![]() To combat the fear of the yips returning, Harmon recommends two practice swings with the drill, then immediately stepping in for your standard shot. Without your right hand on the club, you physically can’t flip the clubhead with it, allowing for a simple swing thought to keep the left arm moving. ![]() To get over this, take a few practice swings before your chip, but as you start your downswing, allow your trailing hand to come off the club (right hand for right-handed golfers and vice versa) and keep your left arm moving through. Usually, “yips” with chipping are caused by the lead arm stopping on the follow-through while the trailing arm keeps moving, breaking the lower-case y position discussed before and flipping the club through impact. For that, here’s a drill from renowned instructor Butch Harmon that can be done on the spot if you’ve found yourself with a case of the dreaded yips. While the alignment stick drill above is excellent for out on the practice green, we can’t or wouldn’t do it out on the course mid-round. Chipping Drill 2: Drop the Hand to Get Over the Yips Want to experiment with this drill? Try hitting the chips from different ball positions, in line with your front armpit for a shot with more spin, your sternum for a bounce-and-check, and back armpit for a lower shot with more release. It is also an easy drill to come back to whenever you feel like you’re losing that touch. This sort of practice with direct feedback can quickly engrain the feeling of solid chipping impact and improve your consistency. Then take away the alignment rod and hit some more shots with just your regular club. Get comfortable with the motion and hit balls with the alignment stick for 10-15 minutes. An optimal impact position with hands slightly in front of the ball will keep that from happening. If you’re breaking down and flipping your wrists, the alignment stick will let you know by smacking into your side at impact. The alignment stick should be lightly touching the inside of your ribcage. Next, take a chipping stance, with your hands a bit in front of the ball, forming that lower-case y with your arms and the club. A significant portion of the stick should extend past the grip (running parallel to the shaft). To get started, take your standard grip on the club together with the alignment rod. You will use an alignment stick to maintain an arm and club position to prevent you from flipping your wrists through impact. This drill comes from British PGA Professional Jon Hearn, who has worked with Justin Rose and others on their short game. Chipping Drill 1: Maintain the “y” with an Alignment Stick Also, to add a bit of fun and competition to the practice, I’ve added three games to play with your chipping practice to really speed up the improvement. To help with this, here are four chipping drills recommended by top instructors that anyone can use. ![]() The best thing about this part of golf is that there are ways to practice it anywhere at any time, which can translate directly to shots saved on the course. If you’re struggling with the short game (and that’s most of us!), don’t give up. My new book, The Four Foundations of Golf, is now available on Amazon ➡ 4 Chipping Drills (and 3 games) to Improve Your Short Game
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