To win 90 times around the world you have to have all the skills and Seve Ballesteros certainly had that.
The swing was as flexible and elegant as any, the word swashbuckling always comes up when describing the Spaniard’s playing style, and he had more than enough length off the tee.
Years ago I spoke with Bernard Gallacher and mentioned Seve’s crookedness off the tee and he was very quick to point out that in his earlier years, before his back began to break down, that Ballesteros’ driving was far straighter than everyone made out.
In another chat, his caddy at Lytham Dave Musgrove said the talk of him as the Car Park Champion was complete exaggeration and only referenced a handful of shots.
We obviously don’t have the stats that we do nowadays but we all know that his super strength was around the green. Think of many of his great shots and they will involve a chip shot that either went in or very nearly did.
When he won the 1983 Masters his final shot was a chip-in at 18. It was to win by four and the Green Jacket was already secured but the touch was something else.
Five years later at Lytham, his second Open success, he produced one of his finest chip shots when, in a Monday finish, he got up and down from what looked like a horrible spot to secure a closing 65 and a two-shot victory over Nick Price.
Wedge guru Bob Vokey always singles out Seve as the best exponent of the short game. The Spaniard was incredibly particular about the set-up of his bag, at the start of their time together the Spaniard would only have a 56˚ in his bag, later on Vokey would get a 60˚ wedge into his bag.
Interestingly Ballesteros liked his wedges to have a flatter lie angle – ‘short shot, short club’ – so they would be made two degrees flatter to help whip the club under the ball.
But the most striking aspect of the Spaniard’s short game was the simplicity of it all. It might have looked sexy but, in fact, it wasn’t and he would only introduce a lot of spin when it was really required. So, from sand or a lob shot, he would play the shot differently, otherwise everything would be played as though it was a long sort of underarm throw.
The whole thinking was to get it on the green and let it run out and to use as little loft as possible.
In Seve’s own words
In a short-game video that Ballesteros made in Dubai he explains his fundamentals for a low chip and a high chip. And, unsurprisingly, they’re very similar, it’s just the club that is different.
“I’m going to choose the sand wedge. The reason for that is because the pin position is very close to the fringe. And also, I’m going to choose the fringe as a reference point.
“Now, let me show you the technique. First of all, I take the stance, the feet quite close to each other. The feet, the knees, the hips and the shoulders are all square but aiming to the left.
“Then, I put the weight on the left side, a little bit. Also, I keep my clubface a little open. I move my hands a little bit forward.
“Also, the ball is set up to the left heel. Now, I’m ready to hit. I’m not going to use any wrist at all, just like a normal chip. And I’m going to try to carry the ball just over the fringe.”
And the low one?
“Now, we have a very similar shot, the same distance. But, I’m going to choose a different club, the 9-iron.
“This club has less loft. The reason for that is because I have more green to work with. And also, I’m going to use the fringe as a referee point.
“The technique is very similar to the sand wedge. The only difference, again, is the loft.”
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Article Link: Level up your chipping game with this beautifully simple Seve Ballesteros drill