How to Hit a Backwards Chip Shot – Creative Ways out of Tough Golf Situations
By: Dan Davis, PGA Professional, Thousand Hills Golf Course
Learning how to hit a backwards chip shot is mostly the result of practice, practice practice. Because a backwards chip shot is only done near hazards and where a traditional shot just can’t be done, the process will be a little different every time, depending on how it lies. As Dan explains in this video, sometimes imagination is more important than golf instruction.
>>DAN DAVIS, PGA PROFESSIONAL: Hi, I’m Dan Davis here at Thousand Hills.
I’ve got myself in a little bit of a predicament here. I’m on #7, up against the rocks-the ball has kind of hit up here on the fringe and come back. Right here we don’t have a hazard line clearly marked so it’s actually the water’s edge, I don’t have to worry about being in the hazard.
What I do have to worry about is not having a very good stance; I’m worried about possibly hitting my golf club on the rocks on the way down. So sometimes you have to use your imagination just a little bit.
What we’re gonna do, basically is take a couple look at our lie–we’re going to try to hit a shot, I guess it’s almost backwards. Go ahead and grip the club with your right hand-we’re just going to attempt this with one hand. Go ahead & take your normal golf grip just like this with your right hand. What we’re going to do is go ahead and set the club down in it’s normal right-handed hit position. Ok? Try to get your arm extended out as much as possible. And what we’re going to do is we’re going to go ahead and try to take a shot and let the golf club-we’re going to let the weight of the club come right into the ball, again trying to hit the ball on the downswing–don’t try to scoop this! We’re going to take it up on a fairly steep angle, let the club come down, striking the ball on the way down, and hopefully we can pop this ball out up close to the hole. Let’s see how we do.
*hits the backwards chip shot*
Ok! A little bit short, but I’m on the green and hopefully, just by using your imagination a little bit that might help you get out of a tough position there.
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