major chipping error, paid the price !!

finally got to put the new one handed chipping exercise into play today......oh bugger major mistake, it may work in the garden & on the driving range but didnt go to plan on the course !! had the joy of playing @ Gosfield Lakes GC today on the lakes course for Essex Concrete Society golf day, first tee par 5, left the driver alone and played a safe 5 iron, not safe enough didnt even make the edge of the fairway, played the 2nd shot 5 iron again little 200yrd hit perfectly straight, 3rd shot 5 iron another little 200 yrd shot dead straight, left me short by 25-30 yrds, perfect time to try out the one handed chipping, couple of practice swings to get the confidence up, step up to the ball and strike, twang, over hit by 20yrds to back of green and beyond for the fourth, 5th shot chance it again, nope miss hit again to the right just off the green not a good start to make matters worse attempted putter on long shot just off the rough miss-timed shot and fell well short for 6th, 7th rolled up to hole and stopped all of 2mm, would the bugger drop, like hell, tap in for 8th. not a good start at all, confidence rock bottom not only on chipping but on putting, that will teach me to try out new trick & new putter in comps !! lesson learned try out with friends if all goes well use it if not leave it for the driving range....Russell i can feel one of your teach days coming on !!!!! all in all apart from a few dodgy shots had a great day out scored 24 on my stapleford and was only 7 behind the top one in our group playing off 11 and 4 behind one playing off 14, and did my mate playing off 21 who scored 10 and i thought i was having a bad day !!

If you have two hands, use them, just learn to keep your right hand quiet by gripping the club lightly with it. it may be a good drill on the chipping green but imho you'd have to be crackers to do this on the course.

Rob, thing was it had gone right in practise sessions on numerous occasions, just thought it was the prime opportunity to try it out, didnt realise that it would go so wrong, methinks the fact i put myself under pressure didnt aid situation, oh well back to the drawing board.

Tim, I guess there is no right and wrong and it's whatever works for you but I think usually drills are best left on the practice ground. I'm forever tinkering with my game but I've come to the realisation that if I spent twice as much time practicing my putting compared to my long game, I would probably have a lower handicap. Problem is, I just find it boring :-)

Rob - if you find putting practice boring then turn it into putting competitions. I have started doing this with some of the juniors at the club. There are always a few juniors hanging around so when it is time to put in some putting practice round em up, allow 2 putts per hole and have a 9 hole comp on the practice putting green. It makes you focus much better and really sharpens up your game. You also tend to keep going for longer as the person who loses the first 9 always persuades everyone to go for a second 9 to try and come back and so and so on. You can easily do an hours practice without even realising it. I'm going down after work tonight for a putting comp with my husband and loser is cooking dinner (he doesn't know this yet!).

I hope for your sake judy that putting is the weakest part ( if he has one ) of your husbands game.

On the thread Tim, I agree with others that drills should be left on the practise ground. Chipping one handed on the course is mad, have you seen a pro do it ?

I think I'd be doing a lot of cooking and my cooking is worse than my putting!