You’ve probably heard many times that you should never rake and beat balls. But if you’re struggling with your chipping and even small pitch shots… then I recommend you rake and beat balls.
Here’s why this works so well…
Often golfers that are poor at hitting chip and small pitch shots get so static over the golf ball. Then when they go to chip and pitch their swings are so jerky. And a jerky chip/pitch swing is going to lead to poor contact. And poor contact leads to a lack of confidence.
If you have a lack of confidence with your short game shots it can kill your scores. So if that’s you, then here’s what I recommend you do…
Get at least 25 balls in a pile next to a spot where you can chip with a wedge. You don’t need to do this to a target and you don’t even need to do this on a golf course. The goal with doing this is to hit 25 balls as quickly as possible.
25 balls
So hit your first chip shot, then rake another ball and hit again. Don’t even look up after you’ve hit each shot. You’ll find when you do this that you’ll often get mental judgments after a shot, like… I hit that thin, or… I fatted that, or… that was a good strike. You need to ignore those judgments and just chip freely without concern for the outcome. If you chunk a shot just grab another ball and swing again — and hit each shot quickly.
This is a great technique to help you smooth out your chipping and pitching stroke and become more natural and fluid. Now if you try this, and I hope you do, then you’ll be wondering how you can transfer this free feeling over to your game. Well, here’s a progression practice plan to do this…
After you’ve hit your 25 balls then I want you to line up 10 balls in a row. Then do the same thing and hit one ball after the other very quickly.
10 balls in a row
After you’ve done that then I want you to do the same thing with 3 golf balls.
3 balls in a row
If you’ve been struggling with your chipping and pitching for a while then this is the sort of practice you can do on a regular basis. Then, to transfer this free feeling over to the golf course, for each short game shot on the course you need to imagine you’re playing 3 balls with the final ball being your real ball.
So when you setup to a chip/small pitch on the golf course, position yourself and club as though you’re playing 3 balls with the last ball being your real ball. Then have a practice swing imagining you’re hitting the first ball. Then move closer to your real ball and imagine your hitting your second ball. Then finally move closer so you are setup to your 3rd and final ball, the real ball, and then swing.
So it’s two practice swings and then the 3rd swing is your real ball. When you’re doing this you’re moving all the time. You’re not taking your time over the ball and you’re not thinking. There’s a lot of movement going on.
This really is a great way to free up your chipping and small pitch shots on the golf course so you don’t get stuck over the all and get worried about a poor strike.
If you’re not that good with chipping and small pitch shots please try this out and then thank me later.
You’re welcome!