Championing Your Chip Shots: 8 Expert Tips to Enhance Your Golf Chipping

Golf is one of the most popular sports in the world, and there are now almost 40 million players across the globe.

Some sports need you to be fast, and others need you to be strong, but on the golf course, skill is everything. There are so many elements to the game, and fine-tuning your abilities will help you become a much better player.

One of the skills that people often struggle with is chipping the ball. Knowing how to chip a golf ball consistently will improve your overall game and give you a strong edge over your competitors.

In this guide, we'll take a look at some key golf-chipping tips that will help you become the best player on the course. Keep reading for more.

1. Sternum Ahead of the Ball

Whenever you're doing chipping practice, do so with your sternum or the buttons of your shirt slightly ahead of the ball. This is a good position, so you want to get into the habit of doing it naturally. In this stance, you should have about 55% of your weight on your front foot.

Holding this position will help you get a clean strike on the ball. It will also help you keep your shoulders level which can help give you the best rotation on your downswing.

2. Ball Position

The ball position for chipping is a crucial element. If it's not quite right, you may limit your hip and shoulder rotation. Too steep of an angle when swinging can also result in catching the ground first which will ruin your shot.

Ideally, you want to place your golf ball between the inside of your back foot and the center of the stance. Be sure that you're standing close enough to the impact zone to produce a suitable pendulum swing. This should lead to a cleaner strike at the lowest point of your swing, producing greater friction, control, and spin.

3. Feet Close Together

The positioning of your feet is vital, and it's common for people to have them too far apart. Bringing your feet closer together will give you more freedom of movement so you can improve your shoulder and hip rotation. If they're too far apart, your upper body will be doing all the work.

For proper distance control, you need to be able to control your power and swing rotation properly. Typically, having your heels no more than two to three inches apart is ideal.

4. Soft Hands

This is crucial when it comes to chipping for beginners, and it may feel counterintuitive at first. It will help in several ways, such as enhancing your feedback, control, comfort, and feel. It encourages you to create a more controlled pendulum swing without relying too much on your arms.

Instead, you'll learn to rely more on the momentum that the rotation of your upper and lower body generates. This will help you guide the clubface for a cleaner hit. You'll also be able to judge the power of each strike better to further improve distance control.

5. Open the Clubface

If you want to increase the glide through the turf and forgiveness, opening the clubface can be very helpful. When you do this, it exposes the flange on the bottom of the clubface to the turf. This will help it glide across the surface rather than digging into the earth.

Contacting the turf can easily ruin shots, so this will give you some leniency. On top of this, an open clubface will make it easier to produce forward shaft lean without adding too much strength to the loft. This is one of the best ways to get consistently clean shots.

6. Wrist Flexion

Wrist action is one of the most important elements of golf, and reduced action can help with your pendulum swing while keeping the clubface square. Chip shots, however, still require a degree of wrist flexion.

A good approach is to maintain complete control of the shaft and clubhead at the back of the swing. As you make contact with the ball, you want to turn your hips for a better hit.

This will help you catch the ball at the low point of your swing and launch it along a controlled, shallow swing path. This is especially useful for bump and run shots as you'll need the ball to run more than it flies.

7. Tilt Your Upper Body Toward the Target

Another way to promote forward shaft lean is to tilt your body towards the target. Chips typically run further than they fly, but they also have some airtime. You need to compress the ball to achieve this, and you can do this by striking the ball at the low point of your swing.

Make sure your lead shoulder is sitting slightly higher than your trail shoulder at the point of contact. This will help you follow through to give the ball some air. If you have the right positioning at impact, you should be able to draw an isosceles triangle between your shoulders and grip.

8. Straight-Back, Straight-Forward

With shorter shots, the straight-back, straight-forward swing can prove very helpful. It makes it easier to produce a pendulum motion with a ¼ swing and follow through.

Make sure you rotate your shoulders and hips properly. If you don't, you'll have a harder time hitting the ball in the right spot.

Bear in mind that this swing tends to be less powerful. You may want to use a stronger lofted club to compensate. Despite that, you're likely to find that this offers you improved accuracy, especially in your short game.

How to Chip a Golf Ball Consistently

Knowing how to chip a golf ball consistently is essential if you want to become a better golf player. With that in mind, there's plenty more to learn, and you ultimately need to put it all into practice to improve your game.

The Links Club at Bruce Creek South is perfect for beginners and experienced players alike. The course is well-known for its architecture with several holes tucked between majestic old oaks and water features throughout. Book a tee time now and you can visit the course whenever suits you.