A new driver won’t make you a better golfer… these proven chipping drills will.

If you want to shoot lower scores, stop trying to hit longer drives and start working on your chipping.

Do you want to know the difference between you and a scratch golfer?

They get up-and-down when they miss the green.

Do you?

Phenomenal chipping will save you strokes around the green,  give you more tap in pars, and let you play the “stress-free golf” you always hear the pros talk about but never get to experience.

Imagine what it’s going to be like walking up to your ball KNOWING that you’re going to get up-and-down (or at least give yourself a great chance to).

No more stubbing or sculling…

just crisp contact and better chip shots.

Practice these chipping drills to get up-and-down more often and start shooting better scores.

1. The “Y” or Triangle Chipping Drill

As much of a chipping tip as it is a drill, this tip single handily improved my chipping the very next day.

The concept is simple, when you’re practicing your chipping focus on creating a lower case y shape with your arms and the shaft of the club (if you were looking at yourself straight on).

Put about 60-70% of your weight on your front foot and hold this shape throughout your swing, letting your upper body do the work.

Your upper body should do all the swinging of the club while your arms and wrists stay quiet.

This will ensure that you are creating a downward blow on the ball, letting the club do the work of getting it into the air.

It’s a simple chipping tip that will make sculling the ball over the back of the green a thing of the past.

This drill is great for short chips around the green and will typically produce a lower, more controlled, chip shot.

David Leadbetter does a good job of explaining this type of chip here.

2. The Hula Hoop Chipping Drill

This is a great chipping & pitching drill that you can do at the practice range, a local park, or in your front yard.

If you can consistently get your chips within a hula hoop distance of the hole, chances are you’ll get up-and-down a lot.

If not, make sure to check out these putting drills (because you should be able to make a 3-footer)

How to do the Hula Hoop Chipping Drill

1. Get a hula hoop (or make a similar sized circle with string)

2. Set golf balls in 5-yard interval from the hoop. 8 balls from 5-40 yards.

3. Start with the ball closest to the hoop, chip it, and have it land within the hoop.

4. For each successful chip move to the next ball further from the hoop.  If you miss one restart from the beginning.

This chipping drill challenges you to utilize multiple different types of chip shots.  See how far away from the hoop you can get before having to restart.  It’s a great way to track your progress and put some pressure on yourself when you’re trying to clear any of the stages for the first time.

3. Trail Hand Release Chipping Drill

I originally learned this drill from Butch Harmon, one of the greatest golf coaches of all time.

Butch made the observation that typical chipping “yips” are caused by the lead hand (your left hand if you’re a right-handed golfer) stopping just before impact and the trail hand flipping.

This happens because golfers try to “help” the ball into the air instead of letting the club face do the work.

The solution?

How to do the Trail-Hand Release Chipping Drill

1. Take your normal chipping stance – feet narrow, ball off the back foot, 60-70% of your weight on your front foot.

2.  Make your normal chipping stroke, except drop your trail hand off the grip just before impact.

3. Focus on keeping your lead arm swinging directly towards the target.

If you’re struggling with sculling your chip shots or having the occasional yips, get to the range and WEAR THIS DRILL OUT.

It trains your body to physically not allow you to do what the typically golfer with yips does (flip their trail hand right before impact).

4. Chip-a-Coin Chipping Drill

This is a great chipping drill that you can do from the comfort of your home.

Challenging yourself to chip a coin will not only train you make crisper contact with your chip shots, but also make chipping a golf ball seem a lot easier.

This drill works because it forces you to stay down through the chip and have pin-point accuracy with your wedges.

Simply set some coins on your living room carpet and try to get clean contact – sending the coin into the air.

I like to set a cup in the middle of the floor and attempt to chip the coins into it.

See how many out of 10 coins you can get into the cup.

***Warning: You may want to use an old wedge when practicing this drill. After a while the coins can start to make small dents in your club face.

5. Slam Dunk Chipping Drill

This is one of my favorite chipping drills to do for fun at the end of a practice session or when you’re trying to mix up your routine.

 The concept is simple: try to slam dunk your chip shot.

Pick a distance between 10-30 yards and try to slam dunk as many shots as you can (if any) straight into the cup without touching the green.

It’s a lot of fun and will train you hit your chips and pitches exact distances.

