Do you love chip shots as much as I do? Probably not! but here’s how to eliminate all those skulls and chunks from your game.
Firstly, we need to make sure your setup is helping you out. It’s similar to bunker shots, because what you have to remember is to get in touch with the ground. If your club isn’t striking any part of the ground while you’re swinging or you’re in the rough and you’re barely striking the tips of the grass, you have zero chance of striking the ball with the center of the clubface.
If you are set up to your chip shots with your weight on the back foot you are telling your club: please miss the ground. You’re always going to be stuck in between sculling it over the green and chunking behind the ball.
When you hit the ground properly it doesn’t stick. It’s going to glide right through because of that magical thing on the bottom of the clubhead called the ‘bounce’. So, if you are hitting the proper side of the club you’re good to go. Even if I hit this intentionally fat, I’m still going to get the ball in the air.
All I’m making sure that I do is keep my body over my front foot, stay stable, and then I just make a nice turn keeping everything swinging together (body, arms and clubhead in sync). Be sure to keep the wrists solid, and—most importantly—keep your rhythm and tempo smooth.
I see a lot of people who’ve been told, “Don’t decelerate on your chip shots!” So, they push the club through the ball hard with their arms…that’s a surefire way to scull it over the green.
Long to short
The key is to get your body stacked on that front leg and stay there as you turn. You want to see your follow through be shorter than your backswing. In all my chip shots, my rhythm doesn’t change and my backswing is longer with a shorter follow through. I’m not tense and I’m not pushing the club through and because I’m letting the weight of the club take me through. I can feel the weight of the club strike the ground and glide to a stop. My body finishes facing the target with my arms and club in front of me. If it feels good, it is good. Remember, golf doesn’t have to be hard.
I hope this lesson helps you chip like a pro.
