Ladies Clinic Review
Chipping/Putting
5/17/2011
Thank you for your participation during our cold weather clinic! We hope you found the concepts easy to understand and execute. We would like to provide you with a review to help you retain the information from the lesson. If you ever have any questions, please feel free to contact David or Aaron in the golf shop.
I. Notes on Putting
A) Set Up
1. Eyes over the inside part of the ball.
2. Putter in the middle of your stance, grip pointing to your naval.
3. Body, including shoulders, hips, and feet should be parallel to the line of your target.
4. Putter should be resting flat on the ground.
5. Grip: Thumbs going down the flat part of the club.
B) Making the stroke
1. Both arms will control the putter swing. The putter should move freely, in a pendulum motion.
2. The rhythm of the swing should be constant: no intentional speeding up or slowing down during the swing.
3. Practice visualizing the ball roll on your intended line as you make your stroke.
a. Your focus should be rolling the ball on the line, not on the hole. Only focus on rolling it to the hole when the putt is straight!
4. Result Oriented vs Process Oriented: Focusing on results, like making putts, puts unwanted pressure in to our game. When you focus solely on the result you want, you will forget about the process necessary to get that result. In putting, our job is to “roll the ball on our intended line, with enough speed to reach the cup”. That’s it. Regardless of the distance of putt, that should be your focus.
II. Notes on Chipping
Chipping is a shot that spends more time rolling then it does in the air. The swing required for a chip shot is the same that is required for putting. It is important to understand that the height of the shot is the result of the loft of the club, and not due to any extra action we create with the club. In other words, your job is to swing the club forward in the direction of the target, the club’s job is to lift the ball.
*90% of all chipping problems occur because golfers have a tendency to insert a “lifting” action in to their swing. Practice brushing the grass with your club, using a forward motion.
A) Set Up
1. Club in the middle, grip pointing to your belt buckle.
2. Clubface perpendicular to the target line. If you lift the club out in front of you, you should be able to observe that the lines on the clubface are vertical (straight up and down).
3. Body, including shoulders, hips, and feet should be parallel to the line of your target. Note: It may be helpful to put your feet closer together for this type of shot.
4. Grip: For putting we placed the thumbs down the top of the grip. For chipping the grip is similar, only now the thumbs will be placed to the side of the grip, so that the V’s formed by your hand and thumb point to your center (belt buckle).
B) Making the stroke
1. Like the putter, your club should swing freely in a pendulum motion. The size of your swing will determine the length of the shot.
2. The rhythm of the swing should be constant. There should be no attempt to increase or decrease speed during the swing.
C) Club selection
1. Whenever possible chip the ball low, so it rolls more like a putt. This is always the more consistent shot to play. A 7 iron is great for this. A PW may be needed for shots that require more loft. But when in doubt, go for the 7 or 8.
2. The landing spot of the chip shot should be used to determine the club you select. However, once you determine the club to use you should picture the ball rolling all the way to the hole. If you focus on the landing spot when you play your shot you will most likely finish short of the hole.
