't make sense, let me know. Drop a comment below, ask a question, because I want it answered. If you can do this, you will get better chips. Okay, you're going to chip better. And like I said before, give me a comment below if you need it.

Alright, the second thing is we tell people to move the ball back into the position. So let's talk about what that is. That is the position of the ball. Now, where should the position of the ball be when we make chip shots? Now I'm not going to go into all the details of the setup, because that's a whole other video. But basically I like my feet pretty close together, I like a little bit of forward pressure. Personally, I like to have the ball practically in the center of the stance, maybe a little back. But I'll never tell anyone unless it's a unique situation, which I'll talk about in a second, so hold on, but in a normal situation with a normal lie, I want the ball in the middle. maybe a little backwards.

Why would that be? Think about it. Remember the first thing we need to do here: the most important thing is effective loft and bounce. That's all with chipping. So when you move the ball back into your position, when I move that ball back, let's say the ball is here in the center. When I move that ball back, 99 out of 100 people keep the shaft forward. So they moved the ball back, but left the shaft forward. Now they have deflated the golf club and lost all the bounce. So it's not so much that the position of the ball moving backwards is bad; is that when they have moved the ball backwards, they leave the handle forward.

They now have forward axle lean, which is the leading cause of death when it comes to chipping. Makes sense? Hopefully so, because if not, be sure to comment below or ask a question. Or maybe you don't agree with that. Okay, let me hear your reason and maybe you can teach me something too. So, ball position, placing the ball basically in the center of the stance, maybe slightly forward. Okay, number 3: I'm going to call this the motion. Now what do they tell you? You have to hit the ball, hit the ball. I mean, they've been saying that for a long time and it's just not right.

Does the club move downward at the moment of impact? If it does. I don't think there are very few people who disagree with that. The club has a descent, that's the word, it is descending, it is not descending. When people tell you to hit the golf ball, what happens? They take the club and literally stick it into the ground. Think in terms of a downward stroke versus a "down" stroke. And I think what will happen is that the club will continue to decline, okay? But it will happen later. So it's down and down, not just down.

Hopefully that makes sense, okay? Because I know we're playing with words a little, but it's important. As a coach, when you give someone a word, that conveys to them, that implies a feeling for them when they are playing golf. And the word "down" for most people literally means "down and stop," not "down and completely." That's why I like the word "down" versus down stroke. Hopefully that helps a little. Makes sense? Like I said before, I hope this makes some sense to you, because it's the number one key to effective loft and bounce. So let me give you, I want to give you some advice, all right, some advice right here.

I'm just going to call this: This is the one piece of advice I give to almost everyone when it comes to chipping. And this is going to eliminate almost all of this. This is the only tip to cover most of our bases, okay? And that's what I call the butt movement of the club. So what does that mean? Are you thinking what the hell is he talking about? Well, first of all, you have the head of the club, right? This is the end of the club, right here. This is what we are talking about. Butt end movement, this right here, is the key to hitting good chip shots.

We are always focused on this part, but what you do initially with this part of the club will determine everything. So this is what I want you to do. When the club moves away from the golf ball (the initial movement), of course the club head will move away from the target, right? I want the butt of the club to move slightly away from the target as well. This is what most

golfers

do: they move this part away and the top part forward. So the butt goes towards the target, the head moves away from the target. They do this movement.

So what does that look like? It seems like the first mistake, right? It looks like the front axle is tilted! And when we have the shaft leaning forward, we have no loft, we have no bounce, we have the ball back, we are stabbing it. No wonder you rip it to pieces every time you make a chip shot! It doesn't make any sense at all. So what I want you to do is when you move the club, you move the handle. I shouldn't use the handle, I use the end of the stick, it's a technical term, but maybe it will help you remember.

Better, I don't know, but the handle... move the handle in the same direction as the club head as it moves away from the ball. Now, I know there will be some of you out there... okay, and that's okay, that's what I love about golf, there are always differences of opinion and thoughts, and that's what makes it the best game.. .and they may be I don't agree with everything I've said and that's okay. I want to hear your point of view, let's talk about it. Let's analyze it a little. I'm not saying that the butt of the club, the handle and the head of the club move the same.

We all know that is not true. All I'm saying is this: On the initial movement away from the ball, if you can move the handle and head in the same direction, you will maintain effective loft and bounce, and you will be guaranteed to hit better chip shots. So let's come back here, let's come back. And hopefully, as I said before, you have some comments and ideas on this, or we have a lot of information about the chip. If you like what you've heard here, be sure to follow us on our social networks. On our YouTube, you can follow me on Instagram, you can follow us on Twitter.

We are everywhere and have good information that can help you play better golf. So here's the thing: At the end of the day, they'll probably tell you that if you're having trouble chipping to move the shaft forward, tilt it forward, move the ball back, and hit the ball. Those are all things that are negating, taking away loft and are taking away bounce. What you want to do is have effective loft and bounce by simply centering the ball, real good, getting the shaft in a fairly neutral position to start, and then that initial key. When you begin your swing, move the butt of the club away from the target.

And when you do that, you're going to hit the ball down, but it's going to be a downswing across the ball. And when you do those couple concepts, that will definitely help your chip. Very good, I hope you liked what you heard here. We've covered a lot of ground. If you want more or want to follow more about what we're doing, make sure you follow us on our YouTube channel, you can follow me on Instagram, we have our Twitter account, we're everywhere. Or you can also visit our website usgolftv.com. That is our base of operations.

That's where we have all kinds of information. Videos, written content, you name it, they are there to help you play better golf. And that's what we're here for, that's our mission. That's our passion, we simply want to help you play better golf.