Improve your chipping consistency with this simple rubber-band drill

Let’s face it, no matter how talented you are in the ball-striking department, you are going to miss some greens – it’s just a fact. Because of this, it’s important to have a dependable short game to lean on so that a missed green doesn’t mean an automatic bogey.

Chip shots around the greens can seem so simple, but they can be a significant Achilles heel for many amateur golfers. Shots off the toe, the heel and even the dreaded shot off the hosel plague handfuls of golfers with otherwise solid games. But standing over a chip shot doesn’t have to be a stressful affair. Here’s a drill to try to ensure you’re making solid contact around the greens.

For this drill, all you need is your wedge and two rubber bands. Take the two rubber bands and wrap them around the clubface on either side of the grooves; one on the outside of the grooves by the toe of the club and the other on the inside of the grooves near the heel. Then start hitting your normal chip shots.

“As you’re hitting shots, you’ll get instant feedback if you’re hitting it on the toe or the heel,” PGA and LPGA Master Professional Alison Curdt said.

This instant feedback allows you to easily make adjustments to your swing path without having to breakdown your technique via videos or photos.

Once you get comfortable with the rubber bands on the edges of the grooves, you can increase the difficulty by making the rubber bands, and the contact zone, narrower.

“I’ll move the rubber bands in a little bit closer together, making essentially my sweet spot even smaller,” Curdt said. “You’ll be able to tell instantly whether you hit the center, or whether you feel a little bit of bounce off of the rubber bands.”

Perfect this drill and you’ll see your scores dropping in no time.

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