Hi...quick question. How similar is the chip/pitch technique to the full swing? Aside from weight forward, do you also focus on hands in and shoulder down on the short shots or is it more straight back and through?
@danny - I know you like to go out on the course by yourself during "off hours", so if there's no one behind you throw a few balls down in a bunker and work on it. 90+% of bunker play is confidence, and that only comes with good ol' repetition.
Beyond that, whatever method you settle on, learn how to use the bounce of your SW and never decelerate through the sand.
Bunker play is really the hardest to practice. I have yet to see a practice area at a course with a practice bunker. If you don't live near a secluded sandy beach or build your own, what is one to do? I used to get out of the bunker by slamming the club head, as hard as I possibly could, into the sand just behind the ball. It worked but, its not a body friendly thing to do. Its a real jolt to the shoulders. I've been trying your bunker technique with much worse results. I'm keeping at it though. For now, I try really hard to avoid bunkers!
A decent short game will surely make up for a lot of sins elsewhere and also take a lot of pressure off the long game, and when paired with a good day tee-to-green - well, suffice to say that's when personal best scores happen. It's definitely well worth the time spent practicing chipping, pitching, putting, and bunker play!
Tom's chipping and pitching course changed my game completely. Couple that with the Old Man Pat strategies from Golf mates on YouTube, And I actually have a short game now! I've nearly completely eliminated the "volley golf" rounds of chipping back and forth across the green. I took a while to get it dialed in but it a journey worth taking!
Thanks for the quick reply Tom. The watermelon toss analogy was very helpful. I was having trouble with the feel/rhythm for the longer pitches and was likely getting my hands involved.
@jason.fertig - Learning full swing motions by hitting chips and pitches can be a very effective practice technique, and I do recommend taking these incremental "baby steps" whenever a swing element feels particularly foreign to you. Beyond that, these mini swings most definitely offer an acceptable method to actually chip and pitch. However, given the fact that chipping and pitching are oftentimes executed under some degree of pressure, it makes sense that the golfer may elect to make adjustments and deviations to their actual on-course short shot technique.
@danny - I know you like to go out on the course by yourself during "off hours", so if there's no one behind you throw a few balls down in a bunker and work on it. 90+% of bunker play is confidence, and that only comes with good ol' repetition.
Beyond that, whatever method you settle on, learn how to use the bounce of your SW and never decelerate through the sand.
Bunker play is really the hardest to practice. I have yet to see a practice area at a course with a practice bunker. If you don't live near a secluded sandy beach or build your own, what is one to do? I used to get out of the bunker by slamming the club head, as hard as I possibly could, into the sand just behind the ball. It worked but, its not a body friendly thing to do. Its a real jolt to the shoulders. I've been trying your bunker technique with much worse results. I'm keeping at it though. For now, I try really hard to avoid bunkers!
A decent short game will surely make up for a lot of sins elsewhere and also take a lot of pressure off the long game, and when paired with a good day tee-to-green - well, suffice to say that's when personal best scores happen. It's definitely well worth the time spent practicing chipping, pitching, putting, and bunker play!
Tom's chipping and pitching course changed my game completely. Couple that with the Old Man Pat strategies from Golf mates on YouTube, And I actually have a short game now! I've nearly completely eliminated the "volley golf" rounds of chipping back and forth across the green. I took a while to get it dialed in but it a journey worth taking!
Thanks for the quick reply Tom. The watermelon toss analogy was very helpful. I was having trouble with the feel/rhythm for the longer pitches and was likely getting my hands involved.
@jason.fertig - Learning full swing motions by hitting chips and pitches can be a very effective practice technique, and I do recommend taking these incremental "baby steps" whenever a swing element feels particularly foreign to you. Beyond that, these mini swings most definitely offer an acceptable method to actually chip and pitch. However, given the fact that chipping and pitching are oftentimes executed under some degree of pressure, it makes sense that the golfer may elect to make adjustments and deviations to their actual on-course short shot technique.
If you have not already done so, please visit the Chipping & Pitching Simplified course in the school for details and instruction.