Breaking 100

By Jason Guss with Ron Kaspriske

September 2008

Chipping setup equals full-swing impact

Want to know how tour pros pure their irons? Get in your chipping setup like I'm doing: 80 percent of your weight on your front foot; your hands leaning the shaft forward; your back foot rolled in with the heel just off the ground; your shoulders in line with the target and your hips slightly open.

This chipping setup is very similar to the position a tour pro reaches at impact with a proper full swing. The only difference between the chipping position and full-swing impact is the spine tilt. The spine on a full swing is leaning slightly back at impact because of the wider stance and bigger weight shift toward the target.

Keep your eyes level to hit the ball solid

Another similarity between the chipping setup and full-swing impact is eye alignment. In both cases, the eyes should be horizontal to the ground. If your left eye is higher than your right, it will encourage you to keep your weight on your back foot as you swing down, which will cause your swing arc to bottom out behind the ball, and you'll hit it fat or thin. Level eyes give you the best chance to put the bottom of the swing just ahead of the ball, resulting in solid impact.