Chipping, What's the best technique?

[James_Black]

Well my chipping was pretty good until I tried out a load of different techniques and messed it up.

What personally in your opinion the best way to chip?

[EightBlue]

the are lots of techniques out there that all work, but most of them share similar principles

1) accelerate through the ball
2) keep your hands in front of the ball
3) keep the ball back of center to encourage the downward blow

personally, I take a putting grip (reverse overlap), start with only the toe touching the group and use a quick pendulum stroke similar to a putt.

the only big question people debate is which club to use. convention wisdom is to take the club with can get it on the great the quick (e.g. lower loft). my belief is to take the lowest loft club that i can i can take an aggressive swing with. (For me, I can be alot more consistant carrying the ball 20 feet versus 6).

[Leftygolfer]

The technique I have settled on is very similar to eight blue in the grip and little wrist. I use ball position and shaft lean to have a decending strike. I can get enough spin to control the ball this way. I have experimented with the hinge and hold but I don't have good consistancy. If I need to get the ball up I will add a wrist hinge to add speed. I typically use my GW, 58, or 64 depending on how much roll I want.

[granitegolf]

the are lots of techniques out there that all work, but most of them share similar principles

Point three of keeping the ball back of center is how I used to chip but now I'm experimenting with Phil's technique which follows these principles but rather than the ball back you play it forward off your front foot. Seems to be working nicely. Maybe it's just the newness feeling good or maybe there is something to it.

Thoughts?

[Gioguy21]

hands pressed forward to emphasize down on the ball, using ball placement in an open stance to determine ball flight...using various clubs. i.e. a running 54, mid 54, high/more spin 54, low 60, mid 60 and flop...

[bogeyhitter25]

I love my short game. I feel like I have a variety of shots that I can use. I can go up high, and stop it "stone-dead" next to the pin. I can bump-and-run a short iron into the fringe, and have it hop up onto the green. And I can chip with a lower loft club (4i, 5i, etc.), if it just trickled into the rough. I'm also trying to work the "belly" shot with a lob wedge into my game. But for me some basics that I try to think about when I'm chipping are just to a) hands in front of the ball at adress b) the higher the loft, the further back it goes in my stance c) try to have little wrist movement after impact.

[James_Black]

I know that putting hands infront of the clubhead will help with a descending shot but one thing.....
Won't that get rid of the bounce on the club? So it'll increase the chances of chunking the ball?

[Leftygolfer]

I know that putting hands infront of the clubhead will help with a descending shot but one thing.....

One thing I do is I play pitch shots around the green with an open face.

[RIduffer]

Point three of keeping the ball back of center is how I used to chip but now I'm experimenting with Phil's technique which follows these principles but rather than the ball back you play it forward off your front foot. Seems to be working nicely. Maybe it's just the newness feeling good or maybe there is something to it.

Yes, I'm chipping and pitching better since moving the ball position forward. It's easier for me to make a descending blow with the ball back in my stance, but I was delofting the club too much. With the ball forward, I just have to make sure I do Parts 1 and 2 correctly (accelerate, hands forward).

[mcfc_nick]

when chipping i put the ball onto my back foot, keep my hands forward through the whole shot and dont flip the club at the end, helps get a bit of check on it as well

[senorchipotle]

I know that putting hands infront of the clubhead will help with a descending shot but one thing.....

your hands should be ahead of the clubhead on every shot you make, with the exception of your driver and hitting a flop.

[iacas]

your hands should be ahead of the clubhead on every shot you make, with the exception of your driver and hitting a flop.

I wouldn't necessarily exclude those shots either (if we can measure right to the millimeter). Every shot. Sometimes it's close to being even, but almost never behind.

[sean_miller]

Well my chipping was pretty good until I tried out a load of different techniques and messed it up.

The best technique is repeatable, stands up under pressure, and works for a variety of courses and shots. Conventional wisdom says get the ball rolling on the putting surface as soon as possible. On longer chips from just off the green (assuming putting isn't an option) use the least lofted club that does the job. Play the odds.

[Awsi Dooger]

Chipping is one area where I wish I'd never heard the recommended techniques. As a teenager I played virtually every chip with a 7 iron, square stance and off my left foot. It felt extremely simple, basically a putt with loft. I had a very good short game. Then once we started subscribing to golf magazines I began experimenting with the back foot, open stance, descending blow method. It's never worked well for me. I think it inserts too many divergent angles, not ideal for me because I'm already a lefty playing right handed. I seem to fare best with the most square and simple approach. Over the past 10 months I've practiced chipping lefty and the recommended techniques are considerably more natural for me than righty, but I can't get the feel for proper distance unless it's a pitch and run from not far off the green.

When I play with my dad I'm always jealous of his chipping. He never strayed from the square stance, front foot, 7 iron method.

It's interesting to me that Phil recommends chipping off the front foot. He's a righty playing left handed.

[Fatphil]

Using a putting stroke for the weekend player works because you can use your hands and arms...to actually hit a pitch, chip or flop the way the pros do isn't easy..they set the angle at whatever point then they rotate thru with their shoulders and chests while holding the release and dragging the arms and hands thru...and using virtually no hand or wrist action.

This ain't easy unless you practice, but when it does work it's really sweet.

[GaijinGolfer]

I play a chip basically just like a putt. I play the ball a little foreward of center and use a putting stroke.

[Zeph]

I have one rule: Hit the ball first!

[Farm_kid]

Zeph is correct, but hitting the ball first is easier said than done depending on the how the ball is sitting in the grass. The club and arms should make a lowercase "y" as it contacts the ball and into the follow through.