Guest Columnist: Ryan Young

Chipping sometimes means back to basics

• Editor’s note: This is the second of a two-part series on getting back to the basics for chipping by Ryan Young of Chambers Bay.

If you want help controlling your chipping distance, then work on your tempo and rhythm. A putting stroke is like a pendulum, and so should a chipping stroke be. If you are taking the club too far back, you will have too much energy and subconsciously decelerate through impact. If you don’t take the club back far enough, you’ll tend to rush through impact causing more inconsistency. Stick to an equal distant back swing to follow through stroke, keep a smooth tempo and rhythm, and let gravity to the rest.

If you stop trying to make good contact with a chip and instead focus on lagging it close, you will shoot lower scores. Even if you hit it thin and it stops by the hole, you have a greater chance of saving par! This is how we separate playing the game from hitting the ball.