Learn to Play Lob Shots the Seve Way

'Constraints Led Learning' is hugely in vogue at the moment and there are some professionals that only coach with the use of task constraints and avoid explicit instructions at all costs. IMO this is quite extreme but task constraints do play a huge role in Motor Learning and pretty much every session I deliver will have some form of this learning.

The Benefits of Learning to Chip this Way

The reported benefits are that you don't get bogged down with ideas, concepts and language but are left to explore in your own way that is more akin to how we learn core movement skills as a child. 

The combination of knowing the key principles of lob shots and a task to keep you engaged is a powerful combination

Having only one club in his younger days was the constraint that led Seve to develop such a versatile short game.

The Chipping Task

• Mark a landing area where the ball must land and stop within.
• Start with a Sand Wedge and progressively move down the bag trying to achieve the task with the longest club possible.
• Finally, go back to a Lob Wedge and apply the same skills and perametise around the task (work out how much swing you need, how fast, how much you open the face etc)

Be mindful that as we open the face and lower the hands, the bounce of the club is exposed. Apart from your wedges, clubs are not designed to be played in this way so you may need a fluffy lie to be able to slide the club under the ball.

Good luck!