By Bobby Eldridge Head Professional,
PurePoint Golf Reprinted with permission
Golf Chipping Setup - Ball Position
As you walk up to the golf ball and ground the club head now is the time to make sure the golf ball is centered in your stance. The golf ball is equal distance between both of your feet.
The club head has to find the bottom of the arc in the downswing. If the golf ball is too far forward in your stance you will risk a shallow swing which will cause you to hit up on the golf ball.
If the ball is too far back in your stance your swing would have to be too vertical and you could not get the golf ball in the air.
It does not matter what the lie is, the ball is still centered in your stance. If you have a bare lie, thick rough lie or even an uneven lie, the ball position stays the same, in the middle of your stance.
Addressing the golf ball in the middle of your stance will allow the club head to find the bottom of the golf ball.
If you address the golf ball too far forward in your stance, you will have a tendency to pull your chip shots; the clubface will be aiming left at impact.
If you address the golf ball too far back in your stance, you will have a tendency to push your chip shots; the clubface will be aiming right at impact.
What you are trying to do is find the bottom of the arc. The leading edge of the club head has to swing DOWN into the ground in the downswing. By placing the golf ball in the center of your stance, this will provide you the best opportunity to do this.
Golf Chipping Setup - Handle Position
After you have addressed the golf ball, the first step is to center the ball in the middle of your stance After you do this move the handle of the golf club across from your belt buckle or the center of your body.
There are a couple of reasons why we have you move the handle of the golf club across from your belt buckle.
The number one reason is to make sure the head of the golf club swings up in the backswing. If you start with the handle in front of the club head, the club will swing up in the backswing, which will create a steep angle in the downswing.
The second reason is to make sure the handle of the golf club is in front of the club head at address. If you keep the handle in front of the club head this will insure the club head will swing down more vertical in the downswing and the handle will stay in front of the club head during impact.
Swinging the handle in front of the club head will ensure a steep angle in the downswing. Since the club head angle is so steep, the clubface will make contact with the ball first instead of the leading edge. Let's take a minute to recap. At setup, after you center the ball between both feet and you have the handle across from your belt buckle, you are now ready to move onto the final set-up position 70% of your weight on your left side.
Chipping Setup - Weight
70% of your weight should be on your left side at address.
What this means is that after you have centered the golf ball in your stance and you have grounded the club head behind the golf ball and then moved the handle across from your belt buckle, you will move 70% of your weight over to your left leg.
Once you start the backswing your weight stays on your left side during the entire backswing, downswing and after your low follow thru. You still have 70% of your weight on your left side.
I'll repeat. It is always 70% on your left leg.
The reason for the weight being 70% on the left side is to keep you from trying to hit up on the golf ball. Weight on your left side will force you to bring the club head in the downswing towards the golf ball in a chopping motion.
That chopping motion will make the golf ball come off of the club face with consistent direction and loft.
If you can contact the face in this position you will get a more consistent impact and the golf ball will fly in the air the correct amount with the proper roll after it makes contact with the putting surface. This weight balance should be there throughout the entire swing. Notice it does not change from setup, the takeaway, during the backswing, on the downswing, at impact, or in the follow through.
Some of the most common mistakes golfers make when chipping are topping the ball, hitting it fat, hitting behind the ball, or hitting it too thin. Some of these mistakes take place if the weight moves in the backswing.
The first three steps are static steps. There are no moving parts in Part 4-5-6. This is the setup which will enable the golf club to swing more vertical.
With 70% of your weight on your left foot the golf club will swing up and down and not down and up. In other words you will start to see the club head swinging into the bottom of the golf ball and not the top.
