2010 New products

Three ways To chip iT closeMaster these chipping techniques to boost your up-and-down stats.

When it comes to chipping, much of the talk these days is about avoiding shaft lean at impact and trying to keep the same loft on the club at impact as you had at address. But I think these ‘rules’ change a little depending on the type of chip you want to play. Let me show you three chips methods, each one tailored to meet a slightly different round-the-green challenge.

WORDS BY PETER MASTERS

PHOTOGRAPHY BY HOWARD BOYLAN

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My checkpoints here would be feet quite close together and slightly open to the target line. This is a rotation shot, so you don’t want a wide stance; keep them as close together as feels comfortable. I want the ball position to be central with my hands partly over the ball, marginally ahead is OK. I’d say 70% of my weight is on the left side.

I want a natural turn away from the ball keeping the club neutral all the time. No fanning the face open or holding it closed.

This is an example of keeping the same loft on the club as you had at address. You don’t want to pull the club through with the hands first. Instead just let the weight of the club come through, keeping up with it by turning the shoulders through.

Look how I’m facing the target and the club hasn’t rotated. Turn properly and the club won’t rotate too much. You don’t want to finish like this (above).

The basic chip1

A lot of shoulder work is needed when you chip, but that doesn’t mean the hands are completely firm. Keep them relaxed so that there is just a little flexibility there. Don’t allow the shoulders to stop because then the hands will take over and you’ll be inconsistent with the strike.

www.golf-world.co.uk // APRIL 2010 83

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2010 New products

hiGh aND sofTIf you haven’t got much green to work with and you want the ball to settle quickly then this is the shot to play.

See how I’ve moved the ball back in the stance which de-lofts the face slightly. Keep the blade square by gripping it after you’ve placed it behind the ball.

I’m going to be a little steeper this

time so again you must keep turning.

The low skiDDerI’d think about playing it more like this if I was chipping into the wind. Don’t underestimate the effect the wind can have, it’s very easy to come up short. The other time to play this is when I want to skip it through the fringe; that’s when a more punchy method is useful. This will skip, then check and then release out because it’s coming out hotter than the normal chip.

2

3

The ball is off the left toe and the shaft is vertical at address, placing the hands over the clubhead and not the ball. You may feel you need to open the face a little to get it square to the line – that in itself adds loft.

It’s the same very natural takeaway,

turning the shoulders and

staying relaxed. This is a more sweeping stroke and you are

going to use the bounce on the club.

84 APRIL 2010 // www.golf-world.co.uk

www.taylormadegolf.eu

goosen’s gear

I put this wedge straight in the bag when it came out because I felt that they’d designed a really nice looking club. But the real advantage is the fact that you can remove the face and put in some new grooves quite regularly. To be honest, I didn’t think that sort of thing was possible. A wedge with bolts in the back sounded clunky to me, but this is a remarkable invention. The club isn’t clunky at all, it has a good solid feel and by renewing the face insert, I know that a wedge I like the look of will stay in the bag for much longer. The design is very precise too and the spare faces sit beautifully flush once you’ve attached them.

The machine work on the back of the club that you can see here is something personal to me and I do it in my workshop at home. I grind away some of the metal on the back half of the heel area. Now you don’t see this when you look down at the club from above, it’s only when you open the face. Taking away that heel gives the impression that the face of the club has been pushed forward slightly which is a look I like.

my own sole grind

THe xFT TP wedge

Note here how the angle between the shaft and the right forearm is slightly

more acute than the previous chip, and

how the ball comes out faster and lower.

Don’t try and help this up at all; the wedge will do

the work. Just keep turning. The club will feel

like it gets ahead of the hands, but all you’re doing is returning to the address position. Don’t scoop. See

though how the angle from the shaft to my right

forearm is much straighter compared to the other two

chipping shots.

www.golf-world.co.uk // APRIL 2010 85

driver: TaylorMade R9 SuperTri 9.5°, Fujikura Motore F1 4.0X shaft.Fairway woods: TaylorMade R9 15° and 19°, Fujikura Motore 85X shaft. Irons: TaylorMade R9 TP, 3-PW. wedges: TaylorMade xFT TP, 54° and 60°. putter: Yes! Swashbuckler. Ball: TaylorMade Penta TP.shoes: adidas Tour 360 4.0.

in THe bag

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