CHIPPING

We will cover three areas of chipping:
1. Adressing the chip
2.Grip
3.Technique

In the early 80's when we in the swedish national team started fighting our way towards the top in golfing we where known for great swings but a lousy shortgame. I, like a few others, koncentrated on the shortgame instead of the long and it gave results.

Together with Per Ulrik Johansson, Jesper Parnevik and a few other that now play on the European tour I managed to win silver in the European Championship or 1992 in Frankfurt and Sweden's first European Championship gold in the teamevents in Helsinki 1993 together with some of todays leading stars.

Naturally we've gotten better greens and quality courses in Sweden over the last couple of years that give us better opportunities to practice under better conditions. Today we in the swedish elite put more time on our shortgame than in our earlier years. This has given us results.
If you had the chance to follow Tiger Wood's training for the British Open this year you would have noted that he spends several hours a day around the practicegreen during the play-in days. He knows that it's around the green that championships are decided. Someone with a weak chip or put will never win a big championship

According to statistics 50% of the shots are played on or around the greens. Yet you still see amatures putting more time on the driving range than on the practice-green. The tips I'm about to go through will become part of a series that deals with subjects involving different parts of the shortgame such as: chipping, pitching, bunkershots, putting and tricky/problemshots.

 
What is a Chip?
A chip is basically just a very simple little shot with a simple little motion and with the tips i'm about to give you, you shouldn't have any problem making the hole.
Chipping is a stroke that's usually played within 10 yards of the green and the goal is to hit the chip as close to the hole as possible, so it leaves a very easy put. Many people complicate this shot by doing a long swing or by trying to lift the ball by using the wrist. The purpose of a chip is to make it as much like a put as possible. Meaning it's supposed to make the ball roll as much as possible in hopes that it stops as close to the hole as possible, maybe even in the hole.


What club should I use?
For a chip the only concern is to elevate the ball over the foregreen or the thicker grass so that it will roll as far as possible on the green. Therefore you find a target about 1 yard in on the green where you want the ball to land. You also look at the grass to see how fast the green will be. Then you choose what club to use and this is generally decided by how far in on the green the hole is.

The faster the ball needs to stop, because the flag is close to the fringe from where you are, the more lift your club needs. This means that you can use a 9-iron, wedge or sandwedge. If the flag on the other hand is located on the other side of the green and there's alot of green between you and the hole then you'll be better off using a 8 to 5-iron, or a club with even less lift if that feels good.

Many people have a favourite club, which is ok, but you should be able to use other clubs as well depending on the distance to the flag and green to be able to achieve the best results.