Dave Pelz: “Studying the game”

Make a shorter backswing, then accelerate through to chip in more. Photo by Leonard Kamsler

Who doesn’t love the sight of a chip shot tracking to the hole, rattling the pin and dropping? There’s no reason why you can’t enjoy that more. First, you need to work on your technique: Position the ball off your back ankle, lean slightly forward to ensure a descending blow, and accelerate smoothly through impact. Acceleration is the key, but it must be gradual and not abrupt.

Think to achieve a more gradual acceleration, with the follow-through about 20 percent longer than your backswing. Remember, in chipping you should always pair a short backswing with a longer follow-through—never a long backswing to a shorter follow-through. Read the rest of this entry »

Did you happen to watch the putt I lucked in from 206 feet (almost 70 yards) on the 18th green at Whistling Straits, while filming a segment for The Golf Channel at the 2004 PGA Championship? I’m told it is the longest televised putt ever holed on a green (if you know of a longer one, please write to comments@pelzgolf.com). Pure luck it was, and I know I couldn’t make it again in maybe a million tries. I could never read the break of such a putt precisely, and I don’t practice enough on putts that long to have a good feel. But I did hit it solidly, and if it hadn’t gone in, it would have stopped close to the hole and I could have two-putted, which I’ll take every time! Read the rest of this entry »

One green, three shots: Practice a varitey of different chips to improve your short-game versatility. Leonard Kamsler

The green on the 497-yard, par-5 16th hole at the TPC of Sawgrass in Florida would be a great place to hang out and practice your chipping. The setting is beautiful, but more importantly, the green’s design and location — water on two sides, rough, mounds and sand elsewhere — provide the opportunity to try many varieties of chips.

Learning the three shots I’m highlighting will help improve your chipping versatility. You’ve seen Tour pros skillfully play these shots in tournaments, including at the annual Players Championship at Sawgrass. With a little practice, you can play these shots too.

During his run to the Players title in 2002, Craig Perks holed a chip from on top of the heavy fringe, standing just inches from the water. Read the rest of this entry »

A few years ago, I was asked by GOLF MAGAZINE to answer an age-old question: When chipping, should you leave the flagstick in the hole or pull it out? I conducted a test and was surprised by the results.

It was impractical to hit shots from the fringe, fairway, or rough because no human (not even Perfy, my putting/chipping robot) could hit the flagstick often enough or accurately enough to run the test in a reasonable amount of time. However, by precisely rolling balls on a green from a short distance, I could measure how the flagstick affected the results. To guarantee measurable, reliable results, I used a putting machine called the “TruRoller,” which I invented to roll balls precisely controlled directions at carefully controlled speeds. For each test, I set the TruRoller about two feet from the cup and measured 1) how far the ball rolled past the hole when the hole was covered, 2) how many putts stayed in the hole when the hole was not covered and the flagstick was out, and 3) how many putts stayed in the hole when the flagstick was left in. Read the rest of this entry »

t’s a fact: High-handicap golfers need the short game more than good players do.

A popular misconception is that the worse you play golf, or the higher your handicap, the less you need a short game. Actually, the exact opposite is true. Which is why I say, “The poorer your game, the more wedges you need.” Read the rest of this entry »