Welcome to Play Smart, a regular GOLF.com game-improvement column that will help you play smarter, better golf.
Tiger Woods has just about every shot imaginable in his arsenal. Whether the situation requires the ball to go high or low, left or right, the 15-time major winner has the shot in his bag to get it done.
Watching Woods work around the greens you can see his creativity really shine. Rarely on the course does he hit just a stock shot with his short game. Every scenario is a little bit different, and each requires specific adjustments in order to have the best chance of chipping it close.
One of Woods’ go-to shots around the greens comes in the form of a “draw chip.” And in today’s edition of Play Smart, we’re going to hear from the man himself on how to hit it.
How to hit Tiger’s draw chip
Sometimes getting the ball close from short range requires a little bit of creative thinking. For Woods, that comes in the form of shaping the ball left or right to get the ball close.
For a shot that needs to move left-to-right — or one that might be affected by a tough lie — he turns to his patented draw chip.
Executing the shot is simple. According to Woods, he opens the face just a touch, keeps his hands forward at address and then when the club head is approaching impact, he tries to close the face down and move his body forward.
“I’ll get more spin,” Woods says. “But I’m also ensuring that I don’t fat it.”
Next time you’re around the greens and are worried about catching the ball a little heavy, try focusing on hitting a draw chip. You’ll be amazed how easy it is to execute — and how useful it is to have in your arsenal.
