Golf Chipping Magic: How to Become a Super Chipper

I am a super chipper. Every season, I chip in 15 to 20 or so shots from off the green. Sure, I play a lot, but I don't practice a lot. I basically am a mid 80s to mid 90s golfer on a regular par 72 golf course. Golf is supposed to be fun and not a job. Tiger, Phil, and Vijay all spend hours on their game, and most of it is chipping ,putting, and half shots. The pros work on their short game. A lot.

Statistics show that 50% of all golfers never break 100. Possibly 35% manage to break 90 and only 5% ever break 80. With today's modern equipment, getting closer to the green is easier. So you drive the ball 250 yards with your $300 metal wood and your second shot with your thousand dollar set of irons winds up 10 feet off the green. Now what? Half the game is chipping and putting. This is where most people have trouble. Most golfers will use a 60 degree wedge or a pitching wedge and try to fly the ball up to the hole. Well, it's much harder to judge how far you have to fly the ball through the air, land, and roll up to the hole. I believe my method of chipping and rolling the ball gets better results. It works well for me, and I'm sure it will work well for you also.

Here's what I want you to do, take your seven iron instead of your pitching wedge. Rather than try to fly the ball to the hole you are going to strike the ball and run it up to the hole. The ball will fly through the air just enough to get on the green, and it will roll the rest of the way to the hole. You are basically going to do a long, putting stroke. It is easier to roll the ball than to fly it through the air.

I want you to turn your wrists on the grip so that you cannot use them. Choke down on the grip almost to the metal shaft of the club. You are going to use your arms and not your wrists. It is called a pendulum swing. You are going to play the ball a few inches off of your right big toe, off of your back foot. If you are a lefty, like me, then it would be a few inches off your left foot. By placing the ball off your back foot, your chances of striking the ball on the down stroke and letting the loft of the club do its work are greater. Your wrists won't be bending. Thus eliminating the chance of a bad shot. Think long putt, and not long chip.

Take a few practice swings to get a feel for the distance that you want to run the ball up to the hole. Now step up to the ball and try to run it close to the hole. By eliminating your wrists you are lessening your chances of hitting a bad shot. Treating chips as putts and letting the ball roll makes your chances of getting closer to the hole, much better.

Playing chips, as long putts brought my scores down measurably. If you are a bit farther than eight or 10 feet away from the green then try an eight or a nine iron. Remember, the idea is to fly the ball just enough to get it on the green and roll the rest of the way to the hole. Eliminating your wrists and using a pendulum swing works. Saving strokes around the green using this method of chipping and running will make your golf game better and more fun.