6. Par 18 Chipping Game

One of the best chipping tips (really general golf training tip) I ever received was to make sure to use games in your training routine.  Golf games keep your practice routine fresh and can also teach you to perform under pressure when playing against your buddies.

This is a great chipping game you can use to work on your scoring around the green.

How to play the Par 19 Chipping Game

Pick 9 spots (tee boxes) around the green all at varying distances and angles.

Play 1 ball from each spot as a Par 2.  Essentially creating a Par 18 golf course.

This game will work on all aspects of your short game including chipping and putting.

It gives you great feedback on the progress you’re making with your short game, and is a whole lot quicker than a full round of golf.

Do this drill 1 time per week and keep track your scores.

They’ll start dropping in no time.

7. The 10 x 10 Chipping Drill

This is one drill that I can say with complete confidence changed my golf game forever.

What the average hack doesn’t realize is that 2/3 of the shots throughout your golf round are going to be from 120 yards and in.

Yet most golfers spend all their time at the range hitting driver!

Think about that…

If you really want to shoot lower scores and play the golf you’ve always dreamed of them why wouldn’t you practice the shots that you’re going to have to hit the majority of the time on the course?

That’s like saying you want to lose weight but still eating junk food all day.

 It just doesn’t make sense.

This drill will help you dial in your distances from 10-100 yards so you can stick the ball close, make more birdies, and start shooting the scores you’ll be proud to tell your friends about.

How to do the 10×10 Chipping Drill

Find yardage markers (you can use alignment sticks and get them for around $1 a piece) and mark off 10-yard distances from 10-100 yards.

Practice carrying your shots EXACT distances.

Find out what swing produces each distance between 10 – 100 yard carries in 10-yard intervals.

For instance, I figured out that with my 58 degree wedge, the ball in the back of my stance, and 70% of my weight on my front foot: A 25% swing produced a 15 yard chip, a 50% swing produced a 30 yard chip, etc.

Learning the individual swings you need to produce every shot between 10-100 yards will be the single biggest thing you can do to shave strokes off your handicap and drastically improve your scoring around the green.

If you take one thing away from this post let it be this:

Golf is a game played from 120 yards and in. 

Forget about how long you hit your drives, and start focusing on your short game.

Use these chipping tips & drills to start playing the golf you’ve always dreamed of…

There’s no excuse for you to be sacrificing strokes on the course because of poor chipping.

Commit to spending at least 1 full hour a week for the next 3 weeks working on your chipping and I promise you it will drastically improve your golf game.

Imagine what it’s going to be like KNOWING that you’re going to be able save more pars, make more birdies, and turn those round ruining triple-bogies into easily manageable bogies every time you step on the course.

August Noble

August Noble was first introduced to golf at 7 years old. In 2013 he started seriously working on his game and was able to reduce his handicap from 19 to 3.4 in less than two years. He’s been helping other golfers do the same ever since.

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Phil Mickelson is up there with the greatest wedge players of this century thus far. He has pulled off some epic escapes in his time, but his flop shot off the putting surface on the 6th at Riviera remains my favorite.

Why bring this up? In this article, I answer the common question of if you can chip on the green.

I have simplified the jargon of the USGA rules to decipher whether it is permitted or not. In addition, I explain how local club rules play their part and look at the pros and cons of this action.

Are Golfers Allowed to Chip on The Green?

The short answer is yes, golfers can chip on the green. However, the more pertinent question is should golfers chip on greens. I have set out different situations below which condone and discourage those shots on the green. Let us take a look.

R&A And USGA Rules Of Golf

No R&A and USGA rules prevent you from playing a chip shot off a putting green. That means you do not incur any stroke penalties if you pull out a lob wedge on the dancefloor. However, golf courses may implement local rules to minimize the destruction of property.

PGA Tour

Under USGA legislation, nothing prevents the Pros from using their wedges for a good chip shot.

I already mentioned Lefty, then you have Rory McIlroy. At the 2020 Payne’s Valley Cup, the Northern Irishman chipped his 3rd shot on the par-4 4th to within a couple of feet. Setting him up for a tap-in putt for par.

Even though there is nothing illegal about it, traditionalists frown upon this behavior. Ask Mark Calcavecchia. He was booed in the late 1980s for chipping off the green at St Andrew’s despite the impressive result.

That didn’t deter the former British Open Champion, as he is seen using a wedge in the 2016 Senior PGA Championship:

Local Golf Course Rules

While the rules of golf do not penalize you for a chip or pitch shot off the green, your local club may disagree. Local clubs have the discretion to implement rules specific to their situation.

