If you were to go online do some research, you might be surprised to learn that the average handicap of all golfers (men, women, and children) has decreased consistently over the past 20 years or so. But according to research provided to Golf Digest by the USGA’s Golf Handicap & Information Network (GHIN), the average handicap today is just two strokes better than it was in the early 1990s. Just two strokes in 20 years? Why is that? The technology is better, the equipment is better, the instruction is better, and the courses are seemingly more manicured than ever before. So where’s the disconnect?
I think one of the reasons for the relative lack of improvement is that we’ve made golf out to be such a complex sport. And if it’s complex to play, it must be difficult to learn. I would argue that it’s just the opposite. The golf swing itself is pretty simple, and since steel shafts came onto the scene in the early 1920s, the golf swing hasn’t really changed all that much. So we shift the focus to the golf instruction side. As we’ve discussed in Methods of Teaching with PGA Professional Ed Ekis, golf instructors often seem to be more concerned with teaching for the benefit of their colleagues than they are with teaching for the benefit of the masses, and as someone who’s considering entering the teaching profession part of the industry, I find this trend disconcerting.
Take chipping, for instance. What is it? It’s a shot with minimum airtime and maximum rollout. Where do we use it? Off the edge of the green, usually from 0-5 feet. Why do we chip? Because it’s low risk. The closer we can keep the ball to the ground, the less risky the proposition. For mind-blowingly simple chipping, try the following technique:
1. Grip down slightly. You want the club you’re using to chip to be the same length and lie angle as your putter. This will also produce the same swing arc.
2. Put the back of your lead hand into the hole. You should feel like you’re dragging the fingers of your lead hand along the ground. Its as easy as setting an arched and bowed lead wrist on the way back and pulling the club toward the hole on the way through.
3. The length and tempo of the stroke should be “pocket to pocket.”
4. The stance you choose is up to you. It doesn’t matter if it’s square or slightly open, but you want the ball to be positioned or centered under your sternum.
Try This Drill
Get some yarn or other soft string and place it inside a hula hoop (to help you make a circle) five feet onto the green. Practice chipping balls so that they land inside the circle.
Teaching Tip
If you find yourself teaching a beginning golfer, consider teaching the toe-down method of chipping. Toe-down chipping requires the same grip, stance, and stroke as a putt. Start out with just a 9-iron for shorter chips and a 7-iron for longer chips. Hitting chips on the toe does two things: it deadens the shot so it won’t get away, but more importantly, it’s nearly impossible to chunk a toe-down chip shot because the only part of the club that comes into contact with the ground is the toe. Fewer chunks means a more confident player.