Tommy Fleetwood, England’s Olympic silver medallist, is a good example to follow to improve your chipping. — AP
AMONG the key components to making any improvement around the greens is to improve your chipping. “Chipping has become more fun for me,” multiple tour winner Tommy Fleetwood once said. “I don’t like missing greens, and I see it as a chance to challenge myself out on the course. If you can enjoy it too it will help your scores.”
Practice more
The more time you spend chipping the better you
will be able to visualise the shot and judge how the ball will release from certain lies, react when it lands and roll out.
Set the loft
Set whatever loft you want on the clubface at impact when you address the ball and maintain this throughout, so you don’t have to do anything complicated with the swing.
Least loft possible
Take the club that allows you to hit the shot you’re faced with easily and get the ball running on the ground as quickly as possible. When assessing this, work from less loft like a 9-iron until you reach the club you’re comfortable hitting in that situation
Analyse from the side
Stepping to the side of the shot halfway along its length will help you judge the true distance and how much carry and roll you need. You can also read the green you’re playing on so you can pick a flat landing area that accounts for any break
One-legged drill
Set a lot of your weight on to your left side and pivot around that one point when chipping and often practice on one leg to encourage that feeling. This drill also improves balance, club head control and quality of strike
