TIPS

Jeff’s Quick Tip

Tempo, or the speed of your swing, is something that shouldn’t be overlooked. Too often we notice the downswing is so much faster than the backswing. If you watch a good player and focus on their swing tempo, you will see right away that their downswing speed is not much faster than their backswing speed.

Too slow of a backswing speed usually leads to too long of a backswing and a tempo that speeds up too much coming down to impact. My quick tip is to take the club back slightly faster. This will allow for a shorter, more accurate backswing and a more natural tempo coming down. You will begin to notice much better ball striking with every club in you bag!

Best of Luck,

Jeff Rimsnider
Head PGA Professional
Cog Hill Golf Club

To Chip or Not to Chip…

I often overhear golfers refer to chipping and pitching as the same concept in golf. When a beginning golfer or an inexperienced golfer gets close to the green I will hear the term chipping and pitching used as the same term. However, these are two very different approaches to hitting a golf shot around the green.

First of all what are the differences between chipping and pitching? Chipping is a shot you want to use when you’re near the green or just off the green with no obstruction in your way. A chip is a medium to low golf shot that will hit the green and release to the pin. It is a shot that you want to land short of the hole and let release to the hole. A pitch, however, is a medium to high golf shot that you use when you have to carry an object and/or land the ball soft. This may include a water hazard or a sand bunker that you need to carry. This shot will fly over the hazard or sand bunker and land soft near the pin.

How do we hit these two very different golf shots? For the chip shot we want to use a lower lofted club (7 or 8 iron). We want our feet about 6 inches apart and slightly open to the target. The takeaway of the club will be low with very minimal wrist movement, similar to a putting motion. The distance of the chip will depend on how far back you bring the golf club. On the follow through we want our club and body facing the target with the club not exceeding your waist.

For the pitch shot we want to use a lofted golf club (Pitching or Sand Wedge). We want our stance to be more open to the target and a little wider than our chip shot. The takeaway of the club will be higher with much more wrist movement in the shot. The follow through will finish past your waist with your body facing the target at finish. The height of the pitch will depend on how much you use your wrists throughout the golf swing. If you’re ever by the green and you’re not sure which shot to use, more times than not you want to use a chip shot. You will have more control over your shot and the quicker you can get the ball on the green, the better distance control you will have. The pitch shot will require a lot more touch and leave you more room for error.

Carl Ithal
Assistant Golf Professional
Cog Hill Golf Club

Setting Up for Success
Have you ever experienced the following scenario; you hit the ball great at the range, but when on the golf course it’s as though you’ve never played before? Trust me, this happens to golfers of all playing abilities. Very rarely are you going to come across such a perfect, level lie out on the course to recreate what was found the practice tee. Properly setting up for the lie of the golf ball will allow for better contact and dramatically improved results.

Uphill Lie
When hitting off an uphill lie, envision how the ball would roll on the putting green: the ball would travel a shorter distance. So if you would normally hit a 7-iron, substitute a 6-iron (or more depending on the severity of the slope).

Downhill Lie
When hitting off a downhill lie, once again envision its reaction on the putting green: the ball would travel a greater distance. So if you would normally hit a 7-iron, substitute an 8-iron (or more depending on the severity of the slope).

Ball Above Your Feet
When hitting a shot with the ball above your feet, create that same mental picture of rolling a putt. As you would imagine, the golf ball will travel from right to left. In order to compensate for the right to left movement, align your stance and club to the right of the target. From this position, stand taller to allow for a more rounded “baseball swing.”

Ball Below Your Feet
When hitting a shot with the ball below your feet, create that same mental picture of rolling a putt. As you would imagine, the golf ball will travel from left to right. In order to compensate for that movement, align your stance and club to the left of the target. From this position, bend more from the hips to allow for a more upright swing.

For all of these shots, be sure to make a practice swing and take note of where the golf club contacts the ground. Position your golf ball just behind that point in your stance and you will be well on your way to better shots!

Chris Poolitsan
Assistant Golf Professional
Cog Hill Golf Club