Chipping does not have to be complicated. But in a couple of these shots, there is something that I am doing that
nearly every single one of you does that really hurts your
chipping consistency. I'm gonna show you how to refine it
and how to get the ball close no matter where you are around the green
in just three simple steps. Step number one is all about
using the bounce and reducing the likelihood that you're gonna duff these
stupid little shots because it really is kind of easy. All you need to do around
the greens to reduce the likelihood of this club digging in because we don't
want it to dig into the turf too much if it digs in. We have a
very short margin of error. We want to be increasing
our margin of error. So this club is not going to dig
in. We're not trying to help it up. It is going to bounce, bounce
with the soul of the club here. That's what's gonna give
us all the forgiveness and
confidence around the greens and this tiny little adjustment.
Instead of it lying flat on the floor, your club, all you're going
to do is raise the handle. So there is a bit of air underneath here. What that's going to do
is even more so reduce the amount of friction and
contact this has on the bottom. So it's going to reduce the
likelihood of hitting a bad shot, of digging into the ground. It's
going to bounce off with consistency. That's the basics of why. So how do we adjust our setup? Well, we first want to make sure that
we are not doing a mini golf shot. Make sure that you are not standing way
far from the ball or two wide stance or bent over this way, trying to just do
a short mini swing. It is a chip shot. There is a certain technique for it, but what I want you to do is make sure
you're standing a little bit closer. So the bull is about under your eyes approximately, okay? You can't
even stand a little bit nearer. And what you're going to do is
allow the hands to raise this shaf. So it's a bit steeper. We don't
want it vertical, we want it about here. That's where it would be lying flat.
That's vertical. We want it, you know, about a third of the way
back down from vertical. So I stand a little bit
closer now I make my action without that club digging in, and that is the only
adjustment I make for step one. And from here I can make my technique. But this next part is
the biggest mistake I see that nearly every golfer makes when
it comes to shots around the green. Step two is quite an interesting
one because most people
don't even realize they are doing it. Having your arms form
a very rigid triangle here. Now, it is a very good decent tip
to maintain the triangle. If you see from my shoulders to my arms
here, if I put those hands together, I am forming a triangle. However, the problem with this is the
way we formulate this triangle, most people have too much tension.
Okay? Too much tension here. So the forearms get rigid,
the grip gets tighter, and we are squeezing those
arms in it a little bit. And that tension is what
is killing us. So yes, we want to keep and
maintain a triangle in our technique, okay? But we have to reinforce
and utilize our natural build. So do me a favor, stand up from
your chair wherever you're at, okay? Take a just stand normally,
take a bit of a golf posture, a chipping setup if you will. All right?
And I want you to let your arms hang. Don't put their hands together,
but let your arms hang. Now I want you to notice something. Your arms have a natural
slight curvature, okay? That is their natural position. And the more we contort this
and squeeze them together and you know, try and keep them tight, that tension forms and
when that tension forms, that causes a rocking action, which reduces the margin of error. So the easiest tip, but you have to get over the hurdle
of it, might feel a bit strange, even though it's the most natural thing
in the world, is to let your arms hang. But all you are doing is
drawing the hands together. And I do have an amount of
connection with the upper chest and my upper arms here. I'm not
clamping the elbows in. I'm not rigid. My grip is firm, but my risks are supple and
my forearms are very supple, but I'm connected up at the
top and that is my guide. It's here, my chest and my torso. That is primarily doing the
action. Yes, I can use my hands, but this is the engine for
me. The core is the engine. The chest is the engine, and this is what is rotating
and turning around rigid is going to cause this
shot or we're so tight, we end up kind of flipping it more supple
instead of it being so up and down. If we have a a natural
hang and we use our chest, it's gonna feel a little
bit more rotational. We're a little bit rounder in this manner. We're using the chest to brush and
I can feel the way to this club, but my arms are hanging very, very naturally so I can hit this shot. Before we get to the third step, I
wanna give you a little bonus tip. Don't always use a sand iron
or a lob. We around the green. We don't have to make
it as hard as we need. Really all we're trying
to do, if you remember, is get this stupid thing close
to that flag, close to the hu. Really doesn't matter how you do it, but when you use a sand
iron versus a nine iron, a lot of times you're gonna have
more margin for error. With this one, because it's a shorter action, more mistakes can happen
and get a decent result. So if you haven't tried it before, or
if you're just a little bit unsure, practice some chipping with your niner.
It's sort of in between a bump and run. But the technique is very similar
to what we are covering here. And just with the
slightest easy small shots with the same technique, the ball will pop up and roll out. You've gotta practice to
sort of get used to it. But that shot there when I'm waffling
away to you was about an average result because it's not that hard. So if your goal is to score lower, try practicing with the nine nine a bit
more often and use it out in the course. I promise you you'll notice
a difference. Number three. Now I'm just in the
rough, just off the green, and the reason why I'm showing you
here is it's not shot specific, but this is where it's gonna pay the most
amount of dividend because it is about getting through too often. We kind of just stop and quit
our lower body and our intent, we're sort of a bit worried getting it
out of the rough or getting it onto the green or enough height. So we
end up sort of chopping into it, flipping through it, trying to guide it. So I wanna give you one
task with step three, and that is to get through, okay? Of course we apply step
one and number two, but we are making sure that
our belly button and our chest is gonna face the target
just a little bit more. I'm not lifting up too much here, but I'm also not allowing the
hands and the arms to win the race. Everything is connected
with the upper body, with the soft natural arms, and I'm using that chest to
rotate through. That's it. There's your three steps. But doing
that on a rough shot, you know, just around the greens on an UPS slope
is going to make sure that you really do commit to getting through
and accelerating with some positivity. Raise the shaft, allow the risk to hang a little bit
more naturally and then get through. Get that chest through. That's what's
gonna give you the consistency, the confidence, and the enjoyment.
This is golf simplified. So there we have it. What
do I want you to do next? I need to go and check out this lesson
because even though I've given you three steps that are gonna make it a lot
easier, I haven't told you everything. And to really accelerate your
short game and lower your scores, I want you to learn this. And when
you do, you're gonna thank me. I'll see you next time.
