blading chips/pitches need help

[Mr.Cleeks]

I live in MN and golf courses are finally starting to open up. I played my 4th round of 2022 today and I've noticed that my short game has gone down the drain this season. I've been struggled a lot with shots inside 40 yards and anything around the green. The majority of mishits on these shots have been blades and I'm just not sure what's going on. Do you guys know any good drills or tips to help me fix this? My main thought with these shots is to minimize my wrist action and focus a landing spot. Clearly that's not working this year and it's time for a new school of thought. Feel free to drop any advice,videos, articles, etc.

Edited May 1, 2022 by KizIsTheMan

[mikpga]

Maintain pressure towards front foot...

 

Finish swing with both arms straight...

 

 

[mikpga]

 

[naj959]

I've been battling this off and on for as long as I've been playing the game. The more pressure I put on myself the worse it gets and higher chance that I stall and scoop at impact. I've had some success with Monte's UTB method and also using the Runyan putt with loft method. At this point a lot of it is mental for me. Hope you figure it out.

[MR2Tyler]

There are only two ways to blade a shot. First, you can make contact VERY low on the face while still swinging down, which either means the ball is far too back in your stance, or your swing’s low point is above the ball’s center. Second, and much more common, you hit the ball while swinging flat or up, which will generally only happen if the club head outpaces your hands. Keep the club head behind your hands and you’ll eliminate 90% of bladed shots. Monte Scheinblum’s Use the Bounce shows some good ways to make that happen. Kyle Kinsler’s video on YouTube is very good too. 

[Krt22]

Listen to your boy Kisner, then you won't butter knife your wedges like Frankie Borelli

[Cwebb]

I'd start right here....

 

 

[cgasucks]

On 4/30/2022 at 5:26 PM, KizIsTheMan said:

My main thought with these shots is to minimize my wrist action 

 

For me,  it is the exact opposite.  I've been practicing my chipping and pitching for the past year thanks to the lockdowns in the early days of the pandemic and I realize how the bounce of the wedge works.  Bottom line for me, I want to have a shallow angle of attack as I take a firm grip on my wedge, make a short turn by pushing my left shoulder, and releasing the right angle of my wrist (but don't let the clubface turn over).  That way the clubhead goes on a shallow angle and will be far behind your hands as it makes crisp contact.  Don't put weight on your front foot, it will make the AOA steeper and defeats the whole purpose of a crisp chip and a pitch.  It works on bad and bare lies using this technique and it is stupid easy on fluffy lies.  It works on open faces as well but address the clubhead a few inches behind the ball on low bounce wedges to ensure that its leading edge slides under the ball.

 

Try it.  If you don't like it, there are hundreds of other tips to choose from.

Edited May 2, 2022 by cgasucks

[oz dee cee]

 

[grm24]

4 hours ago, KizIsTheMan said:

 Feel free to drop any advice,videos, articles, etc.

Spend less time here posting and more time practicing your short game.

E-Z. P-Z 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Edited May 1, 2022 by grm24

[SNIPERBBB]

Punisher drill(grab an extra club shaft/dowel/fiberglass rod to effectively make the club 6ft long)will cure you of the urge to try to scoop the ball. If you do try to scoop it,  the longer shaft will hit your ribs and cause you to either miss the ball entirely or to top it.

[Roejye]

Fellow Minnesotan here and also had a lot of chipping issues, although mine was hitting it fat and digging in. I found my stance was too wide. I also have issues with weight transfer and my little hack was to turn my left (lead) foot so that it was basically pointing towards my target. My last round out I had a lot better contact.

[Roejye]

I also used a generic accu-strike mat to see where my low point was.

[ThinkingPlus]

After long layoffs from chipping (winter, injury, life, etc...) I sometimes lose the feel of a longer, quieter delivery of the club to the ball regardless of technique.  I will not take the club back far enough, my subconscious senses the too short backswing, and tries to add too much acceleration with the trail hand on the downswing (a jab) resulting in blades and chunks.

