The Chip and Run 09:06, 13/04/2016

The chip and run is one of the primary weapons to have in your short game arsenal. The idea in chipping is to get the ball landing 1st on the green and then rolling the ball towards the target.

Sometimes it may be necessary to land the ball short of the green, but when this happens there’s an element of luck required to the shot. The ball should travel roughly 20% - 30% in the air and 70- 80% along the ground. By using a variety of different clubs it will allow the player to control trajectory and distances required for the shot.
The basic motion is derived from the upper body with a rhythmic swinging of the arms and hands. The key ingredient to great chipping is to set up to the ball so to allow the body to control the release and the swing of the club so that the club can be returned back to the ball in a consistent manor with out to much forward shaft lean of the club.
A sound chipping action starts with the set up and this simple reminder will keep you on track.
“Hands Forward, Weight Forward, Ball Back”
In the setup we start by moving a little closer to the ball and aiming the feet slightly open of target at 11 O’clock on an imaginary clock face and the feet just wider than that of a club head. The clubface will be aimed at roughly 1 O’clock on an imaginary clock face so the body and the clubface are opposed each other. Around 70% of your body’s pressure should be distributed more on to the left leg with the knees closely together as this will aid a slight downward strike on the ball. The upper body and sternum should be positioned towards the target with the spine hanging vertical which allows the shoulders to sit horizontal in relation to the ground.

The ball will be positioned just inside the right heel, just behind the sternum with the hands slightly ahead in a pre-hinged position. This angle created in the back of the left wrist is another key and this should not be lost throughout the swing.

The mechanics of the stroke should be controlled by the turning motion of the body. The longer the swing on the way back the more the club will work inside and the more the aggressive the turn of the body, the longer the shot will travel. The club head will be squared by this turning motion and the club presented with not too much forward shaft lean of the club. The follow through of the stroke will be just short of the backswing length with the player holding the finish until the ball is well on its journey.