I effectively hit two air shots while chipping. I just stubbed the club straight in to the ground before the ball. I am totally screwed now and later in the round I could hardly take the club back on other chip shots. When I did play my next chips, I at least had the presence of mind to stop myself mid backswing because I could feel it all about to go wrong again. I reckon this is about as close to the yips as you can get.

I don’t even know what I’m asking for here….. It’s just very depressing hitting two nice shots just off the green and ending up with 6.

Gunner: It is the golfers short term nightmare, not knowing what has just fallen off….more than just the wheels, more a chassis collapse.

Downswing black out, ie not knowing what is moving where or why can only be truly sorted out by getting to know how to listen to your body parts carefully in the short shot game where you can also watch what is going on. You also need pro eyes to steer you in the correct direction of fixing up where you now are. Seek help and you will gain confidence faster than you current think possible.

Just don’t fall into the trap of moving the ball further and further back to cater for it. Been down that path…

Think Shallow not steep
Shoulders not wrists
Keep the club face on the target line plane, not hooded
Put it in your pocket on the thru swing
Set your weight forward and chest a little toward the target.
Ease off your grip
Take a valium!

Read Hitting it Fat and the Chipping 101 articles.

Fear not Gunner. I’ve been there and come back. Search out the forums for some great chipping drills from Guru. Using a bit of 4×2 behind the ball and concentrating on FLW (no flipping or scooping). Practice and your confidence will return.

gibbo, I just found your thread. Sounds like you had a very similar problem. Nice to hear you got it back together.

FLW will be my mantra from this day on.

Close your eyes..

Learn to feel what your hands are doing with your eyes open, then shut too.

Great advice Guru. Hard to do sometimes.

I found myself “shanking” pitch shots during practice. I felt the panic rising in my throat! I tried everything to stop like moving the ball in my stance, moving away from the ball etc. It was only after making sure I cleaned the face of the wedge after each shot that the evidence showed I was not shanking it at all. I had a nice green dot on the sweet spot.

It was more of a lazy low swing into the ball and catching it on the leading edge which wasn’t being squared at impact. I could have wasted hours on the wrong cause.

Been there too Gunner. One thing I tried that worked for me was to practice chipping or pitching with just one hand. The left if you are right handed and vice versa. I found that this did several things.

It forced me to be very conscious of what was going on with my left hand and side.

It strengthened my left arm and wrist.

Forced me to keep my hands well in front of the club.

Its difficult to do initially but it gets better with practice. At first you can only do a few chips and you will find your arm getting tired. As you get stronger in your left arm and wrist, you can do more.

When you use both hands after doing a few left handed chips, you find you can focus more on what your right hand is doing because your left is already programed.

That’s what I found, for what its worth. Also, read Chipping 101 by the Guru in the Golf School section.

Cheers
John

SEN radio in Melbourne had a segment on the yips. The pro described it as “an involuntary movement in the hands” that mostly occurs whilst putting, but can affect chipping. It is usually the RH for RH golfers. His cure with putting is to change something. Usually the RH grip, sometimes he gets sufferers to look at the hole or even practice whilst someone else taps the hole to change their focus.
Clearly the problem is mental/confidence. Perhaps you have never had the correct technique which will bring confidence with work. Chipping/pitching is close to putting because it involves touch rather than power, and is therefore much more difficult than the full swing game.
You may find a fix with lessons on the correct technique. You can then develop practice that will build the confidence you need. I still can’t consistently execute chipping/pitching despite having lessons and practice in the correct technique, although it is much better than the day I hit the ball twice when chipping from 2 metres off the green!

Had a similar problem about 2 weeks back GunnerGolf where my game just fell to pieces.

My pro told me just to walk away the other day – best advice he’s given me and I’m keen to get back out on the course.

Have a good read through the golf school articles. I’ve read and re-read them atleast a dozen times in the past fortnight and things are becoming a lot clearer now. I even made friends with my PW (don’t ask).

Visualise the shot you want to play then do it – don’t think. This is the hardest thing I found but soon it becomes habit.

Cheers,

Mick