 

Hitting solid pitches and chips requires one keep the head still and swing the club smoothly for precise contact.  Practice lengthening your backswing (to alleviate anxious thoughts of being short with the shot) and smoothly, smoothly transition on the downswing.  I find this really helps contact and develops feel again after a long layoff.  Good luck.

[Soloman1]

Pitches and chips are different.

Another idea you might try after a layoff is to keep the heavier wedges in the bag for a round and use a PW or 9-iron to pitch. For most greens with a flat contour, land your pitch half way to the hole with a 9-iron and it will run the other half.

It may help you get back to softer hands and more confidence.

[Mr.Cleeks]

Thank you for the tips! I have watched that Kisner video and I think my club and chest are moving at different rates. Hence the inconsistent strikes.

[Mr.Cleeks]

44 minutes ago, Soloman1 said:

Pitches and chips are different.

Another idea you might try after a layoff is to keep the heavier wedges in the bag for a round and use a PW or 9-iron to pitch. For most greens with a flat contour, land your pitch half way to the hole with a 9-iron and it will run the other half.

It may help you get back to softer hands and more confidence.

Thank for this tip! This is something I utilize a lot, helps create a more consistent strike.

[Dinosaur]

I ran across Danny Maude lately who has a really down to earth mantra on this and related topics. As for myself, I visualize pressing palm of my trail hand "into" the ball on the downswing which minimizes flipping at impact. Maintaining weight/pressure on lead leg helps also as does a narrow width stance. 

[596]

The chipping/pitching stroke has to be smooth.  Too many people have heard 1000s of times to accelerate through the ball.  For lots of people like me this leads to a stab!  It sucks.  I practice a long smooth stroke.  I practice using an 8 or 9 with the longest swing I can and still keep the ball on the green. Long, slow, smooth in practice.  I also chip and pitch with my feet together.  This leads to a nice smooth turn back and through staying in balance.   Once on the course playing lots of my chips are with a 54 or 60 degree wedge.  Allows me to have a longer, smoother, slower swing, instead of a jab which leads to chunks and sculls.

[FairwaysToHeaven]

swing the handle left. easy to drag handle down the target line and this only drops the low point behind the ball leading to thin shots as you strike up on ball. light grip and handle low and left helps release 

[rthrbgolfing]

Look up James Ridyard videos and pros that do the same technique. Best lesson I ever had. Very simple too

[aenemated]

What I try to do is feel like I'm exaggerating my turn on those like 1/2 or 1/4 swings. I struggled for a long time with those because I was reticent about hitting it too far so I'd wind up just getting way too handsy and not turning through the shot. 

 

So what I'm thinking is once I've reached the top of the backswing is to just go ahead and turn my hips first and not even think about my hands, arms or anything and just let the club come on through. It FEELS like a lot and like I'm gonna just totally miss the ball but it actually makes contact super consistent AND manages dynamic loft properly and predictably. 

 

Really just lets the club do the work. I think the mental part of it is the toughest. Trust gravity 🙂

Edited May 2, 2022 by aenemated

[vandyfan]

I was getting very nervous on thin lies in the fairway from 10-30 yards out. I believe this is common for others. It usually only took one fat or thin pitch to shake my confidence. My compensation is always to push the handle forward and move the ball back BUT this yields even worse results. 

 

The simple fix, for me, is to get my hands even with the ball and open the blade a bit. My body feels like this is going to exacerbate the bladed shot but, magically, if my swing is shallow the club just comes in so much better. Pushing the hands forward is a death sentence for me in most cases. Also, taking the club straight back rather than inside is a key I always work on. Like @aenematedsaid, using my body rather than my hands and arms keeps me from chopping at it. 

[aenemated]

Just now, blackbdmillsaps said:

Also, taking the club straight back rather than inside is a key I always work on.

 

Absolutely this. When I started really working on fixing my godawful short game, I video'd myself and saw I was coming WAAAAY inside. I've never really done that at all in my full, normal swing but for whatever reason, I was going straight back when chipping/pitching. 