Many clubs do not have the capital or time to consistently repair damaged greens caused by amateurs’ inconsistent ball-striking abilities. Which is understandable. A green with the ground under repair looks disgusting and annoys other players. It is a surefire to lose members’ and visitors’ green fees.

I have never seen a club with rules that issue a penalty stroke for chipping on the green, but they ask that you refrain from that tomfoolery.

It is an unwritten rule. In casual rounds, you do not resort to such behavior. You won’t be penalized with an extra stroke. However, you will catch death stares from the members and maybe a word or two from the greenskeeper.

There is no tighter lie of the ball than on a dancefloor. That means you need to strike the ball cleanly without touching a blade of grass. Hitting the ground before or after the ball leads to inaccurate trajectory, distance control, and results.

Pros of Chipping on The Green

Avoiding Obstacles

The biggest pro of chipping on a green is avoiding obstacles, be it a bunker, fringe, double breaks, or rough. The design of some greens causes the fringe or a bunker to stand in your line. If you putt it, you would have to go around the hazard and risk the chance of a 3 or 4-putt.

When you absolutely have to chip from the green, I suggest using a lob or sand wedge. A pitching wedge and gap wedge carry excessive lofts for the green. For starters, you enhance the risk of destroying the green. Secondly, they do not possess enough loft and spin needed for a short chip on the green.

Distance Control

The average golfer seriously struggles to judge the distance of long putts, which is where chipping helps. It may be easier for some to better judge the power of the shot (as Calcavecchia found).

On the contrary, many experts in the game of golf would say a bad putt is better than a bad chip, and I would agree for the most part. Some players are better with a wedge than a putter. They feel they can control their shots and flights because of the loft of the club.

Keeping the ball on the ground exposes it to breaks and undulation of greens, which is overwhelming for an experienced golfer to comprehend, let alone a beginner.

Spin

When you putt the ball, you enjoy topspin. However, limited side spin and no backspin are produced. Therefore, chipping allows you to use the slopes and implement spin for added control.

Excellent Substitute For A Poor Putter

This ties into the distance control advantage. Chipping on the green works for those with a less than desirable putting percentage. Chipping on greens with complex breaks erases those factors and allows you to fly the ball up to the hole and reduce the impact of the slopes.

Cons of Chipping on The Green

Tight Lie

A tight lie is difficult to play from because you have no turf to work with. You have to strike the ball cleanly and not take any divot. If you catch the ground before the ball, you will chunk your shot. However, if you strike it late, you will hit it thin.

There is no margin for error on these shots. That is what makes them difficult for the average golfer.

Thin Shots

Following on from the tight lie challenge are thin shots. When amateurs attempt to play this shot, they are rightfully so afraid of vandalizing the green that they catch their golf ball thin. As a result, the ball flies low and past the hole.

Chunked Shots

A greenskeeper and club committee’s worst nightmare. The likely result of the average golfer chipping on the green is ripped-up grass. Golfers hit behind it and take out a chunk of the turf to not avoid a thin shot. The result is a shot with minimal spin and distance and a certain double bogey.

Damaged Green

I have touched on it significantly in this post, but chipping on the dancefloor wreaks havoc. This is costly to the golf course, causes additional work for the greenskeeper, and makes you the black sheep of your club.

Think about it. The more times greens need to be repaired, the higher the club’s annual expenses are. You, as the member or regular visitor, cover those costs. It is called increased membership and green fees.

Everyone loses in this scenario.

Erratic Distance Control

A mishit could send your ball flying past the cup or a few feet ahead of you. There is no margin for error on these shots. That is why the results are erratic for casual golfers.

Unhappy Greenskeeper And Members

Finally, you do not want to desecrate a green if you are a social butterfly and desperately seek the approval of others. Being on the wrong side of the powers that be and your fellow members is a miserable endeavor. They are a catty bunch. Keep them happy so that you can keep enjoying the game of golf without drama.

Matt Stevens

Matt Callcott-Stevens started playing golf at the age of 4 when Rory Sabattini’s father put a 7-iron and putter in his hand. He has experienced all the highs and lows the game can throw at you and has now settled down as a professional golf writer. He holds a Postgraduate in Sports Marketing and has played golf for 28 years.

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