There are so many different elements that can be involved in a good correct little chip shot. But it's really important we give ourselves time to consider all the different things that go into this shot, almost time to sort of weigh up the different options. And I think the best thing to do for most amateur golfers here would be to copy the professionals in terms of developing a good solid consistent routine. So it's a case of standing back behind the golf ball and assessing all the things that are facing us. So things like what’s the lie like, how far have we got to go to the target, what do we got to go over, what’s the landing area like. When we get onto the green, how close is the flag to any of the hazards or any of the slopes. All these things need to be put into the computer of our brain to then work out what sort of outcome we want to have with the ball.
Do we want a high shot that clears the hazards, lands quickly, stops quickly and stays near the flag? Or do we want a shot that lands shorter, rolls up on to the green, goes on to the green and keeps rolling a little bit further. When we’ve decided which shot we want and also checked on the lie, what's the lie like. Is it the lie going to allow us to play the shot we want? Then we can go ahead to make the club selection out of our bag. And we might hit anything from a 7-iron bump and run chip shot, all the way through the wedges to a lob wedge. That’s flop shot that lands high and stops on the green. And doesn't roll when it comes down. All those different options need to get weighed up. Once we’ve chosen the right shot, we’ve now chosen the right club. Then we can stand in behind the side of the ball and actually work out how hard we need to hit the golf ball.
So a couple of good practice swings assessing the length of swing and the speed we're going to hit through. We can also think about the correct technique. Being on the front side, hands ahead of the ball, turning through with the body. Then the last few things would just be to visualize how the shot flies, how high, how far, where is it going to land when it comes down. So that routine it might take maybe ten, twenty even thirty seconds to weigh it all up, select the right club, a couple of practice swings into the side of the ball before we go ahead and actually execute the correct shots. So the key thing when you're chipping on to the green is have a good routine. Don't rush this process. Once you’ve selected the right shot, you practiced it. Go ahead, commit. Get that shot done, and hopefully you'll find that your chipping is improving by having a good pre-shot routine.