How to Hit a One Hop and Stop Chip Shot: Spin Control Tips & Drills
Being able to stop the ball quickly can be very useful when on the golf course. Sometimes we don’t have a lot of room to work with, so getting close to the flagstick requires a precise shot.
However, this shot is riskier than other options, so accurate execution is crucial.
This shot combines technique and tempo like many other shots in golf, but with a much smaller margin for error. To gain confidence in this shot, you must dedicate the time and practice.
Before taking this shot to the course, review the tips below and perform the accompanying drills. This will provide you with all the information you need to incorporate this shot into your regular game.
One Hop and Stop Chip Shot (Key Takeaways)
Review these key aspects to help you gain an understanding of what it takes to learn how to hit a one-hop and stop chip.
- A proper setup to prepare your body for the right moves is essential.
- Create solid contact that produces the most spin possible without requiring a lot of club head speed.
- Maintain correct wrist movement that aids in the swing but doesn’t take over.
- Optimize your angle of attack to increase your ball striking consistency.
- Use the wedge differently by emphasising the leading edge and maintaining a neutral shaft angle through impact.
Contents
1. What do you want to improve in your full swing?
8 Tips and Drills to Hit One-Hop and Stop Chip Shots
Making a few adjustments and understanding what makes a golf ball one hop and stop is all you need to add this shot to your arsenal.
Review the tips and practice these drills the next time you’re at the range and start putting this shot to good use right away.
Adjust Your Setup Position for One Hop and Stop Chips
Like any good shot in golf, it all starts with an optimal setup to make it easier for your body to execute the shot you want. A proper setup is required for one-hop and stop chips due to the precision needed for the contact.
- Ball in the middle – If the ball is too far forward, you will get too much height and less spin. If the ball is too far back, the trajectory will be low, and the ball will roll out more.
- Narrow stance – Keep your feet close together to make rotation easy but not too powerful. Most of the energy is created with the upper body.
- Feet slightly flared – Allow your toes to point out just a bit to take pressure off your hips and lower back. You’ll be able to move more freely, which will allow you to hit this shot from a wider variety of distances.
- Stand closer – Moving closer to the ball helps the shaft become more upright, creating a steeper angle of attack. This helps the leading edge of the club get to the bottom of the ball cleanly and crisply.
- Video Timestamp: 1:20 – 3:12
Towel Impact Zone Drill
The most important aspect of hitting a one-stop and hop chip is getting clean contact.
Your club must strike the ball with the correct angle of attack, speed, and strike the middle of the face if you want to produce the spin required to make it check up.
If you only do one drill in this whole guide, let it be this one.
- Video Timestamp: 1:15 – 3:45
Towel Impact Zone Drill – Step by Step
- Lay a small towel down about eight inches behind your ball.
- Hit chip shots without striking the towel.
- As you improve, move the towel closer to the ball.
Optimize Wrist Action
Flipping wrists is a common error that many recreational golfers make. It’s a natural tendency to try to generate power and spin by overusing the wrists through impact.
To hit a one-hop and stop chip, your wrists should be neutral, but not static.
The best way to improve your wrist action (and overall golf game in general) is to track your wrist movement and tempo with Hackmotion. The advanced sensors measure even the smallest of movements and will assign specific drills to address your unique issues.
The Hackmotion system is like having a professional golf coach at your side at all times.
Stay on Plane Drill
Your clubface needs to strike the ball at the perfect angle to generate enough spin to stop the ball after one hop.
If your angle of attack is too shallow, then the ball can roll up the face too easily with very little backspin. If the angle of attack is too steep, you can de-loft the club, causing low runners.
This simple drill will keep your club on the correct plane to strike the ball efficiently.
For many golfers, this may feel like you’re swinging too upright, but that’s because most amateurs tend to sweep the ball with low and inside swing paths. Learning how to pick the club and swing more straight back and straight through is a necessity for the one-hop and stop chip.
Stay on Plane Drill – Step by Step
- Lay one alignment stick down along your body line to represent a general target line.
- Insert a second alignment stick into the ground at the back end of the ground stick, so it’s slightly more upright than 45 degrees.
- Take practice swings to get comfortable with the club, following the alignment stick on the ground, then moving up along the upright alignment stick.
- The downswing should be the same as the backswing, just in reverse.
- Keep the club head aligned with the ground stick for as long as possible before allowing it to finish towards the inside.
Trail Arm Drill
Although the one-hop and stop chip requires a bit of speed, it must also have a smooth tempo.
You can use Hackmotion for this as the app comes equipped with a metronome feature to measure and track your rhythm. You can use this with the trail arm drill to get your tempo dialed in while also improving your ball striking consistency.
Trail Arm Drill – Step by Step
- Take your normal stance at the ball with a short chip in mind.
- Just before you initiate your swing, remove your top hand from the club and grasp the topside of your trailing elbow.
- Take your swing with only your trailing hand.
Limit Your Forward Shaft Lean
One of the keys to creating a lot of spin with such a small swing is using the effective loft of your sand or lob wedge.
Too many amateurs treat this like a traditional chip and forward press their hands, which delofts their club.
For the one-hop and stop chip, we want to maximize the use of the loft. This is a good opportunity to mention that your grooves should also be spotless. A dirty club and ball don’t produce enough friction to create spin. Always keep your wedge and ball as clean as possible.
Use the Leading Edge
Your sand wedge is made with bounce on the sole. This is a little bulge on the trailing edge that helps your wedge glide through less-than-perfect lies, such as rough and sand traps. For the one-hop and stop chip, we don’t want to engage the bounce.
We want the leading edge of the wedge to slice through the top of the grass right underneath the ball so the ball strikes the middle of the face solidly.
The sweetspot of any club is not at the bottom grooves but rather six or seven grooves up. This is where you’ll be able to generate maximum spin.
Have the Correct Equipment
The best tools for the job are high-lofted wedges with low bounce. Once you get the technique down, you can produce this shot with your gap wedge and even your pitching wedge.
But during the learning phase, practice with a sand wedge and a lob wedge.
You may find that some of your shots are going too high and just landing softly. If that is the case, then review the swing plane drill above and also refer to the tip on using the leading edge.
Final Thoughts
The one-hop and stop chip is an advanced-level shot that will take some practice. But over time, anyone can learn it and use it effectively.
Understanding the mechanics is only half the battle; you must be able to put into practice what you’re reading and be self-aware.
For those who struggle with making changes, the Hackmotion system is perfect for you. It measures your movements precisely and alerts you when you’re off track. It comes loaded with drills to address your specific issues, so you can improve more than just your one-hop and stop chips; you can improve your entire game.
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