Every golfer has a challenge chipping around the green. It is nothing new and will happen time and time again. This is the nature of golf as this sport is a marathon not a sprint, so the ups and downs of great play are something we all have to face. The chipping yips is something that I usually experience early in my golf season. I have a great deal of rust on my game and I have a tendency to second guess what I am doing. It is something I understand and have a process to fix the yips that is simple and repeatable.
When the yips occur, I usually am hitting behind the ball. Mostly this happens because I have so many moving parts in my swing that it is hard to pinpoint my woes. Over the years I have tried many different drills and some have worked, but the one I like the most is changing my grip. I like this drill so much, that I use a different grip when chipping during a round. More to follow on that.
Changing our grip during chipping practice is nothing really new. For me, it helps focus my mental aspects of playing. I have golfed for so long, that returning to equilibrium while chipping is something that is important to my overall game. I do this by practicing my chipping with different grips. I do not like the cross handed or baseball grip when chipping, but it does help me to mentally focus my efforts during short game practice.
I have adopted the use of my putting grip when chipping around the green. Normally, I use this grip when I need a soft delicate shot when short sided. The putter grip deadens the clubface and allows me to reduce the hand pressure on the putter thus enabling a soft reaction of the ball off the club. One thing to remember is that I have to swing a bit faster in order to produce the same results as if I was using my regular grip. I like using my putter grip and it gives me confidence. With greater confidence in chipping, there is a lesser chance or developing the yips.
Getting rid of chipping yips is a must when playing golf. There are many different ways to achieve this goal and trying different grips is one. If you have never tried chipping with different grips, I recommend you give it a try. You might be surprised and adopt, like I have, a different grip during your round.
I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!
The Grateful Golfer 
Jim, I had ’em about 10 years ago for three seasons. They are God awful and I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. They manifested in chunked shots that made it halfway to the hole. My way out was a little different and I continue to use to this day. As I stand astride my shot, I sight the landing point and trajectory for a couple seconds. Burn the image into my mind’s eye. Then as I address, I’ll keep that image and start the swing. Zero mechanics involved. It’s kind of like shooting a free throw in basketball. You just sight the rim and shoot.
Good luck extinguishing if you have them!
Brian
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Brian,
That is a great way to improve any shot in golf. Visualization is very important and most amateurs do not use this important skill. Thanks for sharing.
Cheers JIm
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I have two ways to hold a wedge. For the most part, I will hold a wedge like any other club, with the grip in the fingers of my left hand. But that isn’t a great option always. There are times, like when I’m facing an uphill, against the grain lie when that grip is dangerous. Then I will hold the club in the palm of my left hand and keep the club more upright (toe down). This simple change helps me insure that the bounce is what interacts with the ground and not the leading edge.
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Kevin,
I can see using that grip on an uphill lie. There are so many variants we can use, but ultimately it comes down to finding what works.
Cheers Jim
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It is just one option. It’s also just another way to verbalize taking a putting grip. I find that terminology incorrect. I can’t take a putting grip with a wedge because it’s not thick enough to get my hands together.
When we putt, we grip the club in our palms. With chipping, we just want the left hand (for a right handed golfer) to grip in the palm when we do this and keep the over under position of the hands on the club like normal. We also want to hold the club more upright. It will feel more natural a bit upright anyway, if we have the left hand grip in the palm.
Keep the feet together, stay more upright with your body, and grip the club like this while swinging without breaking the wrists and it comes out more like an 8 iron than a wedge. Use it with some wrist to advance out of a divot or when you find your ball buried three inches deep in bermuda rough. Toe down and you get less resistance from the grass because the leading edge isn’t leading the way anymore it’s just the tip of the club. So it helps keep the face from getting turned as well as the leading edge from getting caught in the turf and sent to ground before reaching the ball.
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Kevin
There are many different variations to all shots. It is something that most amateurs need to experiment with in order to find what works best for them. I am sure the professionals have tried multiple grips, stances and hitting positions to settle on what works for them. We to take the time to do this as well.
Cheers Jim
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