Marcus Westerberg Chipping Tips: Stop helping the ball in the air
Chipping is a part of the game that can save golfers loads of shots but will often cost them instead. Marcus Westerberg has a great drill for us to help us start improving.
Trying to lift the ball when chipping with loft is one of the most common faults that ruins a golfer’s strike around the green. Marcus Westerberg shows us a drill to allow you to stop helping the ball in the air and use the loft of the club more naturally.
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The front foot only drill – stop helping the ball in the air
When chipping with loft, the worst ball strikes are often guilty of trying to lift the ball in the air rather than allowing the loft of the club to do it for you.
The result of this is a golfer will drop back onto their rear foot and scoop at the ball, often causing a thin across the green or, even worse, a fat shot that finishes just in front of where they started.
The drill Marcus gives us to correct this is the front foot-only drill. To do this, take your normal stance, and then drop your right foot back so that it’s on its toe with no weight on it, just using it for balance.
Now when you take some practice swings, you will find you can’t possibly lean back and try and help it in the air without falling off balance. Hit a few shots like this, really trying to hold your finish in balance on your front foot, and you will find your strike improving and your shots finishing closer.
If you take your rear foot out of the shot, it kills the lifting reflex. This should help you stop helping the ball in the air.
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Jack Backhouse
Jack is a PGA Golf Professional who specialises in coaching, teaching golf to beginners and top-level amateurs for 10+ years. He also loves his golf equipment and analysing the data of the latest clubs on the market using launch monitors, specialising in blade irons and low-spinning drivers despite having a chronically low ball flight.
Although Jack has no formal journalism training, He has been reading What's In The Bag articles since he started playing at 12 and studying golf swings since his dad first filmed his swing to reveal one of the worst over-the-top slice swings he reckons has ever been recorded, which set him off on the path to be a coach. His favourite club ever owned was a Ping G10 driver bought from a local top amateur with the hope that some of the quality golf shots would come with it (they didn't), and worst was a Nike SQ driver he only bought because Tiger was using it.
Jack is a member of Sand Moor Golf Club and regularly gets out on the golf course to prepare for tournaments. Jack uses a TaylorMade BRNR Mini driver, a half set of TaylorMade P7MB irons, MG4 wedges and a TaylorMade TP Reserve putter.
