Tiger's tips

By Tiger Woods, Golf Digest Playing Editor, Edited By Pete McDaniel and Mark Soltau

My Chipping Basics

Stable wrists and a compact swing make greenside shots easy

Two of the main chipping problems I see with my amateur partners are trying to scoop the ball into the air and making too long a backswing. It's a good bet that neither will lead to a decent shot.

Several factors are involved in scooping, but it often can be traced to excessive wrist action. To eliminate active wrists, just firm them up. Without putting a death grip on the club, lock your wrists in their address angles so they don't break down through impact.

Playing the ball too far forward and setting too much weight on the back foot also contributes to scooping. I like to play the ball back in my stance on standard chips, with most of my weight on my left side. That helps promote a descending blow. Then all I have to do is trust the club's loft to get the ball in the air and carry it the right distance.

As for the backswing, keep it short, unless you're blessed with the touch of Freddie Couples or John Daly. When your swing is too long, the tendency is to decelerate the club and lose your spine angle. So keep the swing compact back and through. You'll hit crisp chips with great distance control.