Selecting your club

If you are able to consistently get ‘up and down’ when you miss the green, your performances, confidence and enjoyment will likely improve. In previous articles, we have discussed the technical aspects and requirements for a correct chip shot. This week, we will be working out how to decide which club to use.

Prior to any chipping lesson, I will always ask the person: "What club do you use to chip with?" The answer I am hoping for is: "It depends entirely on where my ball is and how much space I have to work with." Unfortunately, the answer I normally get is: "I always chip with my lob wedge."

Naturally, there are times when the pitching wedge is absolutely the correct club to use for a chip shot. However, there are many times when using a different club is an easier and more effective alternative.

When you approach a chip shot, it is beneficial to ask yourself the following questions:

1. Where is the flattest, safest and most predictable place I can land the ball on the green and get it to stop in or next to the hole?
2. What sort of trajectory will I require to produce this particular shot?
3. Which club should I choose to achieve this trajectory?

So, if we take the 8th hole at Awali Golf Club as an example and we imagine our ball is on the fairway about 10 feet from the front of the green.

In this particular scenario, let’s imagine that the flag is 40 feet away from us, up the slope at the back of the green. Feasible options are, putt the ball up the slope, play a chip and run shot or fly the ball the majority of the distance and try to stop the ball in or next to the hole.

Anybody who has played at Awali Golf Club will know that putting from off the green is a bit of a lottery and it is not uncommon to get an unfair bounce. Equally, there are absolutely no prizes for going over the back of the 8th green as it is an almost impossible chip shot back onto a downslope.

This means, that the option of flying the ball up to the pin is fraught with danger and very risky. Therefore, it would appear that the chip and run shot up the slope is the most sensible option. Now we follow the above sequence to help determine the club selection:

1. The flattest, safest and most predictable landing area is roughly five feet onto the brown.
2. If I land it there I will require a lower trajectory to get the ball running up the slope with enough energy to reach the hole.
3. Through practice, I know that my more lofted wedges would fly too high so therefore I choose less loft (7 or 8 iron) to get the ball up to the hole.

If you can follow this sequence (and practice enough to know how the different clubs produce different trajectories), you will find that you will make better decisions out on the golf course.

Although the high, spinning short game shots are impressive to watch, they are also high tariff shots that can be very destructive if they go wrong.

As a rule, when possible try to keep the ball low to the ground and get it rolling early in the chip shot. This helps reduce the risk of a destructive shot and gives you a better chance of getting the ball close.

Both of these factors will help make your good shots great and your bad shots reasonable. This will certainly help to lower your scores. Give it a try!