The downhill chip shot it something that a lot of golfers really fear. In the video and article below, Golf Monthly Top 50 coach and PGA Pro Dan Grieve shares his expert advice that will remove the intimidation factor once and for all.
I understand why this situation poses amateurs problems, but with a few simple set-up changes, you’ll quickly realise there’s nothing to worry about at all.
The biggest problem here is that players fail to adapt to the slope. So they’ll get into a nice set-up position with a narrow stance and ignore the fact this isn’t a normal chip shot they’re facing. What’s then going to happen is that the downswing is going to be too shallow, making it really difficult to make consistently good contact. So the angle of attack isn’t steep enough for the lie and slope.
The key is adapting and making some nice changes to your set-up. The first thing to check is the severity of the slope. The steeper the slope, the wider you need to stand. In the video above I’m on a really steep slope, so I’m going to get almost driver width in my set-up. That’s going to allow me to put much more weight on my lead side.
A poor set-up position (left) and a good set-up position (right)
(Image credit: Howard Boylan)
From there, I want you to think about ball position and the upper body. You want to have the ball just back from the centre of your stance and feel like your chest bone is six or seven inches ahead of the ball.
That will encourage the club to swing up rather than around on the backswing, and then down the angle of the slope into impact. It’s really important not to rotate as you normally would on a chip shot, just feel like you’re keeping all your pressure on your lead leg and finish nice and short with the butt of the grip pointing somewhere near your left hip in the follow-through.
Keep your pressure on your lead leg and finish nice and short in the follow-through
(Image credit: Howard Boylan)
The other point to note is that it helps to use a little bit more loft. In the video I’ve opted for a 60-degree wedge because the slope is going to make the ball come out much lower and I want to offset that with extra loft. The bounce on this wedge will also help the club get through the ball, especially if the lie is a little heavy. Give this a go and improve your downslope chipping.
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