Many people do not know the difference between chipping and pitching the golf ball. Generally speaking chipping is done around the edges of the green and pitching is done from a little farther away and requires getting the ball higher in the air and is done with a fairly lofted club. Examples of both would be if you ball is a few feet off the green and you use your 8 iron to run the ball up to the hole would be a chip and using you wedge to loft the ball over a sand trap onto the green would be considered a pitch.

Chipping can be done with many different clubs from your sand wedge right up to your fairway woods. The object is to get the ball on the ground as soon as possible and let it run up to the hole.

The basic chipping motion is very similar to your putting stroke. Not much wrist hinging if any and a very simple stroke. Your clubface gives you all of your direction so how you stand is a little irrelevant however standing with your front foot pulled back a bit (open stance) does give you a better plane and more of an opportunity to get under the ball.

Pitching on the other hand should be done with your most lofted clubs. A lot of the pros will use their 60 degree sand wedge to get the ball up in the air and come down with little or know roll. Swinging the arms back and through similar to a pendulum tempo will help judge distances. The longer the swing the farther the ball will go.

As in chipping your stance should be slightly open as stated before this allows a better plane to get the ball airborn. To get the ball even higher you could also open your club face however all these specialties shots should be practiced and used only when it is absolutely necessary.

Learning to chip and pitch does make the game more enjoyable. This will lead to more up and downs. (Chipping or pitching on to the green and sinking the putt.)

Tags: Golf General, Lessons in Golf by John White
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Tags: Golf General, Kids Golf by John White
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The Junior Series- The Younger Years
I get asked frequently to give lessons to very young children even as young as 3 years old. I am very hesitant to take these lessons as I believe that the first thing that we must instill in our youth is to have fun at the game. let them go and explore the game basically on their own terms as long as it is safe. We don’t want to give them the impression that they must do it this way or that was as this might turn them off from the game completely.

In the early years we need to build speed so let them swing as hard as they can. Let them pick the ball up and throw it, chase after it, roll it on the greens. Traditional golf lessons or practice can be boring for a young child.

There are stories out there of young prodigies and many parents are trying to push their children into becoming pro athletes and they think that by starting them young with lessons that this will do that. Being a champion early in life does not mean they are going to be champions later on. Actually research has proven almost the opposite. Let them try multiple sports and wait until later on in their teens to specialize in one. I am not saying that they can’t have guidance and each child is unique in their ability to handle instruction but we need to do what is best for the young player.

Tags: Golf General by John White
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The Awesome Tiger
What a great performance by Tiger Woods at Bay Hill. Coming from 5 shots behind at the start of the day, Tiger Woods birdied the last hole to win the golf tournament by 1 shot. His will to win and tenaciousness in which he goes after the win coupled with everyone else playing not to lose is awesome and very inspiring.

I think his win is tremendous for the game and sets up the first major of the year, the Masters to be a great tournament as always. Even though he did not have his best game as far as striking the ball, hitting it all over the place, he keeps grinding it out making putts for bogies, hanging in there until he seizes the opportunity for victory.

My hat goes off to Sean O’Hair for a fine tournament, but shooting 73 on Sunday does not cut it against Tiger. His swing did not hold up under pressure and playing safe or hitting poor shots cost him the tournament.

Tiger is back and it is good for golf.

Tags: Golf General by John White
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Tiger’s Display
I was watching the Bay Hill Classic last night and it was very good until Tiger Woods teeing of on around hole #12 or #13 teed off and hit a rather poor drive and threw his club in disgust. This is just the behaviour that we are trying to teach our children and young players not to do. How do we convince them that this isn’t proper when the best player in the world is doing it on national television.

The announcers, including Arnold Palmer, sort of just chuckled over it and made light of it, however I wonder if it was a young kid the kind of response they would have made over it. I know very well how frustrating the game can be but there must be penalties in place to deter players from doing this. I think it disrespects the game and can become potentially dangerous. If Tiger was suspended or penalized for this outburst, he might think twice about doing it. By the way, he went on to birdie the hole.

I guess if it is acceptable then maybe we should introduce fighting into golf. I wonder what the Commissioner would do if two players starting fighting. I respect Tiger Woods very much and he is the greatest ever, so even more reason for him to lead by example.

Tags: Golf General by John White
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