Learn how to hit low, running chip shots for more versatile short game skills
Editor’s note: This is an updated version of the original post from Feb. 22, 2014. We’ve brought back this simple drill to practice at the course or in your living room, so you hit the ground running in 2017!
Learning to control trajectory will make you a much more competent player around the greens. Watch the world’s best players on TV, and you’ll see this notion in action as they use a variety of shots flying high, low and everything in between, depending on what the situation demands.
Yet, for many golfers, chipping is a function of survival instead of this creative, on-demand artistry elite tour types illustrate with ease.
So, GolfTEC’s Andy Hilts is here with a simple drill to help add to your greenside arsenal by employing low, running chip shots that are easy to control and repeat consistently.
Lower trajectory through lofting down in club or changing your setup
It’s easy to understand why a less-lofted club, like a 9-iron, will fly lower and run out longer than a higher-lofted club, such as a 60-degree lob wedge. Jon Levy wrote about the ideal times when ditching your lob wedge around the green can be an easy, effective way to drop shots from your scorecard in this vein.
When comparing technique of the world’s best to most golfers, however, it’s often a difference in setup allowing for the low, controlled runners great players often hit compared to the variably high, inconsistent efforts of the amateur.
See how Hilts’ One Legged Chipping drill below can help put these shots into your game for on-demand consistency, as well as creating two other positive benefits in improved balance and better contact for all shots around the green!
VIDEO: One Legged Drill for running chip shots
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Not sure these tips are right for you? Find a GolfTEC near you and talk to a Coach who can help today!