How’s your golf chip shot? You don’t need to be a golf theorist to know that the short game is the key (and often the downfall) of your golf score. This is especially true when it comes to putting, but also true when it comes to getting the ball on the green: chipping. Leaving a drive thirty feet shorter than your average on a drive can be made up for on the next shot. However, sending the ball skipping across the entire length of the green on a golf chip shot is definitely going to add an extra stroke to your score at the end of the day.

With chipping, unlike driving, the difficulty is in deciding how far you should hit it. Many amateur golfers just pull out the pitching wedge, aim for a few feet in front of the cup, and swing. You might as well be trying to make the ball land directly in the cup. When chipping, no more than half the distance the ball travels should be through the air. The rest should be on the ground, rolling. This is because the only part you can control is how far you hit the ball. The less distance you have to hit the ball, the fewer mistakes can be made.

“But how,” you ask “am I going to make the ball roll more than half the distance to the cup with my pitching wedge from 30 or 40 yards out?” The answer is that you probably can’t, but you can use different clubs. Just because you’re making a chip shot doesn’t mean you have to use your pitching wedge. You can use clubs as high as your 6-iron when you’re making a golf chip shot.

You should use your pitching wedge when you are very close to the green, either on the lip of the green or just a little bit back. In these cases, you should try to hit the ball halfway to the cup and let it roll the other half, taking into account factors like the incline of the green and whether it is playing fast or slow on the given day.

If you’re using your 6-iron, you should attempt to hit the ball one-quarter of the way to the cup and let it roll the other three quarters. Because you’re using a higher club, the ball will get less height and will travel on a trajectory closer to the ground. Therefore, it will roll further when it meets the ground. If you are using a club between the 6-iron and the pitching wedge, you should adjust accordingly. This is an important tip to execute the golf chip shot.

Remember, when it comes to chipping, the more roll you can get on the shot, the more control you have over the shot. Choosing the right club and then how far to hit the ball with that club is half the battle when it comes to your golf chip shot.

By: Patrick L. Jensen
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Drive for show and putt for dough. I'm sure you've heard that phrase before. You can probably expand that just a bit and include your entire short game in the dough part. And that means learning to chip like a pro. So how do you improve your golf chipping game to take strokes off your score?

Have you heard about KISS, aka Keep It Simple, Stupid? I think there's a more polite version than stupid but the meaning is the same. And it's true for improving your chip. Keep your chipping clean and simple. Don't over complicate what's involved in a good chipping motion.

It's important that your hands lead the club to the ball. This makes sure you make contact with the ball via a sharp, downward blow. Keep the hands ahead of the clubhead, all the way to impacting the ball.

Your chipping motion should be one seamless and continuous sweeping motion back and through. Have you ever watched a poor shooter in basketball that has some sort of hesitation in his shooting motion? We refer to him as having a hitch in his shot and it's what makes him a poor shooter. Make sure there is no hitch in your chipping swing. This will hurt your distance control and can also ruin your accuracy by sending the ball off-line.

When hitting a chip, think about tossing a ball underhand toward the hole. The chip is the same smooth motion.

These simple golf chipping tips will help you hit a better, more consistent chip. Remember, hands ahead of the clubhead and one smooth motion back to front.

By: Tim Hathaway
Check out more free articles and golf tips for improving your golf game at http://www.golftipsmadeeasy.com where avid golfer and freelance writer Tim Hathaway writes about ways to improve your golf game.

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Did you know that approximately 75% of all golf shots are made from within 120 yards of the pin. In essence, this means that your ability to hit a good chip shot can have a marked effect on your final score for a round.

If you're confused by terms, a chip shot is a low trajectory shot whose principal aim is to get the ball to roll. A pitch shot, by contrast, shoots the ball high into the air and carries it farther but is designed to have very much less roll.

Club selection is important for chipping and if you're just starting out then try using an 8 iron. As a general guide, for every foot that you put the ball into the air with an 8 iron it will roll approximately 3 feet. By contrast, a 9 iron will roll the ball about 2 feet for the same height and a 7 iron will roll it about 4 feet.

The next important consideration is your stance. For a medium distance shot you want to have your heels about one foot apart, decreasing this distance for shorter shots and increasing it for longer shots. You should also ensure that your stance is opened to about 30° and that your weight is shifted slightly onto your front foot.

Make sure the club face is pointing directly at the target and that your hands are positioned ahead of the club head. Most poor chip shots occur when the club head overtakes the hands and it is important to remember that your hands should lead the club head through the shot. Finally, make sure that the ball is positioned slightly off-center and towards the toe of your back foot.

As you take your shot keep your lower body relaxed and your shoulders lined up and parallel to the target line. The open nature of your stance may well produce a tendency to point your shoulders to the left and this should be avoided.

Because you're not trying to drive the ball any great distance, your back-swing should be relatively short. As a guide, the average golfer swinging back to his waist and accelerating the club head down will shoot the ball in excess of 25 yards.

Two of the most common errors seen in chipping are known as "chunkers", in which the ball falls far short of its target, and "skulls", in which the ball flies past the green.

Chunkers are the result of hitting the ball too high into the air and you need to be careful not to get too far under the ball so that you are hitting the ground or to scooping the ball. Skulls on the other hand result from hitting the top of the ball, often with the rising or leading edge of the club, causing a low shot which overshoots the pin. To avoid both of these use a smooth pendulum motion keeping your wrists still and just barely sliding the club head under the ball.

Every individual will chip the ball slightly differently and so you will need to experiment. Practice with a number of different clubs and get a feel for what works best for you. In no time at all you'll have your chip shots going exactly where you want them to.

By: Donald Saunders
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