There are so many variables
when it comes to the short game. We have to find a more reliable,
consistent way of getting the ball close. And I'm gonna show you that you
can use an A time or a wedge for great effect. We're gonna start with a pretty basic
shot that you are going to face a lot and that is just finishing
a little bit short of the green. We're only a few paces off. There's nothing really
scary to worry about here. Yes, the green has been treated not
long ago with the holes punched. The fairways are just starting to change
color, so it's a little bit bumpy here, but most of you without a second
thought will go for your wedge no matter where you are at around the green.
But how do you know what club to use? The only way you're going
to know is to just practice, try some different shots out. So
if we put the sand wedge down here, I've got my 56, I've
gotta be very precise. I've got to get my technique
just right to be able to get that spin to get it close.
I don't have much margin for error. And
that's the thing, when you use a sand, we, you have to get that precision. Here's what I mean with the sandwich
to be able to get the ball first and that compression, we really have to get that sort of shaf
leaning forward to be able to get that correct contact. It's very easy for us to hit it a
little bit behind or hit it a little bit too thin. There's gonna
give us a bit of problems. But if we use an eight iron, our angle of attack is just that
more shallow instead of having to get it so perfectly every time we
can have a little bit of loft, we can have a bit less loft, we can get it a little bit behind
because we are brushing through, it's a bit more forgiving. So generally I would recommend
you use the eight iron.
Most people say use a seven iron,
but I find that that kind of, uh, strength of loft comes off a little hot
and I like to suggest to people an eight or a I nine because it's sort of
the mid range between a bump and run between a sand wedge kind of chip shot. It gives us a big margin for error, which is going to
increase your confidence. I'm gonna give you some tips
on technique in just a moment, but here's another example. We are just a little bit kind of
left of the green, long of the flag. I haven't missed the green by
much, but I've got a bit of rough. There is quite a lot
of green to work with. We are on a bit of an up
slope most of the time. I will see people grab the sandwich, which is fine if you know how to play it, if you know how to get, get the ball out of a juicy
lie to land it where you want. So it rolls out the exact
correct amount, right, that you can still get the ball close.
But what happens so often outta these
kind of lies, we sort of quit on it. We get a bit tight and we end
up kind of duffing it. Okay? Now, I'm not here to say
don't use your wedge, but I'm saying try it depending on
the lie. So if you look up here, so this ball is sat up a little
bit. This one is buried. I, I'm not gonna hit my eight iron out
of this one obviously, but here, why wouldn't I hit my aton
to bump it over the brow of the hill to get it rolling
down the slope a bit closer to the green. Do I feel like
I can haul it? Maybe not, but I am feeling pretty confident
because my action is just that much shorter. I'm going to at
least have a decent strike, a decent attempt at a par put. But yes, when this ball is buried here,
an aons not gonna cut it. It's gonna just sort of
fluff into the ground. So we have to use the sand iron to cut
through that rough to pop it a little We don't want the arms to
be dead rigid like this.
We want 'em to be firm and
maintaining this triangle shape, but we want to
have suppleness, okay? The arms are feeling very soft because
that's going to help us emulate that throwing feel, which is
what we want. The next big key, I want you to do every chip shot, and
this applies the sandwich and the at time, I want you to feel like your upper
arm here is connected to your chest. All right? We're not sort
of sticking the elbows in, we're just feeling a little bit
more connected with the upper body. And what that's going to do
is stop this killer move, which causes a lot of duff shots
where the arm separates the body stops and the arm separates because we
still want to feel a bit of rotation this way, okay? But we don't
want the arm separating. That's where we get
inconsistent distances, inconsistent strikes and angle of attack.
So keep the upper arms or upper
arms connected to your chest, your upper body here at all, all times. And the same angle from
the arm to the club is pretty much maintained
all the way throughout. Okay? See how it's staying pointing
at me? I'm not flipping it, I'm not extending it that way. It's staying connected but smooth. You just have to get a bit more confident
at accelerating through with that sensation because we don't
want to be having too many heavy shots.
Now here's a couple of tips for
bump and run or regular chip with an A time. This is the perfect example of even though
we've got lots of green to work with and no obstacles in front of
us here, here is our hazard. We've got a collar a, a thick
fringe, just off the green. So you might think, well, Aine is the
right club, but the problem is we, because of the shallow sort of
action that grass is going to be interfering. So it's going
to cause a bit of issues. So what we have to do for the same shop, we can now still use a sandwich or
something like that because we're able to pick the club up and
strike down a little bit more.
If we did that with the aan,
it's just not going to work. So the same kind of technique
that we discussed earlier, don't worry too much about
adjusting with the fringe. The blade of the club will cut
through it for you. So again, choose wisely. Again, we are staying connected
like I talked about with the wedge, but we are keeping this club very
low to the ground from here to here. We're not trying to
sort of pick it up too much. It's the simplest action you can do.
But to give yourself a little bit more
control, grip down the club, a hair, have a bit more weight on
the front side of your body and just stand a little bit closer so
when you stand a little bit closer, the club is gonna have less friction.
We're just gonna be moving it this way. So less of the soul of the club is
gonna be touching the turf, okay? It's gonna brush through just that
little bit easier. And by doing that, you are going to start
getting a very nice little foundation of chipping that gives you the confidence that you want. Test
it out on the golf course. Try some different scenarios.
Even simple ones like this, you might always go for your wedge
trying to get that NiPy strike, But it's not always gonna work out. So what you want to try and
do is test this bump and run, if you will, but just a basic chip shot that
is at least going to get you somewhat closer. It makes golf
just that little bit easier, your confidence a little bit higher.
And you know what else
will this video right here, if you never want to worry
about punker shots again, I would love you to test this trick
out and I'll see you next time..