Hitting the Ball thin when chipping or pitching

[1chaos52]

I used to have the same issue with hitting a lot of shots thin when chipping. I have changed my short game a lot the last few years and have found a good method (at least for me). I open my stance a bit and for a standard chip put the ball parallel to the tip of my right toe (right handed). I set up with my hands slightly ahead of the ball, and hold that position through the swing. My wrists stay locked throughout the swing. I very rarely hit a bad chip shot now unless the lie affects it or I do something dumb. I also gave this advice to a friend of mine who was an absolutely afwul chipper and it has helped him tremendously.

The other thing you can do with this method is change the height of your ball flight for the chip by moving it forward or back in your stance. A couple inches forward will get the ball higher, and with a decent ball and wedge in your hand you cen get the ball to check pretty quickly if that is the type of shot you need.

[bruno]

Try keeping your head still during your swing. no side to side, or up and down movement, but perfectly still and keep your eyes locked on the ball. It seems to help me when i'm not hitting my short shots good. Jack Nickolis once said his teacher when he was younger use to physically hold his head during his swings when he practiced.

[iacas]

What works fine for me:
1) weight forward
2) ball forward
3) usually a slightly open stance, feet close together
4) minimal wrist hinge ("putt with loft")

#1 and #2 work together (with #3). The more a chip becomes a "pitch" shot or a lob, the more my wrists tend to hinge. For most true chips, very little if any wrist hinge.