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Seven On Course Tips for Improving Your Score

The fairway bunker shot

When You Really Need To Bust One From The Tee

Chip shots are played from relatively close to the green ( within 5 paces ).

The object of a chip shot is for the ball to travel fairly low to the ground, staying in the air long enough to get over the fringe and land on the putting green. Once on the green the ball travels the rest of it's journey in much the same fashion as a putt. i.e. rolling along the surface.

1. Grip the club lower down than with a normal shot and stand quite a bit closer than you would with a normal shot. This will help to cut down the amount of power you get during the swing and will also promote more "FEEL ".

2. You should position the ball just inside your right instep and your hands should be positioned so that they are well in front of the ball.

3. Most of your body weight should be positioned on your left foot. Try to do this by tilting your upper body to your left. Try standing with your right foot on a brick. This forces you to get your weight forward. Keep your weight on this foot all of the way through the swing. Don't transfer your weight to the back foot and then forward again as you would in a normal swing.

4. As opposed to a normal swing, your wrists should remain stiff during the entire chipping swing. This keeps your hands ahead of the ball, taking loft of the club, allowing you to keep the ball low and make the ball to roll when it lands.Keep the club head as close to the ground all of the way through the swing. This will also help in keeping the ball lower in the air and rolling when it lands on the green.

5. Always try to land a chip 5 feet on the putting green and let it run to the flag from that position. If your ball doesn't get to the hole use a club with less loft. This will enable the ball to roll more. NEVER try to land the ball nearer to the flag with the same club.

The best clubs to use when chipping are the 5, 7, 9, and sand irons. If you use the same swing and land the ball on the same spot, you should notice a difference of about 10 feet between each of these clubs. i.e. the 7 iron will roll 10 feet further than your 9 iron etc.