Most golfers have been taught to keep their heads down when chipping. But according to three-time major champion Padraig Harrington, the opposite feeling may be the key to cleaner contact, more spin and a better short game.
The secret? Learning to use the ground.
If you watch elite players closely, you’ll notice something most amateurs haven’t mastered quite yet. As the club approaches impact, they apply pressure to their lead foot and then rise up through impact.
“We’re not trying to stay down. We’re not trying to keep our head down,” Harrington says. “I’m actually pushing myself back up with that left foot. It gives an absolutely beautiful strike.”
It’s a subtle move that’s almost impossible to spot at full speed, yet it plays a major role in producing those crisp, spinny chips.
While it’s difficult to detect in another golfer’s swing, it’s surprisingly easy to learn yourself.
Train ball-first contact with a simple alignment stick drill
As Harrington demonstrates, a simple alignment stick drill is a great way to groove this feeling. Just place a stick‚— or other alignment tool — on the ground to mark the midline of your stance. Then, play the ball two or three inches in front of it.
Your objective is simple: strike the ball without touching the stick. If you can consistently miss the stick, you’re training yourself to bottom out after the ball, producing the clean, ball-first contact every good chip requires.
Once that strike becomes second nature, add in the pressure shift. As your club approaches the ball, press into the ball of your lead foot and allow that pressure to push you upward through impact.
“Get yourself left. Stay left. You have to trust that, okay?” Harrington says, “We don’t want any of this backing up.”
An easy way to check whether you’re doing it correctly is to look at your lead leg after impact. If your lead knee remains bent, there’s a good chance your weight has drifted back during the swing. If your lead leg has straightened, you’ve likely used the ground properly.
“If your knees bend … that’s because your center of mass has gone backward and that’s counterbalancing it by going forward,” Harrington says.
“Whereas, if you get yourself left, you’re just going to post up like so.”
Perhaps the biggest benefit is that this feeling doesn’t stop at your short game. The same pressure shift and ground force that Harrington teaches for chipping are a fundamental part of an athletic full swing. Master it around the greens first, and you’ll not only hit crisper chips with more spin, but you’ll also build a movement pattern that carries through the rest of your game.
