Tip of the Month By John Trujillo
Heading into winter and the areas around greens becoming quite thin and predominately wet, chipping can become nearly impossible for amateurs and even for club pros like Nick. First off, it’s not a bad idea to use your putter more often from off the green, like Nick. This will completely eliminate the two worst shots you can hit from these “iffy” lies, the fat one you take two steps to hit again, like Nick, and the blade that you walk the length of the green to hit again. If you do decide to chip from these areas, a couple of things to keep in mind to ensure proper contact and consistent distance control: 1) Don’t let your lead wrist (left wrist for right handed golfers) break down in the chipping motion and keep it ahead of the ball thru impact area and 2) Keep your sternum and shoulders moving toward the target thru the impact area. When your lead wrist breaks down it leads to either of the two dreaded shots mentioned above. A good practice technique is to put a rubber band around your left wrist (right handed golfers) and slide the butt of the club under that rubber band and practice your chipping motion without producing any flex in the rubber band to ensure the proper feel on these shots. Remember to commit to the shot and have confidence in the shot you're playing. If you still tend to struggle around the greens, don’t forget that your putter is your best friend (i.e Nick) and hope for an early spring and some nice lush Bermuda grass fronting all the greens.
Please don't pick on Nick too much, he's getting better by taking my advice.
