Ballantyne Magazine covers news, events, real estate, restaurants, shopping, health, schools and business in the upscale Ballantyne Area of Charlotte, NC.
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BALLANTYNE | tee it up Step 1 – Set Up Position yourself with the golf ball toward your back foot, while placing more weight on your front foot. Your hands should be in front of the club head and slightly down on the grip. You can use different clubs ranging from a sand wedge to an 8-iron, depending on how far the hole is from where you are off the green. Use a sand wedge or pitching wedge for a short distance to the flag, less than 40 feet. Use an 8- or 9-iron when the ball needs to roll 40 feet or more. Step 2 – Club Speed Keep a consistent, smooth speed throughout your swing, but don't swing slowly. Most golfers have been told not to decelerate on a chip shot. This fear often produces a 94 BALLANTYNE MAGAZINE short and slow backswing followed by a fast and long follow-through. This type of follow-through is done by flipping the wrist at impact and scooping the ball up in the air, making it difficult to control the distance. Speed up your backswing and maintain the same speed throughout the shot. Step 3 – Technique Sweep it, don't scoop it. Your follow-through should always brush the grass and finish close to the ground. Just as demonstrated in the picture, the club head is much lower in the follow-through than in the backswing. A proper set up and a steady speed is the only way to maintain the hands in front of the club head through impact and guarantee solid CELEBRATING TEN YEARS 2000-2010 contact. Using a broom will help you get the right feel for the sweep. Brush the grass by maintaining a firm pressure toward the ground with your hands placed in front of the broom. Spruce Up Your Game If you have procrastinated over the summer and need to clean up your golf game, this fall is the perfect time to get out your broom and start sweeping! The next time you are on the edge of the green, go back to the basics with this simple chip shot and improve your score. Keep the ball low, and rolling… into the hole! To view my "Sweep your Chip" video, go to www.danarader.com/news_ tips.cfm. FALL 2010