Many students who come in for short game lessons often have overlooked a crucial area when it comes to being a consistent chipper. This area is path. Path is the ultimate determiner on where the ball will start on it's flight. The interesting element about path is that it's often a carry over from the long game. For example if you're someone who 'draws' the ball by swinging the club around the body early on the backswing and therefore flips the hands left through impact, it will often show up as well in chipping.
When your path isn't in the right position, it also plays a part in how you strike the ball. For eg. if you are that person who does swing the club too far inside on the backswing, your impact point will be likely too far back from the ball at impact therefore resulting in 'fat' shots. This same can be said if you're someone who swings the club too steep on the backswing and therefore contacts the grass too early on the downswing.
What we need to do is keep a very neutral path for chipping to ensure we start the ball on it's intended target. This means when you take the club back ensure the cub face stays just ahead of your hands. This is actually the same takeaway as with the long game but it's even more important with chipping as there's less time to compensate for an incorrect backswing.
On the downswing just ensure you rotate the body to the left with your arms following your chest. This will ensure you exit through the hitting area correctly. A really great drill for this as mentioned in previous swing path posts, is placing a stick in a bucket angled at 45 degrees with it positioned a couple of metres behind the ball. Then just ensure you keep the clubface in front of the stick without pushing your arms away from the body.
If you need any further help with Chipping just contact me for a lesson.
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