How to Hit Short Chip Shots: 7 Simple Tips & Proven Drills for Consistency
The worst part about missing a short chip shot is that you are already so close to the hole.
Being just a few yards off the green and leaving yourself in a situation where you need to chip again or you three-putt is incredibly frustrating.
The good news is that you don’t have to overcomplicate the chip shot. These short chips should be simple, and if you follow these steps, your chip shots should improve significantly.
Mastering Short Chip Shots (Key Takeaways)
If you don’t have time to go through all of the tips on how to hit short chip shots, here are the key points you can take with you.
- Keep the backswing short and controlled; you’ll reduce the chance of error.
- Hands should stay ahead of the ball at setup and at impact.
- Check your lead wrist position and ensure it is flexed, not extended. Excessive extension in the lead wrist can cause you to hit chip shots thin or inconsistently.
- Always accelerate through the golf ball, even when it’s close to the hole!
- Your shoulders should turn; don’t let the arms and wrists move without the shoulders going too.
Contents
7 Short Chipping Tips to Lower Scores Around the Green
Short chips require a special kind of attention and confidence. Here are the most important tips to help you master this shot and stop being intimidated by it.
You should be excited to hit a short chip, as it means you are close to the hole and your shot is more likely to be a makeable one.
Hands Stay Ahead of The Clubhead
To hit a great short chip shot, you have to keep your hands ahead of the clubhead. Give the shot a slight forward press and ensure you maintain that throughout the swing.
If you want a great drill for this, put a tee in the velcro part of your golf glove. If you try to flip your wrist and lose that position of your hands, staying ahead of the golf ball, you’ll feel the tee hit the upper part of your hand as a reminder.
Pro Tip: Don’t exaggerate this concept; it delofts the club and can give you almost no control.
Smaller Stance for Smaller Distances
If you want the chip shot to fly a shorter distance, adjust your stance so that it will.
- Don’t take your typical iron stance with a short shot.
- Your feet can be almost completely together, which helps you get some control over your distance.
- Open your stance slightly as well to reduce the power being generated by your lower body.
- Keep your weight on your lead foot and do not shift it back at any point.
Flexion in Lead Wrist
A flexed lead wrist in a short chip shot leads to more consistent ball first contact. If your wrist is not flexed, you may be flipping your wrist to get the ball in the air.
HackMotion can be worn during your chipping practice to help you determine where your mistakes are with the lead wrist.
The advanced sensors will notify you if your wrists or tempo are off-course. The system is also equipped to suggest personalized drills to address your specific issues.
Control the Backswing
The further you take the club back, the more room there is for error. If you want to hit the short shots consistently, control the length of the backswing.
You can take the same length backswing and change out the club or your swing speed, or extend the length of your follow-through if you need a little extra distance.
A great drill is to take the club back only far enough that your lead arm passes your sternum.
See how far a chip shot like this gets you, and then play around with speed and club selection to get different results.
Always Accelerate
Accelerating through the golf ball is a must and works in conjunction with a shorter backswing. It helps prevent chunking and hitting behind the ball.
For shorter chip shots, you can take a shorter backswing and even slow down the pace and tempo of your swing, but you still need accelerate as you swing through the ball.
For this, you can use Hackmotion’s built-in metronome feature, which lets you set any beat-per-minute you choose.
Simply line up to a short chip using your first choice of club and a beat-per-minute that you’re comfortable with, then change club but not the beats-per-minute to see how it affects the shot.
Engage the Shoulders
On the short shots when the pressure is on, don’t forget to engage the shoulders.
The shoulders are more reliable than the hands and wrists. Even for these short shots, you want to use the more reliable, larger muscles that you have.
Shoulders don’t make a big turn, but they are engaged. The towel under the arms drill below will help you improve your shoulder movement so you can rely on this motion time and time again.
Try a Few Different Clubs
Stop using the same club for all chips and change things up. For short chips, you can use anything from a 60-degree wedge to a 9 iron. I wouldn’t recommend going with the 8 or 7 iron for these shorter chip shots because they won’t be as easy to control the distance.
Head to the practice green and pick a target for a short chip shot.
Hit five shots with your 9 iron, pitching wedge, gap wedge, sand wedge, and 60-degree wedge to see which ones are best at getting you close to the hole.
4 Drills to Improve Short Chip Shots
Use these drills together to solidify the information above. Applying these drills to your short game formula will produce positive results in a short amount of time.
Ladder Drill
Start controlling the distance of your short chips with this simple and fun drill. It’s easy to set up and can be played with a friend as well to add a bit of competition.
Adding pressure to your practice routine is always a good idea to mimic the on course nerves that you will experience.
Ladder Drill – Step by Step
- Lay down two alignment sticks just over a yard apart that are parallel to each other but perpendicular to your target line.
- Line up a short chip shot so you can hit your chip just to the side of the alignment stick.
- Your first chip should pass the first stick but stay short of the second stick.
- Your second chip should pass your first chip but still stay short of the second alignment stick.
- Your third chip should pass your second chip but still stay short of the second alignment stick.
- Continue this pattern until you hit a chip that either comes up short of your previous chip or passes the second alignment stick.
- Whoever can hit the most chips in this pattern wins. Or keep track of you’re attempts to try and best your top score.
Lead Arm Only Drill
Consistently solid contact is a cornerstone of successful short chip shots. If you use this drill you will be able to train your body to move in a way that promotes clean contact every time.
It takes zero equipment and you can even practice indoors without a ball on rainy or cold days. Although this might not be the most glamorous drill, it’s one of the most effective.
Lead Arm Only Drill – Step by Step
- Take your usual setup for a short chip and remove your bottom hand from the grip. You can let is relax by your side or gently grasp your trailing pocket.
- Whilst keeping your posture and tempo, hit some short chips with just your lead arm.
- You should still be engagig your shoulders to create power.
- Monitor your striking and adjust your ball position if needed.
Towel Under Arm Drill
If you find you use too much wrist action, or your arms are the primary driving force in your short chip shot swing, then perform this drill immediately.
It’s designed to put the power in your shoulders and reduce arm and wrist involvement. Once your set your wrists, they don’t need to move and Hackmotion will confirm this.
But using this drill will help you engage your shoulders to create consistent contact and predictable power control.
- Video Timestamp: 2:16 – 3:25
Towel Under Arm Drill – Step by Step
- Take a golf towel that’s big enough to go across your chest and be secured under each arm.
- Grip your club and take a few practice swings, ensuring the towel stays in place.
- Use Hackmotion to monitor your wrist action and tempo.
- You can hit short pitches effectively with this drill, focusing on the rotation of your body for power.
Alignment Stick Ramp
Control your angle of attack with this drill. You want to find the sweet spot between a swing that is too steep and too shallow.
This won’t take long for you to see what your tendencies are but it’s well worth it to know so you can avoid it when the pressure is on during normal on-course play.
Alignment Stick Ramp Drill – Step by Step
- Insert an alignment stick into the ground at roughly a 20° angle directly on your target line.
- At the bottom of the stick, place a ball about six inches in front of the insertion point.
- Use the alignment stick to guide your club on the backswing and downswing into the ball.
Final Thoughts
To get good at short chip shots around the green, you need to be very confident in your technique. It’s hard to make such a small movement and feel confident when you have a golf hole just a few feet in front of you.
Practice from a variety of lies and use the advanced technology HackMotion provides to ensure that you’re making progress. The app and system will record your results so you can always be focused on the area of your game that needs the most attention.
Using the Hackmotion system with the drills and tips above is like having a full time golf coach at your side. You’ll be able to improve all aspects of your game very quickly.
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