Five tips to improve your game: chip off an upslope

Five of Golf Monthly's top-25 coaches give advice on game improvement in a range of areas, from driving to chipping

Chipping off an upslope

Gary Alliss Head Professional, Ladbrook Park GC, Warwickshire

Fault:

- You struggle to make good clean contact - You tend to fall off balance too easily

Fix:

This tricky chip presents a dilemma in terms of technique. Normally from an upslope you'd want your weight on the back foot and the ball forward, but for a chip the weight should be forward and the ball back in the stance. One effective way to resolve this is to give yourself one leg. Set your back foot in line with the ball, move your front foot out of way resting it gently on the toes and lock your knees together for added stability from such a narrow base. This will put you in the ideal position to get the contact and control you need to knock it close. You'll find you can just swing the club backwards and forwards almost as with a normal chip, but don't forget the upslope will pop it up higher than normal so you'll need to carry the ball a little further. Saving par from positions such as I'm in here can give you a huge boost. Think ‘one leg' and you'll definitely improve your chances.

How to chip off an upslope:

Nick Bonfield
Features Editor

Nick Bonfield joined Golf Monthly in 2012 after graduating from Exeter University and earning an NCTJ-accredited journalism diploma from News Associates in Wimbledon. He is responsible for managing production of the magazine, sub-editing, writing, commissioning and coordinating all features across print and online. Most of his online work is opinion-based and typically centres around the Majors and significant events in the global golfing calendar. Nick has been an avid golf fan since the age of ten and became obsessed with the professional game after watching Mike Weir and Shaun Micheel win The Masters and PGA Championship respectively in 2003. In his time with Golf Monthly, he's interviewed the likes of Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, Jose Maria Olazabal, Henrik Stenson, Padraig Harrington, Lee Westwood and Billy Horschel and has ghost-written columns for Westwood, Wayne Riley, Matthew Southgate, Chris Wood and Eddie Pepperell. Nick is a 12-handicap golfer and his favourite courses include Old Head, Sunningdale New, Penha Longha, Valderrama and Bearwood Lakes. If you have a feature pitch for Nick, please email nick.bonfield@futurenet.com with 'Pitch' in the subject line. Nick is currently playing: Driver: TaylorMade M1 Fairway wood: TaylorMade RBZ Stage 2 Hybrid: Ping Crossover Irons (4-9): Nike Vapor Speed Wedges: Cleveland CBX Full Face, 56˚, Titleist Vokey SM4, 60˚ Putter: testing in progress! Ball: TaylorMade TP5x