Re: thanks for all who suggested i use a 6iron for chipping

rob wrote:

a few days ago, i posted about a chipping putter, and several mentioned using a 6 iron, in a putting stance..

i was amazed on how accurate it was!!!! im sure there was some luck, but i used it 6 times, and all 6 times i was within 4 feet of the hole... i was with my usual bunch who knows i cant chip well...first one one guy yelled what luck! 2nd time, luck again..after that they accused me of taking a lesson!! i wasnt really right next to anyone so no one saw my secret technique.. but i got there about a half hour before the other guys and worked on it, establishing a feel, like how far would the ball go if i took a 1/2 swing, quarter swing 1/8th of a swing..etc!!! i am conivced this technique saved me about 6 strokes, since i didnt have to rechip any. and as a result. i finally broke 100 with a 99, which i could not do all of my first season last year.
Best thing is, I am still supposed to be rusty since it is so early in the season here in upstate ny, and just beat all of last season's score.

thanks again everyone.

one follow up question, do you guys really choke up on your shot like hold it where the grip ends and the metal begins, or for this shot do you hold it truly like a putter, right at the normal grip?


--rob

First, Rob, congrats on breaking 100. There's more where that came from.

Second, and I don't want to overload you with too much too quickly, but consider using more than just a 6-iron to chip with. The basic idea for this approach to chipping (recognizing there are other approaches too) is that you want to get the ball on the green and rolling as quickly as possible.

Thus, if you have only two feet of grass and fringe and 40-feet of green between you and the cup, perhaps you'd chip with a 4-iron, using it to get the ball over the grass/fringe and on the green.

If there's more grass/fringe, and less green to work with, then you need to have enough loft to get the ball onto the green, and then rolling. So you go to a higher loft. How high depends on how much distance, how much carry, how much roll, but you get the idea.

Bruce Newman taught me the trick to this a couple years ago. I'd tried use long irons like the 4-iron for chipping, but only when he indicated how to use it--like a putter, with the toe of the clubhead down--did it begin to work.

I use all sorts of clubs for chipping, depending on circumstances, from the 4-iron (the lowest I carry) all the way up to a 60-degree lob wedge.

W/r/t how far down I'm holding the club, generally I don't like to be any lower than the bottom of the grip. I can't grip the steel shaft very easily, so I simply treat the longer clubs like they were a longer putter. And since the stroke isn't long--its backswing is only perhaps a foot or 18 inches long, and you accelerate into the ball--then gripping it higher isn't problematic.

BTW: I'm playing w/ a friend right now whose handicap is around 30 primarily because he's lousy around the greens. I'm teaching him chipping, and his biggest flaw is that he takes the clubhead too far back on the backswing. From that point, he often ends up having to decelerate into the ball to control distance, which is incredibly difficult to do consistently. Better to have a short backswing and accelerate through the ball. If you do that, you'll find it far easier to control distance.

Good luck, Rob!

mike

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Mike Dalecki GCA Accredited Clubmaker http://clubdoctor.com
RSG-Wisconsin 2006: June 23-25 Info: http://dalecki.net/rsgwis2006/
RSG-Wisconsin 2005 Pics: http://dalecki.net/rsgwis2005/pics/
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