Groove These Moves!

Because your left arm is pinned against your chest, it's impossible to make more than a two-foot backswing. That’s a good thing! The chipping motion has to be short, but everyday golfers tend to overdo it. As you take the club back, simply hinge your wrists and let your right elbow fold. The club will swing up, not behind you. You're on-plane, primed to deliver a crisp strike.

Once your backswing stops, smoothly push the clubhead back to the ball with your right arm. Your upright backswing allows you to use the bounce on your wedge, so you're almost certain to catch it clean. Once you strike the ball, let your upper body rotate and follow the club toward the target. No need to shift your weight. Your address position presets it ahead of the impact point—where it needs to be—so your swing bottoms out at the ball, not behind it. Hello, perfect contact!

Smoothly push the club with your right arm while gently unwinding your body. The club shouldn’t finish above waist height. You’ve done it correctly if, at the end, your belt buckle, chest and club point at the target, with your hands and arms aligned with your shirt buttons. If the shaft angles skyward, you’ve used too much hand action, a death move. Less—hand movement and overall speed—is more.