Landing spot and club choice
Ready when: Chip and catch (i1) started.
What you are learning
Choosing where the ball should land and which club to use: a club with more loft flies higher and stops quickly; one with less loft flies lower and rolls further. Good players pick the landing spot first, then the club.
Words on this card Club, Loft, Chip, Carry, Landing spot, Backswing
- Club
- The stick used to hit the ball. A set has clubs of different lengths and angles.
- Loft
- How much the clubface leans back. More loft sends the ball higher and shorter.
- Chip
- A short shot that flies low a little way and then rolls.
- Carry
- How far the ball flies in the air, and how far it rolls after it lands.
- Landing spot
- Where you want the ball to land before it rolls.
- Backswing
- The club going back, the club swinging on past the ball, and the balanced pose at the end.
Set up
Three hoops at 5, 10 and 15 m; two or three clubs with different lofts; soft balls; a safe zone behind the hitter.
Weather: dry ground
Show it first for the one teaching
- Roll a ball by hand so it lands short of the first hoop and rolls in.
- Chip to the same hoop with a club that has a lot of loft: it flies high and stops.
- Chip again with a club with less loft: it flies low and rolls further.
Your part while they practise
Stand behind the hitting line; everyone fetches balls together when all have hit.
Step by step
- Roll a ball by hand so it lands short and runs into each hoop.
- Chip to the same hoops, trying each club.
- Note which club flies high and stops and which flies low and runs.
How much: 5 balls per club 12 min a session 2 days a week
Say one thing Pick one line from "What you will see" for today and say only that.
The game: Nearest wins
Two players chip to the same hoop; the nearer ball scores.
Who plays: 2 players against each other.
How to play, turn by turn
- Turns
- Player one names a hoop and chooses a club
- Both chip one ball at that hoop
- The ball nearer the centre of the hoop scores
- Take turns to choose. 10 rounds
- Fair play
- A grown-up plays every round with the same club.
- Points
- 1 point for the nearer ball; 2 points if it stops inside the hoop.
- Fouls
- No points that round
- Hitting before the other player is behind the line
- Naming a club and then changing it
- Walking out to fetch before both have hit
- Winning
- More points after 10 rounds.
- 4 points for 1 star
- 8 points for 2 stars
- 12 points for 3 stars
Easier or harder
One hoop, two clubs.
A low obstacle to fly over.
What you will see, and what to say
- every chip uses one club
Pick the club for the run
More roll needed, less loft. - the ball lands past the spot
Land it, then let it roll
Aim at the landing spot.
Self-check
3 of 5 balls finish in the hoop with each club.
Stop and get a coach when
The chips fly far past the hoops every time; ask for a check of the set-up.
Fitness for this
Warm up first: how to warm up, at workonfitness.com. For strength and stretching, its exercise library shows each exercise step by step, with an easier version.
This card trains club selection, landing spot, reading the roll.
Intermediate is done when the player has a routine and can chip to a target.
awiseathlete.com/sports/golf/golf-i4