One way to take strokes off your golf game is to improve your chipping. A chip shot is a shot near the green that pops into the air briefly before rolling towards the hole. The setup and stroke are both important for this shot. 

A good setup for this shot is a fixed impact position. This is when you create your impact position at address, allowing for more control and fewer moving parts. 

  1. Take a narrow stance. You want your feet together to maintain a steady balance. Open your feet and hips slightly. 
  2. Take your grip with the grip in your palms and hands further down grip. For more control grip down to the club so your bottom hand is just touching the metal. 
  3. Position the ball back in your stance so the shaft of your club is leaning forward.  
  4. Shift your weight forward so you slightly favor the target side. Your weight distribution should be about 60% on your front leg and 40% on your back leg.

After the setup, the stroke is much like a putting stroke because you don’t use your hands. You want a slight acceleration from turning the lower body. Soft grip pressure is also necessary or the ball will go screaming off the green. 

With the ball back your club makes contact with the ball then sweeps the grass. The loft of the club lifts the ball onto the green where it rolls towards the hole. Practice with a pitching wedge to see how much it rolls then switch to a 9 iron, 8 iron and so on to learn how to select the right club for the distance. You’ll find that the roll increases as the loft gets lower. Remember that sand and lob wedges are used for a higher lofted shot called a pitch and don’t make good chip shots. 

Spend some time at the practice areas or schedule a lesson to get more tips on chipping.  Visit GolfIncline.com or call 775-832-1146 for more information.

This tip was provided by Neil Gunn, PGA Director of Instruction at the Incline Village Championship Golf Course. Visit the Golfing Tips page for more tips.