Chipping can be one of the most daunting things to practice. Let’s face it everybody wants to see how far they can hit the big dog right? Right. But learning the correct chipping technique is one of the most important aspects of lowering your scores. Why? The answer is obvious 80% of your strokes are within 100 yards of the green. So let’s make that 80% a lower number shall we?

Put Down the Driver and Pick Up the Wedge.

In my own opinion becoming a better chipper is the number one best way to lower your scores. If you become even a good chipper I guarantee you will lower your scores by 5 – 10 shots a round. Just think about it, even if you missed every single green in a round, but got up and down half the time. You would shoot 81, barring a par 72 golf course. If you became an elite chipper, and got up and down every time, you would shoot even par. Which means becoming a better chipper is by far the fastest way to lower your scores.

There is no substitute for a good short game. You will never save as many shots with the big stick as quickly as you will with better chipping.

Here Are My 5 Best Chipping Tips

One of the best things about practicing chipping is that you can practice almost anywhere, not to mention for FREE! Also, improvements in your chipping can be seen in your full swing as well. So let’s get started down the path of lower golf scores!

Tip #1 – Get Better Contact

Contact is one of the most crucial parts of chipping, before we can go any further we need to get perfect contact every time.

This can be easier said than done. However, if you follow my advice I am sure your contact will improve.

To get better contact, we need to understand how the club should look at impact. The way to get the best contact is what is known as the “hinge and hold” method. This method was made famous by one of the best short game players ever, Phil Mickelson. Hinge and hold means that as you take the club back you create an angle with your wrists by leaning the club shaft forward. Once you create the angle all you have to do is hold that angle through impact making a downward blow on the golf ball.

This is the best tip for better contact that I know of. Once you master the “hinge and hold” method, you will be able to hit any shot you could imagine around the green.

Also, pick up Phil Mickelson’s Secrets of the Short Game video series here.

Tip #2 – Choose Your Weapon

One reason a lot of people are inconsistent when they chip is because they try to use a variety of clubs.

Choose the club you are most comfortable with and practice with that. For me, my 58-degree vokey is my favorite, but this could be different for you.

The reason you want to stick to one club all comes down to trust. When you HAVE to chip it close to shoot your personal best or shoot your first bogey free round, the club you have the most trust in will perform the best.

Tip #3 – Weighing the Risk VS. the Reward

When you are out on the course you are not always going to face a chip with a perfect lie from the short stuff. There are going to hundreds of different scenarios that you are going to have decipher.

For example, a shot played over a bunker to a green sloping away from you with water on the other side is a very high risk shot. You must think about the best way to play the shot in order to avoid a high number at all costs. The number one priority when facing a shot like this is to GET THE BALL ON THE GREEN! No matter where it is, as long as the next stroke is with your putter you have succeeded. No matter what you will at worse make a bogey, barring your putting skills are as good as I know they are.

Tip #4 – Leave It Below the Hole

Before ever playing a chip shot make sure to decide where you want the ball to finish if it doesn’t go in (it most likely won’t).

A straight uphill 5 footer is better than a downhill 4 footer with 6 inches of break. Always play to the low side of the hole. One of the biggest mistakes you can make is having an easy uphill chip and chipping it 5 feet past the hole for a difficult downhill par save. This is an unnecessary mental mistake that you should always try to avoid.

You would be surprised how many strokes you can shave off your game by just thinking a little more on the golf course.

Tip #5 – Dial in Your Distance 

One of the most crucial things to get right while chipping is the distance (which is also the hardest).

However, even though you will never hit every chip or pitch shot the perfect distance, there are ways that you can become better and better at it every day.

One of the best drills that I know of for practicing distance control is the 3 foot circle drill. Now I know what your saying, I’ve heard of that drill a million times. Yes, and there is a good reason you’ve heard it a million times, because it works.

To perform the drill, assemble 5 tees in a 3 foot circle around the hole (tip: use your putter as your measuring stick). Next choose 5 different areas around the practice green that range in difficulty. A couple easy, a couple medium, and one difficult one. You decide which order to hit them in, but you must hit all 5 in a row inside the 3 foot circle. This is a lot harder than you think, but if you can do it your chipping has improved significantly.

To make this drill harder, simply increase the number of chips in a row to 10.

Recommended books about the short game:

How I Play Golf       by: Tiger Woods