Grab a towel to start making those crucial up and downs

By Cennydd Mills
The overuse of the hands, wrists and elbows is the most common mistake I see from amateurs who come to the Dubai Golf Academy for a chipping check-up here at Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club.

The human hinges often work independently from the body which inevitably leads to very inconsistent actions and as a result, consistently poor contact on the ball. That’s not a great recipe for getting up and down regularly to save par and keep your round going.

I like to teach the feeling of the arms staying connected to your side while you are making your chipping stroke. Think about your biceps gently touching either side of your chest.  When the arms stay connected you are better able to eliminate the use of the elbows and hands and can control the stroke by the movement of the chest.

A simple way to get this feeling is to put a towel under both arms and keep it in place as you hit chips around your club’s practice green. You may initially struggle to strike the chip if you continue to use your hands too much but the towel will provide great feedback for quick improvement.

Obviously you need to keep the normal chipping setup with the weight on your left side (for right handers) from the base of a slightly narrower stance. You should feel the chest move back and through each chip which will lead to more consistent strikes and closer par save opportunities. Now, go make that putt!  with Kent Gray.