Common Denominator: Pitch, Chip, and Putt

There is a common basic swing technique between the pitch, the chip and the putt. (This is true for full swings too) This common technique is the essence of chipping - without knowing this, you will never be able to fly your chipping softly or make them run at will. What I am saying here is even though they are the same for all the three, chipping is really where you know you cannot get around without it. Once learned, you will know how crucial this technique is. The test to know for sure that you have learned the technique is when you are capable of the chip-lob shot. This chip is the one where the club head passes under the ball before it (the ball) can come down.

Essentially, this technique follows one rule (this was mentioned somewhere else): the backswing is the left hand, the forward swing is the body turning around. In short, the hit is always done with the body - always, no exception. The motion of the backswing is like a reverse scooping of ice cream by the right hand (remember the left hand is the prime mover). The forward swing is like scooping the ice cream forward and throwing (with the body and arms) the ice cream (ball) to the target spot. This ice cream scooping motion makes it easy to come back to the ball without skulling it (or chilli dipping).

To learn this easier, start with the pitching section first of this blog. Try to learn how the technique is done in pitching. One learned, then go to the chipping section. Last is the putting section.

Note: this topic is huge and I am not done yet explaining the whole thing. This will include update of the other sections - pitches, chips and putting.