That beautiful, low-flying chip shot that takes one hop, checks up, and settles next to the pin is one of the most satisfying shots in a golfer's arsenal. It shows not just skill, but a deep understanding of how to control the golf ball. This article will teach you everything you need to know to anspin on your chip shots, breaking down the gear, setup, technique, and drills that turn wishful thinking into a repeatable skill.
Before we touch a club, it's helpful to understand what actually creates backspin. It's not some mysterious technique known only to Tour pros. At its core, spin is a product of three simple elements working together: friction, compression, and a downward strike.
Think of it like this: for maximum spin, you need the grooves on your clubface to "grab" the cover of the golf ball. This requires a few things to happen atimpact:
You can have perfect technique, but if you're using the wrong equipment anspin on a chip shot is nearly impossible. Two pieces of gear are most important for creating greenside spin: your wedge and your golf ball.
The club you use has a direct impact on your ability to generate spin. For a high-spinning chip shot that stops quickly, you need loft. A wedge with at least 56 degrees of loft is the ideal tool for the job. Sand wedges (56°) and lob wedges (58°-62°) are designed for these types of shots.
Just as important as the loft are the grooves. The grooves on your wedge are designed to channel away moisture and debris, allowing for the cleanest possible contact between the clubface and the ball. This is why keeping your wedges clean is so important!
The type of golf ball you play makes a huge difference. Golf balls generally have two types of covers: Urethane or Surlyn.
Surlyn-covered balls, often marketed as "distance" balls, have a harder, more durable cover. These balls are great off the tee for golfers who want to maximize distance and reduce sidespin on full shots, but that firmness prevents them from being easily "gripped" by wedge grooves on shorter shots.
Urethane-covered balls, commonly referred to as "tour" balls (like the Titleist Pro V1, TaylorMade TP5, or Callaway Chrome Soft), have a much softer cover. This softness allows the ball to compress more against the wedge's face at impact. The cover material actually gets squeezed into the grooves for a split second, creating immense friction and generating high levels of backspin.
If you're serious about learning anspin on a chip shot, investing in a urethane-covered ball is one of the best changes you can make.
Your setup dictates the kind of swing you can make. To create that downward angle of attack we talked about, you need to position your body and the ball correctly. Follow this simple checklist for a spin-friendly setup.
With the right tools and a solid setup, it's time to make the swing. The motion for a spinning chip shot is all about control and acceleration through the ball, not wild, handsy action.
The backswing for a chip shot should be controlled by the rotation of your chest and shoulders, not by your hands and arms. Think of it as a "one-piece" takeaway. The triangle formed by your arms and shoulders should move away from the ball together. Avoid breaking your wrists early. The length of your backswing will control the distance of the shot - a longer shot requires a longer backswing - but the motion remains the same.
This is where most amateur golfers struggle. Fearing they might hit the ball too hard, they slow the club down as it approaches the ball. This is the ultimate swing killer. You must accelerate through the shot.
Start your downswing by rotating your chest toward the target. Your arms and the club will simply follow this body rotation. Feel as though the speed of your swing is increasing all the way through impact and into your follow-through. A helpful thought is to feel like your belt buckle is turning to face the target as you hit the ball. This uses your body as the engine and stops you from relying on a weak, flicky hand motion.
The result of a proper setup and a good, accelerating swing is crisp contact. The sweet sound you're looking for is a "click" as the club hits the ball, followed by a soft "thump" as the club brushes the grass just after the ball. This ball-then-turf contact is the signature of a well-struck chip. It proves you hit down on the ball, which allowed the compression and friction needed for spin.
Never try to lift the ball. The loft on your wedge is designed to get the ball in the air. Your job is to hit down on it and let the club do its work.
Understanding the theory is great, but you need to practice to develop the feel. Head to the chipping green and try these two simple drills to ingrain the correct motion.
This is a classic drill for a reason - it’s extremely effective for fixing a "scooping" motion.
If you have a tendency to scoop or hit behind the ball, you will hit the towel. This drill forces you to create the steeper, downward angle of attack necessary to miss the towel and strike the ball cleanly.
A common fault is for the trail hand (the right hand for a righty) to become too active and "flip" the clubhead at the ball. This dill removes that possibility.
You'll quickly discover that the only way to hit a solid shot this way is by keeping your lead wrist firm and rotating your body through the shot. You simply can't "flip" at it with one hand. This drill does an amazing job of teaching you the feeling of your arms and body moving as a connected unit through impact.
Learning anspin on a chip shot boils down to mastering a few key elements: using a high-loft wedge with a urethane-covered ball, setting up to encourage a downward strike, and swinging with acceleration by rotating your body through the shot. Stick to these principles, practice the drills, and you'll soon be hitting crisp, checking chip shots that impress your playing partners and shave strokes off your score.
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