Chip Shots from Awkward Lies – Part 2
In this lesson I’d like to cover some tips for chipping the golf ball out of a heavy lie.
I actually cover 2 types of heavy lie in the video below because the way they are played is quite different.
When you find your ball in long grass around the fringes of the green, take a good look at how the ball is sitting. Get a feel for the length of the grass and how much is going to be underneath the ball.
Chipping from the Rough – Step by Step
Heavy Lie #1 – Ball Buried Down in the Rough
- The most important factor here is getting a good contact on the ball. We don’t want the club to come into the thick grass too early because that will prevent me getting any spin and will prevent me from controlling the distance of the shot.
- Play the ball towards the back of your stance, certainly back of centre. Bodyweight and hands should be forward as usual and the feet and hips open.
- Unlike standard chip shots we want to see quite a lot of wrist hinge and for that wrist hinge to occur quite early in the backswing. You’re aiming for a chopping action. A good swing thought during your practice swings is to point your thumbs to the sky very early in the takeaway.
- Open the club face quite significantly, almost as much as for a flop shot.
Heavy Lie #2 – Ball Sitting Up in the Rough
- This shot can look a lot easier but be careful, a lot of golfers end up getting their club right underneath the ball so it literally travels nowhere.
- Keep the club square (don’t open the face as you would for the previous shot).
- Play the ball from the centre of your stance.
- Remove the aggressive, early wrist hinge. The hands and wrists should stay fairly passive during this chip shot.
- Go ahead and play the shot with some confidence.
