The golf chip shot...

Let's get back to nature.

You've read the golf chip shot page about grip strength and now I am going to discuss the importance of finding your touch around the greens.

Is it the conscious or subconscious that deals with this?

I would say a percentage of both but I try to get my conscious thoughts down to one per cent or less if I can. These figures used to be at the opposite end of this scale and I would hear myself saying, "Don't shut the face, don't leave it short, don't look to soon, don't sway, don't don't don't and don't."

In fact, and let's address putting for now, when I would turn my attention to what my conscious mind was saying during a putt, it always surprised me how many thoughts of instruction were going through my head per second.

"Rat-a-tat-a-tat-a-tat"

This would be more like a heart beat when I was further away from the hole but turned into a drum roll with those killer 3-5 foot putts.

But why silence those conscious thoughts? Would it not be easier to calm them into encouraging thoughts? In a word, 'no'.

They will just reverse back and bite you harder than before.

Silence them, that's the way to go. But how?

You only have to turn to nature once again as the answer lies therein. Let's take throwing a tennis ball back and forth between two people as an example.

There are no conscious thoughts at all. Two people could do this forever but the moment they started to think about the mechanics, it would all start falling apart.

When it comes to the golf chip shot and putting, I borrow this silent state and achieve non-thinking natural touch.

My particular pre-shot routine/waggle is also borrowed from nature and it goes something like this:

I approach the ball with the club wavering slightly in the air and then I tap the ground several times with the club sole.

Once I have a good feel for its weight I will make two or three practice swings which are much lighter than the weight that I am going to need for the shot.

Nothing out of the ordinary here but I do all of this with my eyes looking in the direction of the target.

I do of course look at the ball when I am ready and leave my eyes there until after impact.

Since I adopted this natural pre-shot routine, my touch for the weight of shot has never been better.

Two further tips, if you do try something like this, never think about the weight required for the shot and when looking at the target, don't stare or strain your eyes, just look with relaxed eyes.

And then just let it happen.

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