Hi my name is Ian and I am a 7 handicap. I was just wondering how I would hit a chip shot with spin so it can stop close to the pin. Normally i just try to get the trajectory higher but sometimes the lie makes that very difficult to do. Any advice you could give would be extremly helpful. Thanks
Ian
Hello Ian,
Unless you are playing on very soft greens, I would not worry about trying to put spin on a chip shot, just allow for a certain amount of roll. Even on pitch shots or flop shots, unless the ball hits a soft spot on the green, it is not going to stop, because you can’t put a lot of backspin on any shot that is less than a full shot. You can only expect the ball to stop at distances where a full swing is required, because it is the force of the full swing that imparts the most backspin. You may have noticed the pros on TV can get their chips to “check up” and roll slowly to the hole, but remember they are playing on the best of conditions. If you try that in firmer conditions, the ball may or may not check up, and if it doesn’t, then it will skid and end up too far past the hole. If you want to try that anyway, make sure to clean the grooves on your clubface with a small wire brush (every time), and hit more sharply down at the ball to impart more backspin.
Joe
Friday, February 06, 2004
Joe,
I have worked on my driving for the past 3 or 4 months and I can basically hit 95% of my tee shots straight with good distance using 80% effort. What seems to be creeping in, within the last few weeks, is the tendency to create topspin on the ball with the effect of losing height and distance. I don't notice any change in my set up and it is driving me nuts. Any ideas?
Regards
Dave
Hi Dave,
Topspin with the driver is usually caused when the ball position is too far forward. If you prefer not to change that ball position, you will have to use a more downward stroke to prevent topspin. You may have heard that topspin produces more roll, but I do not like that idea because, as you said, the loss of hang time will cause loss of distance. Of course, too much hang time results in ‘ballooning’, but there is a happy medium. In your case, ballooning is not a problem, so the downward stroke should give you some backspin instead of topspin, which will result in more hang time. Have you changed drivers recently? If so, maybe your new driver does not have enough loft for your swing. If your drives are too low, why fight it? Just try a driver with more loft.
Joe
I have worked on my driving for the past 3 or 4 months and I can basically hit 95% of my tee shots straight with good distance using 80% effort. What seems to be creeping in, within the last few weeks, is the tendency to create topspin on the ball with the effect of losing height and distance. I don't notice any change in my set up and it is driving me nuts. Any ideas?
Regards
Dave
Hi Dave,
Topspin with the driver is usually caused when the ball position is too far forward. If you prefer not to change that ball position, you will have to use a more downward stroke to prevent topspin. You may have heard that topspin produces more roll, but I do not like that idea because, as you said, the loss of hang time will cause loss of distance. Of course, too much hang time results in ‘ballooning’, but there is a happy medium. In your case, ballooning is not a problem, so the downward stroke should give you some backspin instead of topspin, which will result in more hang time. Have you changed drivers recently? If so, maybe your new driver does not have enough loft for your swing. If your drives are too low, why fight it? Just try a driver with more loft.
Joe
Wednesday, February 04, 2004
Joe,
I'm currently playing Mixed pennants, my partner plays off five and I
play off twelve, he is continually telling me I reverse pivot. I don't
want to sound stupid in asking what that is.... so I'll ask you, what's
a reverse pivot.
Lisa
Hi Lisa,
Your question is not stupid, in fact it is a very important question. Just to make you feel better, I am going to also sound stupid by asking you what is a Mixed pennant (now we are even)? A reverse pivot is an improper weight shift which is the opposite direction from the proper shift. The proper shift on the downswing is to transfer your lower body weight from the back foot to the front foot, finishing with all your weight on your front foot, and the only part of your back foot that touches the ground is your toe. The reverse pivot does just the opposite, you finish with all your weight on the back foot, and this is a bad thing that you need to correct.
Joe
I'm currently playing Mixed pennants, my partner plays off five and I
play off twelve, he is continually telling me I reverse pivot. I don't
want to sound stupid in asking what that is.... so I'll ask you, what's
a reverse pivot.
Lisa
Hi Lisa,
Your question is not stupid, in fact it is a very important question. Just to make you feel better, I am going to also sound stupid by asking you what is a Mixed pennant (now we are even)? A reverse pivot is an improper weight shift which is the opposite direction from the proper shift. The proper shift on the downswing is to transfer your lower body weight from the back foot to the front foot, finishing with all your weight on your front foot, and the only part of your back foot that touches the ground is your toe. The reverse pivot does just the opposite, you finish with all your weight on the back foot, and this is a bad thing that you need to correct.
Joe
