With PGA Professional Michael Bolt, Trump International Golf Club, Dubai
Developing a tight chipping action can be a catalyst to producing lower scores and will take a lot of pressure off the rest of your game.
One of the most common errors I see from amateurs during chipping sessions at Trump International Golf Club, Dubai is a lack of relationship and connection between the arms and the body. The overuse of the wrists and elbows create unnecessary levers resulting in these ‘hinges’ working independently from the torso.
This can have many negative connotations, most notably a variance in strike pattern and the ability to create clubhead speed effectively. Not only can this tendency to strike chips poorly become very daunting and stressful, but this lack of connection also makes distance and trajectory control challenging to judge if the player does manage to make a proper contact with the ball.
I like to see players feeling the chipping action is controlled by a rotation of the chest, and the hands staying extremely passive. The initial set up with a subtle forward press of the hands should create all the ‘hinge’ you need. From here, it’s just a case of maintaining these angles and controlling the motion with the chest.
TOWEL DRILL
An effective drill to gain this sensation is to place a golf towel under both arms. Then try and hit shots without the arms working away from the body and keeping the towel in place with the chest controlling the movement. If the connection isn’t achieved, the towel will give you immediate feedback.
Initially it may be difficult to achieve the desired strike, but once you are comfortable with the movement you’ll find it far easier to trap the golf ball and also control distance through the speed of body rotation.
