Fixing the Chipping Yips or Inconsistency

Here is an unusual tip that will help your short game, especially if you suffer from the dreaded yips or worse yet – the dreaded shanks.

Look at the Hole and Not the Ball

Look at the hole while you make your swing.  It is the same principal that Jordan Spieth uses in putting.  He looks at the hole while making his stroke.  It allows your brain to focus totally on the target and not on the technical aspects of the stroke or swing.

It is not difficult to accomplish, it simply takes a little practice in order for you to get comfortable with it. I can promise you that it is worth it to give it a try.  This video will demonstrate what I am talking about.

I first discovered this working with blind children.  In order to better relate to them, I learned to hit balls with my eyes closed.  After you get over the initial panic, you suddenly develop a much better feel for where the club is during the swing.  The blind children, in many cases, actually developed faster than children with normal eyesight.  Once they made contact with the ball the first time they knew exactly what to do from then on.

Fear Causes Poor Pitching

The major cause of poor chipping and pitching is the fear of failure.  When you become afraid that you are going to hit a poor shot, your conscious mind tries to control what happens at impact and it simply cannot do it.

An example of this is walking a straight line.  Most of us can do that with no problem until a policeman shines a flashlight in our face and asks us to do it.  If you start thinking about or trying to consciously control walking you will fail every time.

Fix Your Own Swing

Those of you that read my instruction tips and articles know that I focus on the average golfer.  I think everyone will benefit from face to face instruction with a good teacher, but the next best thing is my blog.  I am not remotely interested in what elite or tour caliber players do.  They have extraordinary skills and talent that completely separates them from the average golfer and what is useful to him.

The video is by a golf professional that I have great respect for because he is a very good at what he does and shares my belief in helping the average golfer.  You can check him out here.