How to Chip in Golf: Simple Technique That Works

Every reliable chip shot starts from the same setup — nail this and the technique almost takes care of itself. Narrow your stance to about hip width with your feet close together. Play the ball in the center of your stance or one ball-width back. Put 60 to 65 percent of your weight on your lead foot (left foot for right-handers) and keep it there throughout the swing — no weight shift. Press your hands ahead of the ball so the shaft leans toward the target. Your hands should be over your lead thigh at address. This setup does three things: it moves the low point of your swing forward (ball-first contact), it de-lofts the club slightly (lower running shots), and it eliminates the wrist flip that causes chunked chips. If you do nothing else differently, this setup alone will cut your chipping misses in half within one practice session.

The biggest chipping mistake is trying to scoop the ball into the air. When you flip your wrists to help the ball up, the club catches the ground behind the ball (chunk) or the leading edge catches the equator (blade across the green). Instead, hit DOWN on the ball and let the club's loft do the lifting. A pitching wedge has 46 degrees of loft — that is more than enough to pop the ball up even with a descending strike. The feel you want: the butt end of the club stays ahead of the clubhead throughout the stroke. Your hands lead, the clubhead follows. After impact, you should see a small divot or scuff mark that starts where the ball was and extends forward — never behind the ball. If you struggle with the same fat contact on full iron shots, our guide on why you hit irons fat covers the same fundamental from the full-swing perspective.

Three mistakes account for 90 percent of bad chips. Mistake 1: scooping — trying to help the ball up by flipping the wrists. Fix: keep your hands ahead of the clubhead through impact. Mistake 2: decelerating — slowing the club down through impact out of fear of hitting it too hard. Fix: make a shorter backswing and accelerate through the ball. A short-backswing, firm-contact chip is always more reliable than a long-backswing, decelerated one. Mistake 3: too much wrist action — hinging and unhinging the wrists like a full swing. Fix: use a pendulum stroke with quiet wrists, letting your shoulders rock the club. Think of it as a long putt with loft. If you blade chips across the green, you are topping the ball — the fix is the same: keep your chest down and hands leading.

Different situations call for different clubs, and choosing the right one is half the battle. From the fringe with lots of green to work with: use a 9-iron or 8-iron — the low loft creates a bump-and-run that rolls like a putt. From 10 to 15 yards off the green with moderate green: use a pitching wedge — it flies a third of the way and rolls two-thirds. From rough or over a bunker with little green: use a sand wedge or 56-degree — the higher loft gets the ball up quickly and stops it faster. The rule of thumb: always use the lowest-lofted club that carries the ball onto the green and lets it roll to the hole. Rolling is more predictable than flying. A bump-and-run with a 9-iron is the highest-percentage shot in chipping, and it is the one most amateurs never try.

If club selection overwhelms you, start by chipping everything with a pitching wedge. One club, one setup, one technique. Vary distance by changing the length of your backswing — shorter back for short chips, longer back for longer ones. The pitching wedge is the most versatile chipping club because its moderate loft (46 degrees) works from the fringe, from light rough, and from 20 yards out. Master the pitching wedge chip first. Once you can consistently land the ball on your target spot and predict the roll, add the 9-iron for bump-and-runs and the sand wedge for high-loft situations. But one club for the first 10 rounds of chipping practice builds a fundamentally sound stroke that transfers to every club.

The bump-and-run (low chip that rolls most of the way) and the lofted chip (high shot that carries most of the way and stops quickly) are two different tools for two different situations. Use the bump-and-run when: the lie is clean, you have at least 10 feet of green between you and the pin, and there are no bunkers or obstacles between you and the hole. Use the lofted chip when: you need to carry over a bunker, the pin is close to the edge with little green to work with, or the ball is sitting down in thick rough. The critical decision rule: when in doubt, bump-and-run. It has a smaller margin of error because a slightly mis-hit bump still reaches the green. A slightly mis-hit lofted chip can chunk, blade, or come up short in the bunker. For reducing three-putts, getting on the green — even 20 feet from the pin — is always better than a creative chip that goes wrong.

Bad lies change your technique slightly. From thick rough: use your sand wedge, open the face slightly, and make a steeper backswing. The grass will grab the hosel, so aim slightly left (right-handers) and swing more aggressively than you think — the rough absorbs energy. Expect less roll. From a tight fairway lie (no cushion): use a pitching wedge or 9-iron with a narrow stance and hands well ahead. Play the ball back in your stance. The key is hitting the ball first — there is zero margin for hitting behind it on a tight lie. From a downhill lie around the green: lean your body with the slope (shoulders matching the slope angle), play the ball back, and accept that the ball will come out lower and run more. Do not fight the slope — work with it.

Place a towel on the green where you want the ball to land — not where you want it to finish. Hit 10 chips trying to land the ball on the towel. This drill teaches the most important chipping skill: picking a landing spot and hitting it consistently. Once the ball lands on your spot, gravity and green speed determine where it finishes — and those are predictable. Most amateurs aim at the hole when chipping, which gives them no reference for whether the shot was well-executed. A chip that lands 5 feet short of your intended landing spot and rolls to the hole looks good but teaches nothing. A chip that lands exactly on the towel and rolls 3 feet past the hole is a better chip — repeat it and the next one will be perfect.

For consistent chipping distances, use the clock system. Imagine your backswing as a clock face. A 7 o'clock backswing (hands barely past your trail thigh) produces a short chip of 5 to 10 yards. A 9 o'clock backswing (hands at hip height) produces a medium chip of 15 to 25 yards. A 10 o'clock backswing (hands between hip and shoulder) produces a longer pitch of 25 to 40 yards. The key: keep your follow-through the same length as your backswing. A 9 o'clock back, 9 o'clock through. This prevents deceleration and produces consistent contact. Practice each clock position with 5 balls and note the distance each produces with your pitching wedge. Write those numbers down — they become your personal chipping yardage chart.