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Golf coaches Erika Larkin and Christy Roach share a brilliantly simple chipping drill using a halved tennis ball to help you feel the correct weight distribution around the green. The concept — leaning to the green — is at the heart of cleaner, more consistent chip shots. If your chipping feels uncertain or your contact is off, this one is worth watching.
Erika Larkin – Short Game
In this video, Erika Larkin and Christy Roach demonstrate how a halved tennis ball placed under your lead foot can instantly improve your chipping by keeping pressure forward through impact. Alongside the DIY training aid, they cover body rotation, the belly-button connection drill, and how to choose the right club loft for low-trajectory chips. It suits golfers who want a practical, take-anywhere tool to sharpen their short game.
Key Takeaways
Lean to the green:
Lean to the green:
Place a halved tennis ball under your lead foot during chipping practice to feel and maintain forward pressure, which helps control the low point and produces cleaner contact.
Stay connected through the swing:
Think of your belly button and the butt end of the club as joined — they move together throughout the chip, keeping the upper body leading the lower body without excessive hip spin or footwork.
Choose less loft, keep the swing small:
For standard chip shots that roll more than they fly, a pitching wedge or gap wedge is usually enough — using less loft naturally encourages a compact, controlled swing rather than scooping.
Try the tennis ball drill at your next range session — cut a ball in half, pop it in your bag, and use it to feel what genuine forward pressure should be like in your chipping stroke. This video is ideal for golfers at any level who struggle with inconsistent contact around the green and want a low-cost, practical fix they can use anywhere.
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