I cannot tell a lie. Sometimes, I purposely engage my wrists to apply extra spin on the ball with the intent of stopping the ball the faster. Of course this foolish attempt to place extra action on the ball usually ends in failure. Most of the time I end up flipping my wrists and my ball ends up short. Then I remind myself that I need to keep my hands quiet to ensure that my club does all the work and reap all the benefits.
I have talked about the hinge and hold technique (actually it was Phil Mickelson) in the past and use this as my go to chip shot. However, it is important that I reiterate that most of my successes while chipping happen when I keep my hands quiet through contact. I do not know why I think it is a good idea to gravitate away from a proven technique, but of course as an amateur, it happens.
Here is a good video explaining quiet hands.
I have to expand the conversation to to include that I actually have many different chipping techniques. The position of the ball in the rough, closeness of the pin to the ball, and how much green I have to work with are but few factors that determine how I play my chip shots. Regardless of what I decide, I do try to keep my hands quiet in order to maximize the effectiveness of my clubs.
I have not touched a club in 10 weeks and I can tell you that I need to keep reminding myself of all these important lessons so that when hit the outdoor practice are in 16 weeks, I will be one step up in my preparation to playing golf. I will continue to relearn all this little lessons during my off season because it is how I cope with my long winters nap.
I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!
The Grateful Golfer 
Jim, I love Mike’s tip from Trevino. Works every time I’ve tried it. Visualize, rehearse, and go. When you sit over a chip for too long, mechanical thoughts and doubt can creep in. Will be trying this again this weekend!
Thanks,
Brian
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Brian,
I agree. The less thinking over the ball, the better. And that is for all shots.
Cheers Jim
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Real good points to remember around the green.
Keep up the good work and posts!
Happy Holidays
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Thanks Steve. Happy holidays to you as well.
Cheers Jim
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I’m working on this right now. Getting the feel for better distance control. I’ve always tended to be more handsy and rely on my too often elusive “touch”, but would love a bit more control and I know this is the path to it. Right now I certainly don’t feel comfortable with trying a forward hand press doing it. That makes it harder to engage the bounce and almost as risky as my long preferred method on our always damp course.
Today was one of those days when touch was elusive. I drove the ball really well. Found most of the greens with my irons on the shorter holes. But I failed to get most of the chips and pitches close enough to the pin to drop the putt. No truly terrible shots, just lots of mediocre ones. I did much better the couple times I had to lob the ball than when I chipped or pitched and that’s just not normal or right.
It was a fun round though. I played with a couple of Korean Americans that came up to about my chin and a little Italian guy who isn’t any taller. One of the Koreans was pretty new to golf but he’s not doing badly at all and the other has a smooth as silk swing. He’s not all that long but he’s very consistent. They were a lot of fun to play with. And stayed very upbeat all day. Providing encouragement to all on every swing. So much so that I think it might have taken me out of my game but I didn’t care. I was enjoying the company too much. Tracking my score was easy though. Three birdies, four bogies.
But I think I need a day or two off. I think I’ve only missed one day in the last 2 weeks and that was last week. So instead of playing tomorrow and probably Saturday, I’ll put some time in at one of the chipping areas. Work on the dead hands method, and work with the hybrid a bit too. Since it’s in the bag now and not coming out I think I’d better see how well rounded I can make it.
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Kevin,
Great to hear that you had a fun round of golf. Those are always worth cherishing. A break sometimes is good for your game. Enjoy you rest.
Cheers Jim
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I was once told, that chipping is a state of mind. I have been lucky in that I have
played with a number of the old pros. Most of the retired pros had a philosophy
and I was lucky to learn from them. The best tip I received was from Lee
Trevino. I was lucky enough to play in a pro-am at Torrey Pines. He told me that
my set up was perfect,but my execution was poor. I proceeded to ask him what I was doing wrong. He flat out told me that I was spending to much time over the ball and thinking to much about the shot. Trevino had me do two things that were ground breaking for me. I was told to do my thinking about the shot before I get over the ball. ( look for the break and relax), he told me half of the game of golf is mental and the other half is execution. He also reminded me to have fun. When golf is no longer fun for me I will find something else to do. I do really love being out with my friends for the day, it really puts the rest of my life on a level basis.
Mike
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Mike
That is a great share. Who can argue with the Merry Mex. Spending too much time over the ball is definitely a detractor for most players. Unfortunately for me, I tend to.llay too quickly and that is just as bad. Finding that sweet spot between fast and slow is important for all golfers.
Cheers Jim
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I was once told, that chipping is a state of mind. I have been lucky in that I have
played with a number of the old pros. Most of the retired pros had a philosophy
and I was lucky to learn from them. The best tip I received was from Lee Trevino. I was lucky enough to play in a pro-am at Torrey Pines. He told me that
my set up was perfect,but my execution was poor. I proceeded to ask him what I was doing wrong. He flat out told me that I was spending to much time over the ball and thinking to much about the shot. Trevino had me do two things that were ground breaking from me. I was told to do my thinking about the shot before I get over the ball. ( look for the break and relax), he told me half of the game of golf is mental and the other half is execution. He also reminded me to have fun. When golf is no longer fun for me I will find something else to do. I do really love being out with my friends for the day, it really puts the rest of my life on a level basis.
Mike
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