Chipping which club

Now that you have evidence from a practice session to tell you which club provides you with the best chipping results, you can reach for that club with a newfound confidence on the course. Much of the doubt about your short game will be taken away after spending a few minutes on this helpful drill. The Influence of the Lie. No matter where you are on the golf course, the lie of your ball plays a major role in the kind of shot you are able to hit.

Unless your ball is on the tee, you will always need to pay careful attention to the ground under your ball — and the grass around it. If you don't match up the kind of shot you are going to hit to the kind of lie that you have, poor results are likely to follow. The story is no different when you are chipping. As you get ready to pick a club to use for your chip shot, you need to carefully inspect the grass around the ball. Specifically, you want to look at the area directly behind the ball.

If there is no grass in your way, such as when you are in the fairway, you can pick just about any kind of shot with any of your chipping clubs. However, if there is tall, thick grass behind the ball, your options will be limited to a high lofted club like a sand wedge or lob wedge.

Following are a few different lies you may encounter on the course, along with some basic instruction on which club would be the best choice. While it helps to read about different lies and how they will affect your shots, the best way to learn is to simply get out there and find as many different lies as you can around the practice area.

Many amateur golfers make the mistake of practicing only from perfect lies when they work on their chipping. In reality, you aren't going to have a perfect lie very often, so challenge yourself by placing the ball in some tough spots. Your practice will be far more beneficial if you vary your lies and force yourself to adapt.

The more you practice, the better you will get at picking the perfect club based on the lie of the ball. Other Club Selection Considerations. There are a few other points that need to be made in reference to picking a club for your chip shots. Picking the right club for a chip shot is part science, and part art. You want to consider all of the important factors like the lie of the ball, the path to the hole, and your personal skill with each chipping club.

However, you also want to consider your natural instincts as you prepare to play the shot. Don't force yourself to hit a lob wedge just because the circumstances would normally call for that club. If you aren't committed to the shot for any reason, pick a different club and make it work. In the end, the only thing that is important when chipping is getting the ball as close to the hole as possible — it doesn't matter what club was used as long as the end result is a short putt to complete the up and down.

Which Club Chip? Do not ever force a shot. When in doubt, take a more conservative line and make sure you are putting on the next hole. Take the 56 degree wedge and fly it just far enough onto the green or fringe and let it roll out. The key here is to have soft hands and allow the ball to land softly.

It may take opening the club face a bit and remaining patient in the down swing. Take the 60 degree wedge and carry it just short of the hole and allow the height of the shot to allow the ball stop close to the hole. In this situation we are faced with very limited room for roll out. We are pretty much forced into one option. A short side is when you leave the ball just off the green closest to where the pin is located. These pins that are placed closed to the edge are tempting you to hit at the pin and miss.

This almost always guarantees at least a bogey or more. However, not all hope is lost and there is a chance to get up and down to save par with enough practice and the right club. Take the 60 degree wedge and play a flop shot. This typically consists of playing the club a bit forward in the stance with the wedge somewhat open. Aim a bit left for the right handed golfer and hit down and through the ball. The ball should pop up in the air and land softly.

Do not make the situation worse and leave it in the bunker or short of the green. Make sure you get the ball on the putting surface! You can practice chipping in many different places. Have you ever thought of chipping ping pong balls in your basement or living room if you have soft carpet?

This can help you get the right motion and get the reps in that you need to be a great short game player. Also, practicing at most public golf courses on the putting green is free.

Take advantage of that opportunity. Our recommended game after hitting chip shots for minutes is to see how many times you can get up and down out of Track your progress over time. Do not swing forward too fast or slow down ever. Keep a constant speed throughout your chipping. The death move in chipping is rapid acceleration which leads to the yips.

You must remain in constant motion. If you need help with this check out Tour Tempos ratio when chipping. I know, easier said than done, but we can set it as a goal. Find a way to use the bounce on your wedge. Watch what the pros do, they are using the bounce to provide a wider margin of error when chipping. When you use too much leading edge, it can lead to disastrous shots. Andrew Rice Golf Golf instruction - what is essential to the swing and what is merely style?

Use this option if you are close to the edge of the green and there is lots of green between you and the pin. Most of the total distance is covered along the ground. This is a good club to get comfortable with, because it will be used in most situations around the green.

This is the go to club if the pin is cut close to the edge of the green and you need the ball to stop quickly. Most of the total distance is covered in the air. Golfers Beware! Email Address. Sign Up. Latest Blog Posts:. Oct 18, Try This for Better Compression. Sep 22,