ron barrettPlay Your Best Tee to Green by Butch Harmon
When the Chipping Gets RoughMatch your setup and swing to the lieA
ll too often amateurs have one
basic chipping stroke, and they use
it no matter the lie. I’m all for keep-
ing it simple on standard chips, but you have
to adapt to different lies. When you try to
force a technique, you get in trouble.
Let’s look at two common chipping sce-
narios: the perched lie and the buried lie.
When the ball is sitting on top of the grass, it’s
easy to slide the clubhead under it and flub
the shot. That happens because when you
shift forward on the downswing, it drives the
clubhead downward. You catch the ball on
the top of the clubface.
To handle the perched lie, set up in a nar-
row stance, legs tall, and play the ball back.
Make a sweeping motion with the clubhead,
like a long putt, turning your upper body
back and through while keeping your wrists
firm (right). Your lower body should stay qui-
et on the downswing—remember, driving
your knees forward gives you too much dig.
When the ball is buried, you need that
digging action to spring the ball from the
thick grass. Take a little wider stance, and
play the ball in the middle. On the back-swing, hinge your wrists abruptly to set up a
steeper angle into the ball (left). That will al-
low you to catch it as cleanly as you can—not
an issue with the perched lie. Coming down,
shift your knees forward, which increases
the downward angle on the strike. Extend
your arms down and through, and don’t wor-
ry about making much of a follow-through.
Two very different lies, two very different
techniques. You’ll find them easy to use.
—with peter morricebutch harmon is based at Rio Secco Golf Club.get your short game in shape
▶ I just added my fourth video series to the
Golf Digest Schools program, and it’s all
about shots around the green. If you want
help with your chipping, pitching, bunker
play or putting, you’ll get it all in these
lessons. I’ll show you the short-game keys
I teach my tour players—and some I’ve
picked up from being around them. Learn
more about my new series and all the great
content in the Golf Digest Schools video
library at golfdigest.com/allaccess.22 golfdigest.com | may 2019 Photographs by J.D. Cuban