The Chipping Series, Part I: What Is a Chip Shot?

Stuart Lambert

6 days ago

9 min read

Understanding the Shot Before Learning the Technique

We have looked at the numbers. We have seen how often golfers at different handicap levels get up and down, how proximity changes as skill level improves, and just how difficult the short game can be, even for very good players.

Now it is time to start building our chipping game. Before we talk about ball position, stance, shaft lean, bounce, low point, club selection, or technique, I want to begin with a much simpler question:

What exactly is a chip shot?

It may seem like an obvious question, but I think understanding the purpose of the shot is one of the most important steps toward becoming a better chipper. Too often, golfers stand beside the green, grab a lob wedge, and immediately begin thinking about how they are going to swing. Instead, I want you to begin thinking about what you are trying to make the golf ball do.

That distinction will become a recurring theme throughout this series.

What Is a Chip Shot?

A chip is generally a short shot played from around the green in which the ball spends relatively little time in the air and more time rolling along the ground. PGA Professional Brendon Elliott describes the basic idea as a shot with more "run than rise," where the ball gets onto the ground relatively quickly and rolls toward the target. Bob Vokey similarly defines a chip as a low-running shot around the green in which the ball spends more time on the ground than in the air. “You want to hit behind the ball and let it slide through the ball. Don’t stop,” Roger Cleveland.

I like to make it even simpler.

A chip is a shot designed to get the ball onto the green and rolling. Think about that for a moment. The objective is not necessarily to hit the ball high. It is not necessarily to create a lot of spin. It is not to demonstrate how well you can use your 60-degree wedge. And it certainly is not to hit the ball directly at the hole and hope it stops.

The objective is to produce a predictable combination of: CARRY → LAND → ROLL

Those three words are going to be important throughout this series.

Carry. Land. Roll.

Every chip has three basic components.

Carry

First, the ball has to travel through the air. How far? Only as far as necessary.

If you are chipping over two feet of fringe before reaching the putting surface, you may only need a small amount of carry. If you are chipping over several yards of rough, you will need more. The situation determines the requirement.

Land

Next comes what I consider one of the most important concepts in chipping: the landing spot.

Before hitting the shot, I want to know where I am trying to land the golf ball. Not just where the hole is. Where is the ball going to land? That gives us an intermediate target and begins connecting chipping to the green-reading concepts we discussed in the Putting Series.

Roll

Finally, what happens after the ball lands? This is where a chip begins behaving much like a putt. The ball responds to green speed, slope and contours. It may roll uphill, downhill, left, or right. The hole is certainly our ultimate target, but the ball does not know where the hole is. It only responds to the conditions we give it.

That is why a successful chip requires us to think beyond simply aiming at the flagstick.

A Chip Is Not Just a Short Pitch

The terms chip and pitch are often used interchangeably, but I think it is helpful for golfers to understand the distinction.

PGA Master Professional Dr. Alison Curdt describes a chip as a smaller, simpler motion and a pitch as a larger motion involving additional wrist hinge and body movement. PGA instruction similarly describes a pitch as having more rise than run, meaning the ball spends more time in the air relative to the amount it rolls. For this series, I want to keep the distinction practical:

CHIP - Lower trajectory, less carry, more roll, smaller motion

PITCH - Higher trajector, more carry, less roll, arger motion

Those are general characteristics rather than absolute rules. There will always be shots that fall somewhere between the two. And that is okay. Golf does not care what we call the shot.

What matters is whether we understand what the ball needs to do.

When Should I Chip?

Here is where the decision-making begins. When you miss a green, your first question should not be: "Which wedge should I use?" Instead, look at the shot in front of you.

Ask yourself:
Can I putt it?
If putting is not a good option:
Can I chip it?
If chipping is not practical:
Do I need to pitch it?

That gives us a simple progression: PUTT → CHIP → PITCH

This is not an absolute rule. Golf rarely gives us absolutes. It is a decision-making framework.

My preference is generally to choose the simplest shot that allows me to accomplish what the situation requires.

Why?

Because every additional variable creates another opportunity for something to go wrong. If I can putt the ball effectively, I do not need to worry about controlling trajectory or landing point. If I need to carry a little rough but have plenty of green available, a chip may be the simplest option. If I need to carry a bunker, rough, slope, or another obstacle and stop the ball relatively quickly, then I may need the additional trajectory of a pitch.

The shot should fit the situation.

Start With the Lie

Before choosing the club or the shot, look down. What is the ball sitting on?

A perfect fairway lie gives us options.
A ball sitting down in thick rough gives us fewer options.
A tight lie may require a different decision than a fluffy lie.
Wet grass can influence contact.
The grain can influence how the club interacts with the turf.
An uphill or downhill lie can change trajectory.
This is why I do not believe in automatically grabbing the same wedge every time you miss a green.
The golf course is giving you information.

Your job is to read it.

Later in this series, we will dedicate an entire article to reading the lie. For now, I simply want you to begin noticing it. Before you pull a club: Look at the ball.

How Much Green Do I Have?

Next, look between the ball and the hole. How much putting surface do you have available? This can dramatically influence the type of shot you choose. Imagine two balls sitting five yards off the green. The first hole is 40 feet onto the putting surface. The second hole is only five feet onto the green. The balls are the same distance from the green.

But they are not the same chip shot.

The first gives us plenty of room to land the ball and let it roll. The second gives us very little.

