Stop duffing chips video

Golf Monthly Top 25 coach Andrew Reynolds has some tips to help you stop duffing chips and get up and down more often.

Stop duffing chips video

Try these simple tips if you often catch chip and pitch shots fat, and your chipping game fills you with fear.

For me, the main reason behind most duffed chip shots is a lack of commitment through impact. Amateurs will often get too ‘handsy’, flicking the club at the ball, and this can lead to a host of poor strikes.

They feel the need to try and help the ball up off the ground, rather than using proper technique and trusting that the club will do the work for them. You need to try and take your hands out of the stroke and rely on your bigger muscles to create the momentum. This will remove that tendency to flick or twitch through impact.

Firstly, it's important to get the basics right at address. Set the ball in the middle of your stance – I then like my pupils to lean the top of the shaft slightly towards the target at address to help create a slightly descending blow.

The concept of a descending blow might seem counterintuitive, but it's important to trust that combined with the loft on the club, this descending blow is key to achieving a consistently, solid strike.

Importantly, your arms need to work with your body in the same way as they would for a normal swing.

Rotate your body back and through, keeping the connection with your arms so your chest is facing the target in the finish position.

This is the real key to finding a repeatable, consistent chipping action to eliminate those duffs that can be so destructive. You will also be in a better position to create more backspin with this technique.

When you practice your chipping, don't always give yourself a perfect lie. Drop balls and play them as they lie, rather than moving the ball onto a nice piece of grass that makes perfect contact easier.

Read more top short game tips

This is a more realistic way of practising your short game, as you are likely to draw all sorts of imperfect lies when you're out on the course.