A Safer Short Shot

Chipping: A safer short shot.

By: Bruce Munch

Head Professional, White River Golf Club, Rochester, Vt.

In the old days of golf, it was not required to mark a ball on the green. As a result, situations occurred where one player’s ball was between the hole and the other player’s ball. Since marking was not required, a player could be "stymied" and might have to putt away from the hole to avoid hitting his playing opponent’s ball, which would result in a penalty. To overcome this, players learned to putt the ball with a lofted club and fly it over the opponents ball and hopefully, into the hole. This lead to the chip shot.

In modern golf we don’t face this problem but we might be faced with a situation where we are off the green and have some deep grass between our ball and the hole. If this situation didn’t exist, we could putt the ball from off the green and probably have a reasonable chance of getting the ball close. With deep grass between our position and the hole, this is not possible. To deal with this, we must take a lofted club and execute a putting type stroke known as a chip shot.

To execute this shot properly, there are a number of things you must understand. First, the chip shot and the putting stroke have much in common. For both shots, we should endeavor to keep the face square to the target on the backswing and follow through because fanning the club open on the backswing will lead to inconsistent directional control. The wrists should not be cocked and released, as this changes the loft of the club and will make distance control difficult. If you envision the club as an extension of the forward arm and maintain that relationship throughout the shot, you will have more success. Power is not a factor in putting or chipping, and therefore, with proper technique and practice anyone should be able to become proficient at both skills. There are also some differences between these two shots. In putting, I recommend that the ball be played forward in the stance to facilitate starting the ball rolling on the intended line. For the chip shot the ball should be played back in the stance to help create the descending blow that will cause the ball to pop into the air, carry over the rough and land softly on the green. When putting, I encourage a slight lean toward the target with no body movement on either the backswing or follow through. When chipping, I encourage a more pronounced lean toward the hole with no body movement on the backswing, but a moderate amount of body move, toward the target, on the follow through.

Once you have mastered the proper technique for the chip shot, try using different clubs to vary the amount of roll you get on the shot. If the flag were close, so you have very little green to work with, a sand wedge or pitching wedge would be the proper choice. If you have more green to work with, use a 9, 8, or 7 iron to allow the ball to roll a greater distance and reach the flag. Try chipping with a 5 or 7 wood if the rough is slightly deeper as the flat base of the wood will allow the club to pass through the grass more smoothly.

Once you learn to chip properly, you will be able to work on the bump and run. Let us say you are in the fairway, 25 yards from the green and today your pitch shots are not working. Take a seven iron and execute a chip shot that lands short of the green and rolls up on to the putting surface. Keep in mind, this will not work if you have long grass between you and the green because this is a rolling shot, but under pressure, this simple shot will work well.

Here are a few drills that will help you with your chipping.

1) Set up for your chip shot with about 75% of your weight on the lead foot. Now raise the heel of the back foot so you are on the toe. Take the club back and hit the shot without lowering the heel. This drill is designed to prevent a shifting of the weight away from the target on the back swing which often leads to hitting up on the ball, rather than down.

2) Grip down on the club so that the club shaft is against the lead arm. Now execute a chipping stroke without allowing the club to separate from the lead arm. If the club comes off the lead arm, you have flipped your wrists. Wristy chipping will lead to inconsistent distance control.

Learning the short game shots adds to the tools you have. Many times, the player with the most tools wins! Get it up and down for more fun!

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