Chip It In & Save Strokes.

ALL GOLFERS, AT EVERY level, are always looking to save strokes. The short game is a good place to start.

As a golf instructor at Bergen Community College (NJ), I emphasize the short game right from the start; I have the beginners work on their accuracy with shots from 40 yards or closer to the flagstick.

Everyone knows the adage about driving to show and putting for dough. That lovely 270-yard drive isn't going to mean very much if you cannot close out the deal with a decent putt. The sad fact is that many golfers simply do not practice it enough.

The first thing you have to sell them on is to put themselves into the right frame of mind for their short game--working hard at chipping the ball consistently well. If they can chip the ball accurately from approximately 40 yards, they are going to give themselves a gold en opportunity to get the ball very close to the hole--reducing the need for the longer, tougher putts.

The particular kind of chip shot we teach is called the bump and roll. The set-up for it occurs frequently in the normal course of a round, particularly after placing a shot anywhere within 40 yards of the flagstick with no obstacles (sand bunkers) in your way.

The next shot is critical in the shot-saving process. You cannot take a big backswing and then decelerate the club on the downswing. You may hit the ball too far. It's what I call a "chickening-out swing." Result: a ball that moves only a few feet... total embarrassment.

Other golfers will risk pitching the ball to the flagstick. Frequent result: a long ball that may end up in a sand bunker or in trouble beyond the green. The player will now have to take another chip shot.

One other typical scenario for the beginner is hitting a chip shot onto the green but watching it end up a long way from the hole... creating a three-putt disaster. These are some of the frustrating situations that inexperienced players encounter in golf. By improving their short game, they may eliminate these extra strokes.

First, however, it is essential to learn how to address the ball and recognize what a chip shot should look like and what it should do. The beginner should start by concentrating on three points in succession:

First, pick a target and envision where you want your ball to land on its way to the hole.

Second, select the proper club according to the distance from the hole, the contour of the green, and the speed of the green. Let us assume you want to practice a 20-yard chip shot, using a pitching wedge that will give you 10 yards of green to play with. To picture what a 20-yard chip shot would look like, imagine a baseball being delivered from the pitching mound to home plate.

Third, try to chip the shot so that it will role to the hole. Note: Don't pitch it high in the air to the flag...a difficult shot that requires greater skill.

You want the ball to travel at a low trajectory approximately two to four feet off the ground, and bounce anywhere from one-hall to three-quarters the distance between you and the hole, depending upon the speed of the terrain, then roll the rest of the way to the hole.

My slogan is: "Roll it into the hole." If it does not roll into the hole, it will be considered a successful shot for the beginner as long as it ends up 10 feet from the cup. Eight feet is considered good and three feet is excellent. We use two drills to teach this skill.

Drill One: "Ball Toss:"

Position: Stand in hitting position on the fairway, holding a ball in your tossing hand 20-yards from the flag with 10 yards of green to play with.

Toss the ball underhand with the palm of your hand moving directly along the imaginary target line, and the hand simulating the face of a golf club.

Skill Development: The feel for this shot comes with practice, as you begin to realize that the arm swing involves a relatively short slow backswing followed by a slight acceleration forward. The idea is to avoid the big backswing and make sure the arm motion toward the target does not decelerate.

You must learn to aim the toss to the predetermined spot that will allow the ball to roll close to the hole. With repetition, you will find the exact spot you are looking for. You should continue trying to hit this spot in order to develop a comfortable and consistent swing.

Drill Two: Golf swing with one arm:

This drill must be practiced in three different parts while swinging the target arm (left arm for the right-handed player) with the back (right) hand over the target elbow to keep it from bending. The three parts include swinging at a tee without the ball, swinging at a ball sitting on a low tee, and hitting the ball right off the ground.

Before starting this part of the drill, the coach must impress the students with the necessity of striving for perfection in setting up and aligning the shot. Instruct them to take the following steps:

Set up the ball slightly back of the center in their stance.

Ground the club behind the tee (or ball), aligning the clubface perpendicular to the target line.

Assume a narrow, slightly open stance with most of the weight on the target foot.

In addition, we have the player keep his shoulders parallel to the target line and instruct him to move the target hand slightly ahead of the tee (or ball) prior to starting the back swing in order to deloft the clubface. This small maneuver will help keep the ball on a low flight trajectory once it becomes airborne.

Coaching Points

First part: Swinging a golf club with one arm feels awkward and a little uncomfortable at first, especially when using the non-dominant arm. As the students keep doing each part separately, they will gradually begin to get the rhythm, timing, and effort required by this kind of swing.

To be successful, they must pay attention to two simple rules:

First, take the club back slowly from the target shoulder, without bending the wrist or elbow, while keeping the club in a straight line slightly inside the imaginary extended target behind the tee (or ball).

From 20 yards away, the length of the backswing (with a pitching wedge) should be about a quarter of a full backswing. The backswing will vary according to the distance of the shot and the club being used.

For example, a distance of 25-30 yards may require the use of an 8 iron with possibly the same or less backswing. The guide used in teaching a short backswing is: Don't raise the clubface above the knees.

The second rule to follow after taking a short slow backswing is to make the forward swing downward with a slight acceleration through the hitting zone and along the imaginary target line--emphasizing a fully extended target arm with no wrist snap. The back of the target hand should stay ahead of the clubface and go directly at the target.

This is a critical point in the mechanics of the swing. The hand movement will automatically keep the clubface perpendicular to the target line as it moves forward, which will ensure greater accuracy.

Any deviation such as pulling the target hand to the left (which will close the clubface or open the target shoulder) will pull the shot to the left or shank the shot to the right--particularly if the clubface is left open or the ball is struck with the hosel of the club.

Swinging with one arm will force the players to concentrate on keeping the arm fully extended throughout the swing. Swinging at a tee (without the ball) will help them focus better on each segment of the swing. Good golfers must have patience. We don't want them lifting their head in their anxiety to see where the ball is going. I tell them to resist the temptation to sneak a peak.

Second Part: Using one arm to swing at a ball on a low tee, as preparation for hitting an actual golf ball squarely and accurately. At this juncture of the teaching process, the students are cautioned to avoid some of the typical mistakes that beginners inadvertently make: poor alignment, bending the target elbow, snapping the wrist, opening or closing the clubface, taking too big of a backswing, and decelerating the downswing. They must also keep in mind the spot they aimed for in the previous toss drill.

Third Part: Using one arm to swing at a ball that's resting on the ground. The absence of the tee will make this a slightly more difficult shot, and the golfers will tend to top the ball, squibbling it a few feet in front of them.

To avert all of these problems, the golfers will have to learn to focus on the same short, smooth, effortless swing practiced in the previous drills--making solid contact with a descending blow of the clubface. This will force the golfer to try to keep his eye on the ball and avoid trying to lift or scoop it, a common beginner mistake. Slogan: "Let the club head do the work without trying to help the ball go forward."

After practicing these drills for about 30 minutes, the golfers will be eager to swing the club with both hands. To develop a sense of touch around the green, we find it essential to devote practice time to the sequence of steps explained in the toss drill and one-arm swing.

This approach will increase the students' chances of performing a successful chip shot, as they will be making a deliberate attempt to "see the shot"--an image or vision of what they expect the ball to do and to "feel the shot," to actually develop a sense of rhythm and effort necessary for the particular shot.

All of these things will build the proper mechanics and confidence in their swing. Only then will the golfers begin thinking of their ultimate goal--rolling the ball into the cup in the minimum number of strokes.