Address ball off the toe for delicate chips
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Continueing his occasional series, PGA pro John Hoskison, who plays on the European Seniors Tour, offers some quick tips to help golfers understand their faults.
Striking chip shots well is vital if you want to save shots around the green. And a good strike requires an accelerating clubhead with no quitting on the shot at impact.
Sometimes the shot you face is only a short distance and often a golfer faced with a delicate shot like this, makes a backswing that is too long, effectively building up too much power. The only option for a swing like this is to decelerate through the ball. And that can lead to a fluffed shot.
On those delicate shots from the fringe or rough, address the ball towards the toe of the club and then concentrate on hitting it out of the toe of the club. This will drastically reduce the power of the shot letting you continue to accelerate at impact without fear of the ball rolling to far past the hole.
To find out the difference between a strike out of the sweet spot and one out of toe, find a chipping green, hit three shots with each method and soon you will get an understanding for the difference in feel and distance.
John Hoskison is attached to the Newbury Golf Centre and plays on the European Seniors Tour, having earned a conditional card after finishing 10th at Qualifying School at the Pestana. He returned to the UK to rebuild his career in tournament golf after spending time in China, where he was instrumental in the building a driving range for underprivileged children Fuzhou. He won the 2005 Jamega Tour Order of Merit with six victories from 12 starts. For further information visit John's website at www.johnhoskisongolf.com.
