Video: Beat Chipping Yips: Three Time Tour Winner Uses One Handed Technique
Over the last few years my golf game has deteriorated because of short game anxiety. Once a 3 handicap, I now struggle to card three pars. That is why Jason Palmer’s story is all the more incredible to me, given that he suffers from the exact same problem.
Before you discount Jason one handed chipping and bunker shot technique you should note the Leicestershire golfer has already notched up three wins on the developmental Alps Tour and won the Order Of Merit.
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Jason will play the Challenge Tour in 2014 and is short odds to play on the European Tour shortly after; he’s that good.
Here he is demonstrating the technique.
In an interview with Sky Sports Jason spoke about the unorthodox method. Here are some of his quotes.
Sky Sports: Let's get the exact details. Which shots do you hit one-handed?
JP: Any chip or pitch from 40 yards and in. I used to play all greenside bunker shots one-handed too but now I probably go one-handed for bunker shots of 10 yards or less and two-handed for the others, it totally depends on the shot.
Sky Sports: Players often play one-handed as a practice drill so, after hitting some good shots on the range, did you just decide one day to take it to the course?
JP: That is pretty much how it happened, yes. I remember practising at a tournament with my friend and roommate Neil Chaudhuri and I was extremely low about the demise of my short game and the devastating effect that it was having on my scores. I showed him just how foolish the situation was as I clipped a few towards the pin nonchalantly with just one hand. Between us we came to the conclusion that it's a results-based game and that at the end of the day you have to do whatever gets the ball in the hole. So it was then that I decided I would use the one-handed method in tournament play and see what happened.
Sky Sports: Did it work immediately or did it take a while to play well one-handedly in tournament conditions?
JP: I have to say that the results were instant. After going one-handed I enjoyed the best spell of form in my life to that point. I went from being terrified of missing a green or facing a pitch over any sort of trouble, to enjoying the challenge of it all. I felt like I had as a junior, a missed green became fun, an opportunity to show off my one-handed short game and get it up and down. My mindset completely changed on the course and all other aspects of my game improved due to the increased freedom I had on the course. In my next 11 events I had 9 top10's and my worst finish was 13th.
Sky Sports: What was the reaction of the other players and have any tried to copy you?
JP: I think at first people thought I was crazy! I have a joke and a laugh about it with my friends on tour as it really is quite unique. When I first changed I think the thing I found hardest was worrying about other people's perception of me and feeling quite silly. It was fine while I was playing well on the Alps Tour in 2010 as the results backed up my decision to switch but during my struggles on the Challenge Tour in 2011 and 2012 people inevitably looked at my chipping and questioned the method. That is difficult but I have become much stronger mentally and I know that, for me, it works. Nowadays I don't really care so much what other people are thinking, the only thing of any relevance are my results. I haven't seen anyone trying to copy me other than in practice to help rhythm. I'm always quick to tell the juniors at my club NOT to copy me!
Sky Sports: Do you feel it's just a quick fix for now and that you'd have to go conventional if you played on the European Tour?
JP: When I first changed back in 2010 I thought this would only be a quick fix. But here I am four years later and the feeling has still not returned with two hands. I have tried on numerous occasions to get both hands on the club but no matter how hard I try, my two-handed short game does not even compare to the touch and feel I have with my right hand alone. It's bizarre but I have accepted now that this will be the way I play the game. It doesn't really matter whether you have two hands on the club or one; if you can get it up and down all of the time then your short game is good enough for any tour. It would be amazing to get to The European Tour to see how my scrambling stats compared to some of the world's greats and ultimately that is where I want to play my golf.
Sky Sports: Would you recommend it to others who struggle from 80 yards in?
JP: I think if you have hit rock bottom and nothing else is working then sure, why not? But there is a good reason why everybody chips and pitches with two hands and that is because obviously you have more control over the clubhead. But, for me, this is not the case. I think it's a classic case of the yips. It's more common in putting but it can affect a player's chipping too. If you believe you are struggling because of a mental block then going one-handed may be the answer you're looking for. I think I am able to do it effectively because I have good hand-eye co-ordination which probably stems from me playing tennis until I was 14. If it wasn't for me switching to one-handed around the greens there is no way I could compete as a professional golfer. It's amazing that such a radical change has allowed me to continue a career in the sport that I love.
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