Golf Tips: Chipping

Last month, about 25 of us were at a Southern California golf course anniversary party. With everyone seated on the range, Phil Mickelson emerged out of nowhere to surprise us with a chipping clinic. And he was fascinating, reducing the short game to a few steps that simplified it in a way I'd never seen before. Mickelson -- one of golf’s best short-game players ever -- said that above all else, remember to execute these three fundamentals while chipping to stay on the right track: First of all, always keep your hands ahead of the ball -- from address through the entire swing. Two, place the ball in your stance to be even with either your front or back foot. And never in-between. If you want the ball flight to be higher and land more softly, play it from your front foot. If you want a lower flight with more roll after it lands, position the ball opposite your back foot. Thirdly, always place your weight on the front foot. Once you get those down pat, you can start experimenting with which loft to use, when to take half swings, etc. Another nice tip he offered was if you want to prevent pulling a chip, try moving your head position a touch forward at address -- that helps keep the club a little bit behind at impact so its face stays slightly open as you make contact with the ball and neutralizes the pull. Conversely, if you tend to push your chips, move your head back slightly at address.