The Takeaway In Chipping Is Crucial!!

The takeaway position in chipping is in fact more important than the full swing due to the swing being considerably shorter. With the full swing, if you start your swing incorrectly, you still have time on the downswing to manipulate your hands and still rescue the shot. However with chipping if you do start incorrectly, it will be very hard to adjust in time to still execute a good chip shot. In fact the shorter the chip, the harder it will be.

The most important aspect to remember is that the takeaway position in the full swing and chipping is in fact the same. Now to set up for a chip shot, just have the ball position in the middle of your stance with your weight around 60% on your front foot. Try also to have fairly level shoulders and I would also encourage you to have the face a little open to enable you to use the bounce. Just remember when you do have the face a little open, just aim your feet also slightly left.

Now when you take the club back, try and keep the distance the same from your hands to your body during your takeaway. The hands should start roughly a handspan from the body. You want to feel the clubhead stay outside your hands during the takeaway. In fact the best chippers keep the clubhead outside their hands during the takeaway and onto the downswing. If the swing goes to parallel to the ground, the clubhead and the hands would form roughly a straight line or the clubhead would be a little in front.

Once you can establish a good takeaway position, it's always best to feel the club opening as well. You want to the feel the toe of the club pointing up to the sky if the club reached parallel to the ground. Lastly you want to feel as though there's a little turn of your body back and through. This will take some time to engrain however once you do, you will be able to chip from and lie.

If you'd like you'd like to learn more about chipping just contact myself at David Waters Golf located at Emerald Lakes Golf Coaching Centre.