Hey guys & gals - thanks for reviving an old threat. While I'm constantly adding/changing the routine for my students, I think it's still a very relevant practice routine to help you touch each area of the game & focus on scoring. Remember you can make the numbers whatever works for you - make it challenging, but if it's too difficult, set the bar lower & work your way up to a higher number.
To touch on some lag putting questions: A big thing I see with most students - they are trying to make the long putt (which is good), but they don't have a destination for the ball to stop. Some may say, "I want to stop it in a 3 foot circle" or "I just focus on the hole" - players need to have a focus of where they want the ball to stop!! To understand this feel, take a poker chip or chapstik tube and place it on the ground 20-30 feet away from you - roll balls trying to stop the ball on the poker chip. Do this for 5-10 minutes from various distances learning to stop the ball by the chip. Next take the poker chip and place it 6 inches behind the hole & start hitting straight 6-10 foot putts focusing on stopping the ball on the chip (the hole will get in the way). After getting some feel, move to longer putts and put the chip a few inches behind the hole - keep rolling putts trying to send the ball on a speed that will stop at the chip. After very little practice, you'll soon feel that you are rolling a ball to a destination & your lag putts will improve!
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How the hell do the pros hit the low chip that bounces once and then just stop dead? Is it perfect contact, better wedges, better balls, or a combination of these? Even with the 60º, the low chip still ran a little. I couldn't hit the long, low chip and have it stop after 1 or 2 bounces.
Also, with the higher lofted clubs, too often I would shank them. What is it about these clubs that causes this frustrating result? I would set up the same with them as I would with the PW but sometimes would shank them - it would squirt out low and right of where I was aiming.
the low spinner is a great shot & one of the sexiest in golf - to do it you must have a few factors (in addition to practice & touch) 1) clean surface - clean, sharp groves, and a lie without interference of grass - this is HUGE! 2) You must come in on a shallow angle - you should try to bruise the ground, not take a divot - by coming in shallow you give the club a chance to create great spin. I like students to feel like they have a razor blade on the leading edge of the club and they are just trying to shave the tops of the grass off the turf, not dig up grass 3) Hands forward - this reduces the loft of the club and hits the ball lower 4) Ball hits low on the face - the ball contacts the club low on the face hitting the bottom grooves, this creates more spin. Don't be upset if you hit a few shots thin when trying this the first time - keep your weight forward and you'll get it. 5)Speed - you don't need massive speed, but speed will increase spin to a certain extent - don't be afraid to accelerate through the shot. For some good visuals, watch the Tiger Woods chip shots I've posted from Augusta - you can see his hands forward, barely brushing the grass, and his shallow angle of attack. I believe they are posted in another thread and also on my youtube channel (robstocke).
For the shanks - they are usually caused by 2 things in chipping - excess use of the hands (flipping or trying to square the face) or being off-balance towards your toes. They can also come from swinging too far from the inside, but I'd check the first two initially. Set up like you're going to hit a shot and look at the angle of your lead wrist (left for a RH player) make some slow swings without a ball watching your wrist - try to keep that angle the same back and through (might feel like a long putting stroke) - you'll see how the arms & torso move the hands, not the wrists. It may feel stiff at first, but you'll keep the face square and improve impact.
Good luck & keep the questions coming!