When playing around the greens, most players have a favorite
club to chip with. Often times this can hinder your ability to
really knock it close to the hole.
When playing around the greens, most players have a favorite club to chip with. Often times this can hinder your ability to really knock it close to the hole.
The reason is if you need to hit a lob shot and you only chip with your pitching wedge, that may not go high enough to stop the ball where you want it. If you are dead set against changing clubs when you chip, then do the next best thing, and that is change the ball position.
The normal ball position for a chip shot should be in the center of your stance. If you want to hit a low running chip shot, sometimes called a chip-and-roll or bump-and-run, then simply place the ball position off your back foot. This places the hands well ahead of the ball and de-lofts the club to hit a lower shot. To hit a high lob type shot then put the ball forward in your stance and keep the hands over the ball.
The relationship between your hands and the clubhead really dictates how high you hit the ball. The more in front of your clubhead your hands are the lower you will hit it. The open clubface allows you to slide the club under the ball and not pinch down on top of it as if the ball were back in your stance. The result is a shot that is much higher than normal and lands softer.
These three shots will give similar results to chipping with an 8 iron (ball back), wedge (normal) and lob wedge (ball forward), but instead of changing clubs you simply changed the position.
Remember when all else fails take a lesson, you’ll be surprised how much we can help.
To schedule a lesson with PGA-certified instructor Don DeLorenzo, call Gilroy GC at 848-0490.
