Your Trusted Source For A Chipping Pre-Shot Routine

This is the Chipping Pre-Shot Routine Lesson. It is very important to follow a routine for every shot that you play. All the best players in the world follow a routine so that under pressure they can feel comfortable by doing something that is familiar. It is a great idea for all players. It will give you the best opportunity to hit your best shots.

Your set up position is key to hitting great shots, and developing a good routine will help you with that. Let's work on building your routine so that you can make that clutch shot when you need to...

Pre-Shot Routine Lesson #1 : Read The Shot

• A chip is like a putt. The ball will roll on the green more than it will fly through the air.
• Read the chip like you would a putt. This will show you where to aim so that the green will take the ball to the hole.
• The best time to read a chip or putt is while somebody else is playing their shot. This saves time.
• Stand behind the ball and see the contours of the green.
• Once you have found where you want to aim, pick a spot just in front of your ball that falls on the same line.

Once you have read the chip...choose the club that will best help execute how you 'see' your shot. That is why it is important to put your bag down without taking out a club. Get into this habit so that you can make the best possible club and shot selection.

Pre-Shot Routine Lesson #2 : Take Your Grip Behind The Ball

• Take your grip while standing behind the ball.
• This allows you to focus on taking your grip without worrying about anything else.
• Getting your hands on the club properly is critical to hitting a good shot.

Pre-Shot Routine Lesson #3 : Practice Swings

• Step up to the ball with enough space to take a couple of practice swings.
• You want to get a good feel for how long a swing you are going to make to execute your shot.
• You should keep your head up so you can see where you want the ball to land on the green.
• It also allows you to see the distance you need to cover and get a feel for the length of swing you will need to get it done.

Pre-Shot Routine Lesson #4 : Club Down First

• Always, always, always put your club behind the ball before you position your body.
• This is critical for aiming properly.
• Place your club behind the ball so that the club face is pointing at your target.

Pre-Shot Routine Lesson #5 : Body Position

• Position your body in relation to your club.
• The key to this step is that once you have finished your set up position...don't wait to pull the trigger.
• This means that you should take one last look at your target to get a last feel for the shot and then swing. The longer you wait the greater the chance to tense up and over think the shot.

Pre-Shot Routine Lesson #6 : Hold Your Finish

• This step actually is at the end of the swing.
• After you have hit the shot hold your finish until the ball finishes rolling.
• This is the best way to associate the length of the swing with the distance you hit the shot. This will help with the development of your feel for your short game.

Make sure you follow your routine every time. We may not be able to make the exact same swing every time we are faced with a shot. Hey...not even the top tour players can do that! But you can follow the exact same routine for every shot. If you do it will make you a better player.

No...you're right, the routine won't hit the shot for you. But a consistent routine will eliminate setup and alignment mistakes. Since most mistakes happen during the setup, you are now giving yourself a great opportunity to hit a great shot and lower your scores.

If you do hit a bad shot...you will know that it was your swing and not your setup. This is a huge advantage, because you can focus on the actual problem and not guess as to what went wrong.

Thank you for reading the Chipping Routine Lesson. It is the last lesson in the Chipping series. If you are interested in continuing the development of your short game then let's take a look at pitching the ball. It is an extension of chipping and having both skills will make you an even more versatile player.

Click Here To Go To The Pitch Shot Lessons

Click Here To Review All The Chip Shot Lessons

Good luck with your practicing and playing. May you achieve you golf goals sooner with the help of free-golf-lessons.com

Return to the Main Chipping Page Return to the Home Page