In Part 2 of The Local Golfers Lockdown Series we're looking at how to practice your chipping / pitching at home. We understand that this one is a little more space dependant, but get creative with your space and do the best with what you’ve got. 

These drills will be looking to develop your technique as well as improving your skills around the green. 


Drill #1 - Connection Drill (5 mins) 
The aim of this drill is to get the feeling on your upper torso driving your chipping motion and making your hands and arms more passive. Start by placing one end of a towel under one armpit and the other end under your other armpit. Grab your lob wedge and take your set up as normal. Start making some practice chipping swings and make sure the towel doesn’t fall from under your arms.

You should really feel your body turning to produce the motion instead of your arms swing the club. This will shallow your attack angle and increase your margin for error. Do this drill for 5 mins.

 



Drill #2 - Shaft Extension Drill (5 mins) 
In this drill, we are looking to introduce shaft lean at impact whilst continuing the rotation of your upper torso. To complete this drill you will need your wedge and either an alignment stick (preferred) or another wedge. The goal for the alignment stick is to extend the length of the shaft up past your torso. Grip you’re wedge as normal and run the alignment stick along your shaft, through your grip and touching your left ribcage. This should set your hands slightly in front of the ball and as you swing, it will not let your wrists release the club, meaning the club will never overtake your hands.

There should be a gap between the stick and your body if you have good shaft lean. This will improve your ball flight, reduce the chance of hitting shots 'fat' as well as margin for error. Practice this for 5 minutes without a ball, or introduce a ball when you’re felling comfortable and confident, especially if you're inside!

 


Drill #3 - Landing Spot Drill (10 mins) 
This drill is completely dependant on how much space you have and if it is inside or outside. Preferably if you have a little over 10m of outside grassed area that would be perfect, however 5m of carpeted area inside will do the trick. Set a towel anywhere between 5 to 10m away and practice chipping balls landing on the towel. You can chip off the grass, the carpet inside or a small practice mat.

For the first 5 minutes focus on the techniques we just spoke about in the other two drills. For the second 5 minutes, challenge yourself to see how many you can land on the towel.

Record your score and try to beat it next time.

And that’s it! It takes less than 20 minutes each day to improve your putting and lower your scores.
Stay tuned for Part 3! We also have an exciting product giveaway coming soon, so if you made it this far, slide into our DM's on socials with the message 'Short Game!' and you will receive a bonus entry.
Cheers,
Ben
September 09, 2021 — Ben Breckenridge