How to Chip in Golf

Chipping doesn't have to be the most feared shot in your bag, in fact, it should be one of your greatest weapons for saving strokes. Forget complex movements and trying to scoop the ball into the air. This guide will walk you through a simple, repeatable technique to build touch and confidence around the greens, helping you get the ball close - and even hole a few.

What Exactly Is a Chip Shot?

Before we go further, let's clear up a common point of confusion. What’s the difference between a chip and a pitch? Think about the ratio of time the ball spends in the air versus on the ground.

• A Chip Shot: Low trajectory, minimal air time, maximum roll time. You use it when you're just off the green and have plenty of putting surface between you and the hole. The goal is to get it on the green and let it roll out like a putt.
• A Pitch Shot: Higher trajectory, more air time, less roll time. This shot is for when you need to carry over an obstacle like a bunker or when you don't have much green to work with.

For most amateurs, the fast track to lower scores isn't a 300-yard drive, it's being a master chipper. The good news? It’s a much simpler motion to learn and requires no athletic power, just a sound, repeatable technique.

Step 1: The Chipping Setup (Building Your Foundation)

A great chip shot is mostly pre-determined by your setup. If you can get into the right address position, you've won 80% of the battle. It might feel a little strange at first because it is so different from a full swing setup, but trust the process. It's designed to promote the exact impact conditions we need: a downward strike that contacts the ball first.

Stance and Ball Position

First, stand with your feet much closer together than you would for a full shot. Aim for only a few inches of space between your heels. This discourages your lower body from turning and swaying, promoting a very simple, quiet rock of the shoulders. Open your lead foot (your left foot, for a right-handed player) slightly towards the target. This pre-clears your hips and makes it easier to follow through toward the hole.

Place the golf ball in the back-center of your stance - just inside your back foot. This is one of the most important parts of the setup. Placing the ball back makes it easy to hit down on the ball, creating that low, predictable "squeeze" at impact.

Weight and Hand Position

Now, lean your weight onto your front foot. You should feel about 60-70% of your pressure on your lead leg. And here's the key: keep it there throughout the entire motion. A common mistake is to rock back and forth. You want to set your weight forward and keep it there from start to finish. This ensures you bottom out your swing in the right spot - just after the ball.

Finally, get a feel for your hands. Choke down on the grip an inch or two for added control. Then, press the handle of the club slightly forward so your hands are ahead of the clubhead. Your left arm and the club shaft should form a nice, straight line. This 'forward press' pre-sets good impact and eliminates the temptation to flip your wrists at the ball.

To summarize the setup:

• Feet close together
• Ball positioned back of center
• Weight (60-70%) on your forward foot
• Hands pressed ahead of the clubhead

Step 2: The Motion (It's a Pendulum, Not a Swing)

With our foundation set, the motion itself becomes wonderfully simple. Stop thinking about the complex sequencing of a full swing. Your goal here isn't to generate power, it's to make a consistent stroke like you're putting.

Rock Your Shoulders, Quiet Your Wrists

The entire chipping motion is controlled by your shoulders. Imagine a triangle formed by your shoulders and arms at address. Your goal is simply to maintain that triangle as you rock it back and forth. Your wrists should stay relatively passive. We’ve already set the correct hand position at setup, so don’t add any extra wrist hinge or movement. Let the club's loft do the work.

The feeling is very much like a putting stroke. Feel the clubhead swing back and then accelerate smoothly through the ball. The length of your back-and-through motion will control your distance. For a short chip, you might only take the clubhead back to your back foot and follow through to your front foot. For a longer chip, it might be from knee to knee. The rhythm, however, stays the same.

Focus on Striking Down (Ball Then Turf)

This is where getting your setup right pays off. Because your weight is forward and the ball is back, you don't have to try to hit down on the ball, it happens naturally if you maintain your setup. Resista the instinct to try and help or "scoop" the ball into the air. That leads to the dreaded thin shots that scurry across the green or fat shots that go nowhere.

A good drill is to place a tee in the ground just in front of the ball. Your goal is to swing and clip the tee out of the ground after you've struck the ball. This will train you to make a descending blow and compress the ball properly, leading to that soft but solid feel and a predictable bite on the green.

Step 3: Strategy & Club Selection (Get Creative!)

Now for the fun part. The best chippers rarely use the same club every time. Your goal should always be to get the ball rolling on the green as soon as possible, as a rolling ball is far more predictable than a flying one. This is often called the "minimum airtime, maximum roll" philosophy.

Before you choose your club, read the situation. Walk up to the green and do two things:

1. Pick Your Landing Spot: Don't look at the hole. Look for the smallest, safest spot on the green you can land the ball. For longer chips, this might be only a few feet in front of you.
2. Read the Roll: From your landing spot, read the rest of the shot like it's a putt. How will the green break? How fast is it?

Once you’ve got a plan, pick your weapon. Think of your wedges and short irons as a family of tools that produce different amounts of roll.

An Easy Way to Think About Club Selection:

• Sand Wedge (SW) / Lob Wedge (LW): Use this when you have almost no green to work with and need the ball to land softly and stop quickly. This shot has the most airtime and least roll.
• Pitching Wedge (PW): Your go-to club for many chips. It offers a good balance, roughly carrying one-third of the way and rolling the remaining two-thirds.
• 9-Iron / 8-Iron: The workhorses. When you have a lot of green to cover, these clubs are fantastic. They get the ball on the ground and running quickly. An 8-iron chip feels more like a firm putt. These are often the easiest and most reliable clubs to use when conditions allow it.

Experiment with this on the practice green. Hit chips with all three clubs from the same spot, using the same simple motion, and watch how differently the ball reacts. Soon, you'll develop a feel for which club suits which situation.

Final Thoughts

Becoming an excellent chipper comes down to embracing a simple, repeatable system. A solid setup with your weight forward, a putting-style stroke controlled by your shoulders, and making smart club choices based on how much the ball needs to roll will transform your confidence around the greens.

Having a trustworthy technique is fantastic, but we know it's easy to second-guess yourself on the course, especially from a tricky lie in the rough. That’s why we built Caddie AI. If you're stuck in thick grass with the green sloping away and unsure how to play it, you can snap a photo of your ball's lie, and the AI will analyze it and give you instant, tour-level advice on the best shot to play and which club to use - taking the anxiety and guesswork out of the equation so you can play with full confidence.