And I teach something called chip-putting but before I explain that I need to give you the definition of a chip shot. Because you’ve probably heard a variety of definitions on what constitutes a chip shot….but most of them are wrong. So here is the best definition of what a chip shot is…

Chip Shot Definition…a chip shot is a motion that is very close to the pendulum putting motion as it requires no independent wrist movement.

So a chip shot is not defined by how far the ball flies or rolls, but rather a chip shot is defined by the motion being very close to a pendulum putting action and it requiring no independent wrist movement. So if you are chipping the ball and you break your wrists then you have just hit a pitch…not a chip.

Now for chip and pitch shots I highly recommend you grip the club down the bottom of the grip.

Why?

It’s simple.  Just look at the way you hold a pen.  You don’t hold it at the top because by doing that you’d have very little control.  Instead you hold it down the bottom of the pen so you have more control.

And with short shots like a chip or a pitch you want full control of the clubhead.  You don’t need a lot of power, but more control.

So remember, for chip and pitch shots you should hold the club down the bottom of the grip.

Now the first shot I think you should learn is called a chip-putt.  And what this involves is setting up to a chip shot as though you are going to putt.  So you should use the same grip as you do when you’re putting. Here is a close-up of the putting grip I use to chip-putt with.

Now it’s important when you setup to chip-putt that you…

• align the club directly at where you want your ball to start
• have some flex in your knees
• position your hands so they are in front of the ball
• position your eyes directly over the ball
• have your arms relatively straight
• align your feet, knees, hips, shoulders all parallel to the starting line of your shot
• 55 – 60% of your weight is on your left foot

Once you are in a similar position to what I’ve explained above then you are ready to swing. Now to swing you need to understand that very little should be moving. And I want to go through the parts that should NOT be doing anything as you swing. So here are all the parts that should NOT be doing anything as you’re chip-putting…

• Feet – Nothing
• Ankles – Nothing
• Knees – Nothing
• Legs – Nothing
• Hips – Nothing
• Head – Nothing

All that should be moving to make the golf club move should be your shoulders, arms and wrists.

So to swing you simply have to concentrate on moving your shoulders, arms and wrists and keeping this triangle intact as you’re swinging. So there should NOT be any independent action from your hands. They should be dead.

Here is a picture sequence of swinging the club when chip-putting:

OK, here are a couple of other things that are VERY important.

1. Your follow-through should always be longer than your backswing.

Why?

Because this helps you to naturally accelerate through the ball. You don’t have to try and do it. If you swing through longer than you take the club back you’ll naturally accelerate through the ball.

2. At the end of every shot you should hold your finish until the ball has stopped moving. And while you’re holding your finish position you need to watch the ball and see the trajectory of the shot, distance traveled etc.

OK, so that’s all there is to chip-putting. Just swing your shoulders and arms keeping everything else still, and swing through longer than you did going back and hold your finish.

Now when you setup for a normal chip shot you should position the ball in the middle of your stance.  And your feet should be closer together than for chip-putting.  Also, your feet should be turned towards the target by about 25-30 degrees.  Here is a picture of the chipping setup needed:

Now at address you should still have some knee flex just like you did when chip-putting but you should stand taller than you did when chip-putting. But you don’t need to have your eyes directly over the ball when chipping.

You want the club face to be pointing straight at your target and you also want your wrists to be slightly bowed. To do this you may need to raise the club up so the heel of the club is off the ground. If so, do it. And don’t worry about it because you’ll be striking the ball first instead of the ground so it won’t make any difference as far as the contact is concerned. Also, you should grip the club with your putting grip. Finally, you should have about 60-65% of your weight on your front foot.

So it’s important when you setup to chip that you…

• grip the club with your putting grip
• align the club directly at where you want your ball to start
• have some flex in your knees
• position your hands so they are in front of the ball and bowed.
• have your arms relatively straight
• align your shoulders parallel to the starting line of your shot
• 60 – 65% of your weight is on your left foot

Like with the chip-putting action I explained, at setup you’ll notice there is a triangle relationship formed by your arms and shoulders.  So when chipping this relationship should stay intact as you’re swinging.  Also, your swing must be longer on the follow-through than it was on the backswing and you must hold the finish of your swing when you watch the ball flying and finishing.

OK, so that’s what you need to work on when chipping.  In the next part of this short game consistency and success series we’re going to look at pitching.  Make sure you come back to read that.

A lot of top golfers chip with their putting grip, but I want to quantify this.  Top golfers only use their putting grip when they are basically just off the green and can therefore use their putting action while using an iron to get the ball up and over the fringe and then rolling on the green as soon as possible, just like a putt. Doing this definitely cuts down on the risk of chipping.

You’ve no doubt heard the rule that your worst putt will always beat your worst chip, and that’s true but I want to add another rule here for you.  Your worst chip with a putting grip and putting action will always beat your worst chip with your normal chipping action.

Why?

Because your putting action should have many times less moving parts than your chipping action.  When using your putting action I suggest you have your normal chipping stance, but simply grip the iron with your putting grip and then try to create the same pendulum action that you should have for your putting stroke.  And unlike putting, use your legs to get some feel and rhythm into this shot.

Also when playing this shot, simply let the club do the work of getting the ball airborne and landing just on the green and rolling the rest of the way to the hole.  Practice this shot to get the feel of it, but it’s a great shot to have in your bag because…

“Your worst chip with a putting grip and putting action
will always beat your worst chip with your normal chipping action.”

Chip Shot Distance Drill

If you’re having trouble hitting your chip shots the correct distance in the air here’s what I suggest you do.

On the practice fairway or at home on your lawn you should set out 5 targets and put them in a line about 10 feet apart.  Now place a bag of balls about 10 feet from the first target and get out your wedge.

Set a goal of hitting 3 chip shots within a foot of your target, which in this case will be the closest target.  When I say a foot from your target I mean on the fly, don’t worry where these chip shots run to.  Once you’ve completed this chip shot goal move to one of the other distances and keep doing this chipping drill until you’ve completed all 5 distances.  If you complete this chipping task take a break, you’ve earned it, and your chipping will be much more consistent the next time you play.

To keep improving your chip shots using this drill, just increase the distances of the targets and vary the distances between them while experimenting chipping with different clubs.  With constant repetition of this drill your chipping and pitching will improve and consequently your scores will be lower.

If you leave the pin in when chipping does it give you more chance of holing the chip?

Well, it has been scientifically proven (by Dave Pelz) that you have more chance of sinking a chip if the pin is in the hole and there’s only one exception to this rule.

The only time leaving the pin in will decrease your chances of holing a chip shot is when the pin is leaning so far towards you that a golf ball will not fit in the hole.  If this is the case you can remove the pin and replace it back in the hole.  But what you can’t do is try to position the pin in your favor, i.e. so it’s leaning away from you.

If the pin is leaning away from you, this in effect makes the hole bigger and if the pin is leaning slightly towards you it helps the ball to go in as well.  Once again never try to place the pin so it’s leaning one way or the other just replace it and let it fall where gravity takes it.

If the hole has been damaged and that means no matter how you replace the pin it always falls toward you drastically, then take the pin out.  In every other case you’ll do better with the pin in and this applies to every shot off the green even if it’s only a couple of inches.

So here’s the rule: leave the pin in for all chip shots off the putting green and only take it out when it’s leaning towards you drastically.