That distinction matters. The more green I have available, the more options I generally have.

Where Should the Ball Land?

Now we begin working backward from the hole. This is an important concept. Instead of standing over the ball and looking only at the flagstick, start thinking about the path the ball needs to travel.

I want you to begin asking: Where does this ball need to land so that it can roll toward the hole?

That landing spot may be only a few feet onto the green. It may be farther onto the putting surface.

It will change based on your club, trajectory, green speed, slope, lie, and the shot you are trying to create. But identifying it gives your chip structure. Now you are no longer trying to hit a vague shot "somewhere near the hole."

You have a plan.

Carry it there.
Let it land there.
Let it roll from there.

Read the Chip Like a Putt

This is where our Putting Series becomes especially valuable. Once the golf ball lands, gravity does not suddenly stop working because you used a wedge. The ball is rolling across a putting surface. That means we need to read the green. If the chip is downhill, the ball may roll farther. If it is uphill, it may require more energy. If the green slopes from right to left, the ball may break from right to left. If the landing area is on a downslope, the ball may release differently than it would when landing into an upslope.

Titleist short-game instruction emphasizes considering factors such as green firmness, grain, hole location, available green and lie when deciding what type of shot is required.

So instead of seeing:

BALL ---------------- HOLE

I want you to start seeing: BALL → CARRY → LANDING SPOT → ROLL → HOLE

That is a very different way of looking at a chip shot. And, in my experience, a much more useful one.

Do Not Automatically Reach for the Lob Wedge

This is going to be an important theme throughout the Chipping Series. Many golfers have a "chipping club." Often it is the sand wedge. Sometimes it is the lob wedge. They miss a green, walk to the bag, grab that club, and then try to manufacture whatever shot is required.

But remember what we learned in Let's Geek Out: Chipping by the Numbers. Different clubs create different relationships between carry and roll. PGA instruction specifically recommends experimenting with different clubs around the green rather than relying exclusively on highly lofted wedges.

That means your 8-iron can be a chipping club.
Your 9-iron can be a chipping club.
Your pitching wedge can be a chipping club.
Your gap wedge can be a chipping club.
Your sand wedge can be a chipping club.
And, depending on the situation, even a hybrid can be used around the green.

We will get much deeper into this in Part II: Choose the Right Club. For now, I simply want to introduce the idea that club selection should follow shot selection. Determine what the ball needs to do first. Then choose the club that makes that shot easier to produce.

The Simplest Shot Is Often the Smartest Shot

Golfers love impressive short-game shots. The high flop shot that lands softly beside the hole looks fantastic. But if I can accomplish the same objective with a simple chip that stays close to the ground and rolls like a putt, why introduce additional difficulty?

There are times when we need height.

There are times when we need spin.

There are times when we have no choice but to carry the ball farther and stop it quickly.

We will learn those shots. But they should be solutions to specific problems, not our automatic choice every time we miss a green. The objective is not to hit the most impressive shot.

The objective is to hit the appropriate shot.

Change the Way You Look at the Shot

The next time you are beside the green, do something different. Before reaching for a club, stand behind the ball and look at the entire shot. Start at the hole. Work backward.

How will the ball roll toward the hole?
Where does it need to land?
How far does it need to carry?
What obstacles do I need to avoid?
What is the lie?
How much green do I have available?

Then ask: What is the simplest shot I can play from here?

Now choose the club. That sequence is intentional.

READ → PLAN → CHOOSE → EXECUTE

Not: GRAB A WEDGE → FIGURE IT OUT

That small change in thinking can make a significant difference.

Practice With a Purpose

Here is your first assignment for the Chipping Series.

Go to the practice green with four clubs:

8-iron, pitching wedge, sand wedge, and putter.
Choose one relatively straightforward location just off the green.
Do not worry about technique yet.
Instead, hit several balls with each club and simply observe.
How high does each ball launch?
How far does it carry?
Where does it land?
How far does it roll?
Which club makes the shot feel easiest?
Which one gives you the most predictable result?
Then move the hole.
Try it again.

You are not trying to determine which club is your permanent "chipping club." You are learning how different tools produce different outcomes. That is purposeful practice. And it begins developing one of the most important skills you can have around the green: the ability to see the shot before you hit it.

The Chipping Series Continues

We now understand the basic objective. A chip is not simply a little swing with a wedge. It is a planned shot. We assess the lie. We read the green. We determine how much carry is required. We identify a landing spot. We anticipate the roll. Then we select the club that gives us the best opportunity to produce that result.

Carry. Land. Roll.

Keep those three words in mind. Because in The Chipping Series, Part II, we are going to take the next step:

Choose the Right Club: Understanding Loft, Carry, and Roll

We will look at what happens when you play essentially the same chip with different clubs, why an 8-iron behaves differently from a pitching wedge or sand wedge, and how understanding the relationship between loft, carry, and roll can make club selection around the green much simpler.

The goal is not to develop one chip shot.

The goal is to develop a chipping system you can trust.

Practice With a Purpose. Play With a Purpose. Get Up & Down.

Stuart Lambert, PGA Lambert Golf Academy

For further reading, the PGA of America has useful explanations of both the distinction between chipping and pitching and the basic dynamics of a chip shot: PGA of America — The Difference Between a Chip Shot and Pitch Shot and PGA of America — The Dynamics of Chipping.