You know I am so lucky to be able to live and work in Danang and our weather has been great this year and I like to get out on the course as much as I can even if it is just to say hello to our customers. Last week I was taking a drive around the Montgomerie Links Golf Course and I watched group of ladies play some golf. You know I was very impressed with how they played the ball from tee to green and they seemed to be having such a great time laughing and joking, but when the all reached the approach to the green their gamed literally fell apart, they were hitting chip shots back and forth over the green and became very frustrated very quickly.

After the game, I sat with them at the clubhouse and we had a discussion about ladies' golf and our conversation turned to chipping, you know I was very interested to hear that all 4 ladies were saying the same thing. “We can’t seem to get under the ball” Well I gave this some thought and decided that I would dedicate the next article to chipping to try and dispel this “UNDER THE BALL THEORY”

 I. Facts about chipping

Here in the first picture, we see the student in a good setup position let’s take note of the good things going on here before she plays her shot

• Note that she has the weight around 70% on her right leg this will encourage a downward strike into the back of the ball

• Her hands are ahead of the ball

• The shaft is leaning to the left

• She has every intention of hitting down and through the ball

Here in the second picture we will demonstrate and talk about what has gone wrong with the attempt to hit the ball.

• First of all, we note that during the swing the student has moved the weight to the right leg. The right hand has moved under (flipped) past the left hand in effect the student has attempted to get under the ball

• As you can see in this photo she is leaning back and is looking like she wants to lift the ball up into the air

• This is a direct result of players being very focused on getting the ball up

In the third picture we see that with some practice and a good picture in her mind of what she needs to do the student has transformed her chipping swing.

• Here we see the past impact that the student has really focused on staying on the left side

• She is in a better position to strike down on the ball

• On the follow-through she rotated the chest toward the target

• She also is in a more powerful position and is in a balance

II. Chipping Drills to get you started

Let’s look at two simple drills to get you started on the road to a better short game.

1.  The roll drill 

• In picture 4  the student has a ball in her right hand and has assumed a hitting position

• Simply  allow your weight to shift to the left side and let your arm swing through releasing the ball to the hole

• It’s a great way to get some feel and rhythm in your action
   

2. The towel drill

• Let’s be honest do you have a plan when you hit chip shots or are you really just aiming somewhere down towards the hole

• All great players have a definite picture in their minds of exactly what they want to do with the ball

• They see a landing spot and a halfway point and they also see the hole as the end result

• Take note in the picture you will see that we have placed a towel on the green at the point where we want to land the chip shot and then have it run out to the hole. This is a great way to practice distance control

Take the emphasis off the hole and put it onto a specific landing point you will be amazed how this can improve your consistency around the greens.

I hope that this article can help you have that all-important picture in your mind of how to better control your swing.

II. MONTGOMERIE LINKS GOLF ACADEMY - INDIVIDUAL COURSES

Our Individual Courses are perfect for those who want to brush up on their technique or a specific type of shot, as well as a great way to try golf for the first time and learn the basics, especially chipping.
As well as instruction on short games, we offer guidance in key areas such as physical conditioning, injury prevention, and treatment. To encourage you to practice, we offer complimentary unlimited use of the driving range facilities on the day of your lesson. 

Contact us to register:

Phone: (+84)2353941942| Email: sales@montgomerielinks.com