Chipping: the shot around the green that lowers your score fastest
A chip is low, short and simple, yet amateurs lose more strokes here than anywhere. The set-up, choosing your club by roll, and the two mistakes almost everyone makes.
In this article
Of all the shots in golf, the chip is the most underrated. It is short, needs neither strength nor a full swing, and yet this is precisely where the average amateur gives a round away: a ball just off the green that takes three shots to disappear into the hole.
In short: for a chip your weight is forward, your hands ahead of the ball and the ball behind the middle of your stance. You make a short, continuous motion without wrists, and choose your club according to how much roll you want.
Chip or pitch?
A chip is low and short through the air with plenty of roll, roughly a third flight and two thirds roll. A pitch is higher, with more air and less roll. The most valuable rule of thumb: get the ball onto the ground as early as possible, because a rolling ball is more predictable than a flying one.
The set-up
Narrow stance, hip width or less. Weight forward, sixty to seventy percent on your lead foot, and it stays there throughout: the single most important point. Ball behind the middle of your stance. Hands ahead of the ball so the shaft leans slightly towards the target. And a slightly open stance so your hips can rotate through. The motion itself resembles a putt: shoulders lead, wrists quiet, back and through roughly equal in length.
Club choice determines flight
Many amateurs automatically reach for the sand wedge, the hardest club for this shot. Choose instead by how much roll you need:
|
Club |
Flight and roll |
When |
|---|---|---|
|
7 or 8 iron |
Little air, lots of roll |
Plenty of green between you and the flag |
|
Pitching wedge |
Balanced |
The standard situation |
|
Gap wedge |
A little more air |
Less green available |
|
Sand wedge |
Lots of air, little roll |
Over something, or flag close by |
Same motion, different club: you learn one technique and vary only the selection.
Where to aim
Do not aim at the flag; aim at your landing spot, usually a metre or two onto the green, and add the roll. Practise with a towel as the landing spot; it works with foam balls in the garden too.
The two mistakes almost everyone makes
Scooping: you try to help the ball into the air, your weight moves back, wrists break, and you hit the ground or thin it. The fix: keep your weight forward and strike downwards; the loft provides the height, not you.
Decelerating: fearing too much distance, you slow the club just before impact. The fix: a shorter backswing and a calm acceleration through.
Both mistakes come from doubt, which is exactly why a clear club choice before the shot helps so much.
When not to chip
From the fringe with a flat line, the putter is nearly always more reliable: your worst putt beats your worst chip. And from thick rough right beside the green, a hybrid's wide sole glides through grass where a wedge snags, played with a putting stroke.
Frequently asked questions
Why do I keep hitting the ground first? Almost always because your weight drifts back. Keep it forward.
Should I use my wrists? Barely, on a standard chip. Wrists add speed and variability, and you want neither here.
How do I get backspin? For most amateurs that is the wrong question. Predictable roll beats spin.
At Zalm Golf we deliberately spend time on the short game during the Handicap 54 course, because that is where beginners see results fastest.