So, if you’re at the chipping green and aim for the red pin, but sink the ball in the white pin, does it count?
In my opinion, it does, if you don’t tell your buddy where you’re supposed to be shooting.
Alas, this wasn’t the case with golf instructor Mark Strong standing behind me, eyeballing my setup, in the practice area at the back of the Richmond Country Club.
After a spring aeration last week, the course has dried up significantly with a string of sunny days over the weekend. After cracking a few balls on the range, Strong took me to the chipping green to assess my short game.
Going into this project, the one thing I told myself, and everyone else, was I don’t have to worry too much about my short game, given years of pitch and putt experience behind me.
In fact, Strong thinks it will be improvements to my short game that will lower my scorecard significantly.
That’s because if you can stick your ball closer to the pin, you obviously have a better chance of avoiding a two or three putt; there’s no point in being able to drive the ball better than everyone else, only to end up at the back of the green while the person who takes the extra stroke gets to within six feet of the pin.
I didn’t realize how technical chipping can be until Strong pointed out a few tips.
For instance, you want to rotate your body (hips) as you follow through on your shot.
Also, “don’t decelerate on your downswing. A better default is to have a shorter swing with more aggression through the shot because you’ll end up with cleaner contact,” explained Strong. Distance control is the first goal in chipping and the first element needed to achieve this is clean contact.
By having inconsistent acceleration in my swing, I was more likely to duff the ball by hitting the ground too early or topping the ball.
This isn’t to say I’ve corrected this poor habit; it will take time, said Strong.
If you can begin to hit the ball cleanly (with contact coming just under the ball) then you can begin to think about club selection.
“So many people tend to use too few clubs around the green. I believe the game can be easier if you’re open to using more clubs to allow different heights on shots,” said Strong.
So, use a sand wedge to loft the ball up high, or an eight iron to scuttle the ball along the green. You’ll need to be more accurate with that sand wedge, so, if it’s a fairly level green, it may be wiser to chip with an iron. At any rate, don’t automatically pick up the pitching wedge to chip.