 

I'll harp on the trail hand only drill for fixing all the woes forever. I've done it so much now and seen such great improvement that I've switched to my putting grip (just the big old school overlap with my left hand playing no more role than just being there) inside of 100 yards.

[RichieHunt]

As @mikpga mentioned, be  aware of your pressure.  It can be very easy to shift the pressure towards your trail foot and that can cause a host of problems.  A lot of times we shift the pressure to the back foot on these pitches as it feels like it helps get the ball in the air instead of keeping the pressure on the lead foot and letting the loft of the wedge get the ball in the air for us.

 

 

 

RH

[naj959]

17 minutes ago, rthrbgolfing said:

Look up James Ridyard videos and pros that do the same technique. Best lesson I ever had. Very simple too

Interesting....I bought Ridyard's video and my biggest gripe is that he doesn't go into much detail. Never describes what body part should initiate the movement or what it should feel like. He only says that everyone is different depending on where they fall on the spectrum. Come on man, give me something to go off of. How am I supposed to do a short, medium, or long arc without a little context? It's probably my least favorite instructional video that I've purchased. Different strokes for different folks I guess. I think you have to already be somewhat competent to get the most out of his material. If you're struggling with mishits on a basic chip, I'd look elsewhere.  (End Rant)

 

OP I forgot to mention, Dan Caraher was featured on Mark Immelman podcast. It's a good listen. Simplifies the movement to just keep the thumbs pointing at the ground throughout the shot. Hard to hit a bad shot with the correct set up and that intention. 

[baudi]

Many ways for chipping.
A fine drill for chipping is ‘leave a penny- take a penny’

One coin lies 3 inches behind the other coin lies 2 inches ahead of the ball. 
Leave one and clip the other for crisp contact.

[hammersia]

Feet together. Literally touching.

[Righty to Lefty]

On 5/1/2022 at 3:26 AM, KizIsTheMan said:

I live in MN and golf courses are finally starting to open up. I played my 4th round of 2022 today and I've noticed that my short game has gone down the drain this season. I've been struggled a lot with shots inside 40 yards and anything around the green. The majority of mishits on these shots have been blades and I'm just not sure what's going on. Do you guys know any good drills or tips to help me fix this? My main thought with these shots is to minimize my wrist action and focus a landing spot. Clearly that's not working this year and it's time for a new school of thought. Feel free to drop any advice,videos, articles, etc.

You are out of position in relation to the ball and you are not accounting for where the club will be dynamically while it is in motion and under force.  There is a point along your swing arc where the low point is the proper amount in front of the ball and you will hit a functional golf shot, but the problem is you don't have the ball at that location, and the low point of the swing arc is either too far forward or back of where it should be and you aren't noticing and accounting for it and your body is being forced to manipulate the club to account for you being out of position.  

 

You should be monitoring your low point of your swing arc on every golf shot that you ever hit as it will need to move in relation to the ball as you fatigue during a given round of golf to maintain leverage without manipulating the club.  Here is a video that I made for  buddy about setting the low point that I think will help: 

 

 

First things first is that you need to develop awareness of where you low point is in relation to the ball and then not just your chipping will improve, but all clubs in the bag will improve.  

Edited May 4, 2022 by Righty to Lefty

[BadbeatJay]

I was in your situation until recently. I was a good iron player but an awful short game player. 

I practiced a lot of shots inside 35 yards. Basically what I came to realize is that chipping isn't like hitting irons. I've had a lot of success just using the weight of my lob Wedge to drop down and through the ball rather than trying to "hit it" 

Also gotta keep your eyes on the ball and avoid the temptation to look up.  I even chipped in for a birdie today and that would have been impossible for me last year. 

The focus for me is to ensure my chips feel like a relaxed pendulum and the distance is determined by how far my back swing goes. (for instance, back swing to my waist level is a 35 yard chip where as if I want 20 yards, it needs to be just past my knees etc.