PGA Features

Sergio Garcia is back in action on the European Tour this week at his home tournament the Mallorca Classic.

Like his Spanish predecessors Seve Ballesteros and Jose Maria Olazabal, the young matador has an imperious short game.

Hartsbourne pro Reeves Weedon examines Garcia's chipping technique and offers a couple of tips of his own to help club golfers get the most out of their short game.

"There are two ways of chipping - with trajectory and spin," says Reeves. "Garcia chips with spin. If you watch him closely you notice he puts the ball back in his stance and really angles the shaft to hit the ball into the ground to get as much out of the grooves as he can.

"He's attempting to get maximum bite out of the grooves and you see his ball goes in very low and stops really quickly.

"Paul Lawrie in contrast when I was watching the Mallorca Classic on television was chipping with trajectory - he lobs it up more because the height stops the ball quicker but he's running his chip out more."

Every club golfer in the land aspires to be able to fling the ball in from off the green and see it stop on a sixpence as the likes of Garcia routinely do but it takes nerve and perfect technique.

"Sergio's method is harder to do - every club golfer would love to do spin it dead but they can't," adds Reeves. "Sergio absolutely chews the ball, it bites so much. He's striking the ball just before the ground and producing a divot after he's struck the ball.

"What will be going through Sergio's mind before he plays the shot will be concentration on a really clean hit, and really steep delivery and angle of attack. Good chipping is all about technique but you need bottle to play shots like Garcia."

Many amateur and club golfers struggle to chip well and while not enough practice is one obvious reason another is also a lack of understanding of what they are trying to achieve with the shot.

"Club golfers struggle because they are trying to lift the ball off the ground. The reality is that you have to strike down on the ball," explains Weedon. "What's required is the angling of the shaft-handle ahead of the clubhead and ball so you can get a descending blow on the ball."

While most of us can only dream of chipping like Garcia, here are a couple of useful chipping tips from Reeves Weedon in a bid to bring your short games up to scratch:

1. Relocate your chipping circle

I have been told many times in my golfing career to chip to a three foot circle around the hole. This advice has been ringing in my ears for years and I have also had many tricky downhill three footers as a result.

I have often chipped to the wrong side of the circle, with a heavy handed shot.I don't know about you, but I would rather have an uphill six footer than a curling, downhill, left to right, three footer.

For you club golfers out there, reading this website, let's face it, you don't chip many balls into the hole during a round of golf but you do, on many occasions, fail to get up and down for your par or bogey.

So let's make things easier by moving the three foot circle to below the hole with the idea of leaving yourself an easier putt. You never know, you might hit the ball a little off line and actually hole out anyway.

2. Cash in your chips with all your clubs

A chipping tip that many people don't realise when it comes to selecting the best club is that you can virtually use any club in your bag.

Too many people are stuck on their lob wedge when there are loads of other clubs that will do a better job.

To get the most accurate shot out of a chip, you will want to get the ball rolling on the green as soon as possible.

The more time it spends in the air, the longer it has to make a mistake. By the 'rule of thumb', when selecting your club, remember that for every foot the ball is in the air, it will roll about one foot plus another in descending order.

So, if you use your lob wedge, the ball will roll one foot for every foot it is in the air. If you use your nine iron, it will roll two feet for every foot in the air, and the seven iron will roll four foot for every foot in the air, and so on.

This is a great way to estimate which club to use, and control the distance of the ball. Try it and see the remarkable results.

Reeves Weedon is head PGA professional at Hartsbourne Golf Club in Hertfordshire - contact him on 0208 421 7266.