With chip shots, only close and in are acceptable.
Chipping is a directional function with an absolute need for near perfect distance. You may shift your weight or keep it on your target leg. Remember that your club selection, the ball’s position, and the left or right tilt of your spine all affect your loft.
Chipping is the next step to building a successful golf stroke. Putting used only an arm swing. Chipping also uses an arm swing, but adds weight transfer, the second physical element of the golf swing. (Body rotation, the third element, will be added with pitching shots and full swings.)
When you chip, bring the shaft of your chipping club as vertical as you can and try to feel as if you are putting. Try to make your chips just as you do your putts: only close and in are acceptable. The chipping stroke is an extension of the putting stroke; it should feel like a putting stroke, but you need to loft the ball and move it farther.
When chipping, use the middle third of your grip and never allow the clubhead to pass the back of your target hand. Try using a weaker target hand grip (with your target hand rotated toward the target) to prevent the clubface from closing. If the distance from the hole allows, use a chipping motion with a very lofted club to go over a bunker. When stroking, don’t dig. Just brush. Avoid striking at the ball. Simply finish the brush.
Spend a considerable amount of practice time chipping. You will need this shot many times during a round. A chip shot may be the key shot to placing the ball on the green, getting out of the rough, or avoiding a bunker or hazard.
Lessons 7 and 8 in chapter 6 explain how to teach your students to effectively execute the chip shot. Refer to chapter 6 to review how to teach the shot to your students. In this chapter, I will again cover the fundamentals of the stroke.
There are two chipping methods. The first uses an arm swing only; the second adds weight transfer to the arm swing. The first method will send the ball shorter distances than the second method, but may provide more control over loft and distance. The second method should be used when the ball needs to travel farther.
Both chipping methods use the arm swing. During the arm swing, your arms should feel light. They should hang directly below your neck. No reaching! Your arms should be suspended, not extended. They should feel loose and ready for movement.
Be careful not to cock your wrists. You should feel as though your forearms move directly away from the target. They are actually swinging somewhat to the inside, but you should feel as though they swing straight back.
The arm swing is like the movement of an elephant’s trunk when the elephant twists its head: the trunk swings as a result of the movement of the head. The arms are not manipulated, steered, lifted, or jerked, but simply swung. You should never feel a consciously directed rolling of your arms.
During the swing, your arms should always be directly in front of your body as you rotate. Do not let your arms pass your body or your body get ahead of your arms.
The second chipping method uses weight transfer to create a more powerful stroke. To chip the ball longer distances, use a more powerful swing rather than a longer swing. The more power the swing has, the longer it naturally will become. The second method of chipping uses your legs to shift your weight. Remember arms right, weight right; arms left, weight left. Do not sway!
The swing itself is a two position stroke. Practice moving from position one to position two with no middle. Contact is incidental. Think of the chipping stroke as an extension of the putting stroke. Smoothly flow from position one to position two.
Keep your spine slightly tilted, your knees slightly flexed, and your arms suspended during the one-to-two motion to establish vertical management. Raising or lowering your body or changing any of these characteristics will affect your ability to contact the ball cleanly. This stillness is required for all shots.
Once you have practiced the basics of the stroke, begin blending and coordinating the arm swing and weight transfer. You may need to experiment with different styles to find the one that suits you. The idea is to get the club started and get it full of momentum. Find your way and stay with it. Practice, drill, and use it on the course.