Consistent Chips Need Practice
by Dr. T. J. Tomasi, Keiser University College of Golf Senior Faculty and Director of Research
If you are having difficulty controlling the distance of your chips, as in one time you cream it too far, and the next one you leave way too short, my diagnosis is that you are probably losing control of your backstroke. Here is a simple but effective drill to produce the correct distance on your chip shots.
Golfers who have trouble controlling distance on their chips usually take a backswing that’s too long, then decelerate into the ball, leaving it short. On the next chip, they leave out the deceleration and whack it too far by the cup. In the photo below, I’m controlling the length of my student’s backswing by holding a shaft so that if she over-swings, she crashes into it; if she under swings, she won’t touch it. The correct distance occurs when she lightly brushes the shaft then follows through to the point at which her follow-through length is the same as her backswing length. Draft a friend to help, or if that’s not possible, anchor a shaft in the ground to provide tactile feedback.
This young pro bombs it off the tee but was not able to chip reliably enough to match the rest of her game – until we used the drill described above. Taking control of your backstroke allows you to control your through-stroke, and that includes impact.
If you’d like to study with Dr. Tomasi and other PGA Master Professionals, contact The College of Golf today.
