Golf Notes: Three Steps to Better Chip Shots

The group of golfers that I play with on a regular basis won't even say the word out loud. To even mention that you might be getting the "shanks" during your chip shots seems to guarantee the possibility that the rest of your round will be plagued by those terrible short shots that seem to just squirt off the face of your club (to the right if you are right-handed, and to the left if you are left-handed.) And once you have shanked a chip shot or two, it will make you feel like you just don't know how to cure it.

The actual reason that your ball sprayed straight away from you, somewhere off into the snaky grass, is that, during the stroke, your ball made contact with the shank or hosel of your iron, instead of the clubface area. It may have seemed like you took your regular chip shot swing, but for one reason or another, you were standing too close to the ball at address, or you were swinging on a path that brought the heel of the clubface nearest to the ball.

The only way to avoid destroying your whole round on that day is to put the shanked chip shot out your head, and concentrate on the basics of chipping. Three easy steps will lead to keeping your short game on track.

1) Keep your lower body still. While the normal full length golf swing involves a full turn of your body, coiling and uncoiling to make sure your lower body helps to drive completely through the ball, with the chip shot, you don't need the distance, and you don't need the movement. The chip shot is all about accuracy. You're off the green just a short distance, and you'll need to get the ball close enough to the hole to improve your chances for a one-putt on the next shot. Regardless of whether this is a popped up wedge, where you are trying to stop the ball quickly, or a pitch-and-run where you play a less-lofted club and plan for more roll, the chip shot should not include a lot of lower body movement. To the greatest extent possible, consider the chip shot to be a swing made mostly by the arms.

2) Keep you front wrist quiet. While a relaxed grip is always preferred for the short chip shot, the front wrist should not break much during the swing. Using a smooth stroke, keeping your front wrist stiff, and accelerating through the ball, you will have a greater possibility of hitting that nice crisp chip shot.

3) The race to your front knee should be won by your hands. Hitting the chip shot properly depends upon your ability to make the club face strike the ball with a descending blow. Allowing the loft on the club to do the work, never try to lift the ball on your own, as this is sure to end up in a shot that is hit fat (behind the ball) or thin (blading the top part of the ball, sending it skimming across the green). In order to ensure that you are hitting down on the ball, think of the swing as being a race between your hands (or the shaft end of the club) and the club head to your front knee. The hands should always win. Begin by setting up with the ball placed farther back in your stance than normal, your hands slightly in front of the plane of the ball, and then executing the great race toward your front knee.

The next time you embarrass yourself with a shanked chip shot, keep your mind focused on the cure rather than the disease. Practice these chip shot basics, and you'll think of your short irons as your favorite clubs in the bag.