If you find yourself making a short chip onto the green, it usually means your approach shot did not find the target. Therefore, you are playing the chip shot as an extra shot you were not planning on having to make.
This does not mean you should not practice the chip shot, as it is a very important one in terms of keeping your scorecard together. In many cases, you will be chipping to save par or even worse and therefore many beginner golfers choose to ignore the shot.
However, by practicing the chip shot, you will save yourself crucial shots on the golf course.
Hinging your wrists is very important when playing a chip shot. This allows the club to get above the grass and make a descending strike on the golf ball. For right-handed golfers it will feel like the right wrist is being used to hinge the club on the backswing and then released as contact is made with the ball. For left handed players it will be the left wrist.
Do not attempt to play the shot like you would a putt. There is no hand movement when putting.
When practicing your chipping, try to stick to one club. Chances are, as a beginner, you do not have enough time to practice this aspect of your game with several clubs, so stick to one and become good with it. Try starting with the sand wedge.
When analyzing your chip shot, the key thing to remember above anything else is if you want to the ball to stop on the green. If your next shot is not a putt you have made a big mistake. Think about where the hole is located, if it is in the middle of the green you can have a good attempt at getting it close. However, if it is near the front edge or back edge of the green, do you want to risk trying to get the ball close?
If you misjudge the chip slightly, you will see your ball finish off the green and that’s the last thing you want to happen.
The chances of you hitting the ball directly into the hole from a chip shot are slim. With that in mind, you want to try and leave yourself the easiest putt possible. This does not always mean you must try and get the ball as close to the hole as possible.
Walk onto the green and look for any slopes you want to avoid. If the hole is positioned in a flat area, you can try and get the ball as close to it as possible without worrying about the difficulty of the resulting putt.
However, if the hole is positioned on a slope, an uphill putt is generally a lot easier than a downhill putt so try and keep the ball on the downward side of the hole. This will leave you an uphill putt you can attack, rather than a tricky downhill putt.
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