Chip, Pitch, or Putt: Which Shot to Use Around the Green
Learn when to chip, pitch, or putt around the green. A plain-English guide to short game shot selection for beginners.
When you find your ball just off the edge of the green, you face a quick decision: roll it with the putter, bump it low with a chip, or loft it high with a pitch. Choose correctly and you set yourself up for an easy one-putt. Choose poorly and you burn an extra stroke or two recovering from a shot that went nowhere near the hole.
Here is the short answer: putt when you can, chip when you should, pitch when you must. The rest of this guide explains why, and walks you through the cues that tell you which option fits each situation.
The Three Shots and What They Do
Before getting into when to use each, it helps to understand what each shot actually is.
The putt keeps the ball rolling along the ground from start to finish. You use a putter, you stand upright, and the motion is a simple pendulum. No loft, no air time.
The chip is a low-trajectory shot that gets the ball into the air briefly, lands it on the green, and lets it roll the rest of the way to the hole. Most beginners use a 7-iron, 8-iron, or pitching wedge. The swing is small and compact.
The pitch launches the ball higher and with more spin. It lands softer and rolls less. You typically use a sand wedge or lob wedge and make a fuller swing than a chip. Because the swing is larger, there is more that can go wrong.
When to Putt
Putting is almost always the lowest-risk option. If you can putt, you probably should.
The conditions where putting makes sense:
- The fringe is short and flat. Many courses have closely mown fringe that a putter can roll through cleanly. If the grass between your ball and the green will not grab the putter face and redirect the ball, go ahead and putt.
- The path to the hole is unobstructed. No humps, ridges, or deep rough between you and the putting surface.
- You are not more than a few steps off the green. The longer the rough you have to putt through, the harder it becomes to control speed.
When in doubt, a bad putt tends to end up closer to the hole than a bad chip or pitch. That alone is a good reason for beginners to reach for the putter first.
For more on reading the ground and controlling distance with your putter, see Putting for Beginners: How to Read Greens and Make More Putts.
When to Chip
A chip is the go-to shot when putting is not practical but the situation does not demand a high, soft landing.
Use a chip when:
- You have rough, thick fringe, or a raised collar between your ball and the green. The ball needs to get airborne just enough to clear the obstruction, then roll out.
- You have plenty of green to work with between the edge and the hole. A chip lands early and rolls. If you have 20 feet of green ahead of you, a low-running chip is ideal.
- You are within a few yards of the green. The chip swing is small and repeatable, which is a big advantage for beginners.
Club selection for chipping
The less loft you use, the more the ball rolls. A 7-iron will produce a shot that rolls three or four times as far as it carries in the air. A pitching wedge gives you roughly a 1:2 carry-to-roll ratio. A sand wedge sits closer to 1:1.
Pick your club based on how much green you have to work with. Lots of green? Lower loft. Tight pin placement close to the edge? More loft.
For a step-by-step breakdown of the chip swing itself, visit How to Chip a Golf Ball: A Beginner's Guide.
When to Pitch
The pitch is your highest-risk, highest-reward option. It takes the ball up steeply and brings it down softly, which is useful when you need the ball to stop quickly after landing.
Pitch when:
- There is an obstacle between you and the hole that you cannot putt or chip over, such as a bunker, a steep bank, or a sharp ridge.
- The pin is cut close to the near edge of the green and a chip would roll well past it.
- You are farther from the green and a chip swing would not generate enough distance.
The trade-off to understand
A pitch requires a bigger swing than a chip, and bigger swings leave more room for timing errors. Beginners commonly make contact either too early (hitting the ground before the ball) or too late (thinning the ball low and fast across the green). Neither outcome is pretty.
That is not a reason to avoid pitching. It is a reason to practice it so the motion becomes familiar before you need it on the course.
To build confidence with distance control on pitch shots, see How to Pitch the Ball: Distance Control Around the Green.
A Simple Decision Table
Use this as a quick reference when you are standing over the ball trying to decide.
| Situation | Best option |
|---|---|
| Short fringe, clear path, close to green | Putt |
| Thick rough between ball and green, plenty of green to land on | Chip |
| Bunker or obstacle in the way, tight pin near near edge | Pitch |
| Farther than 10 yards from green with no obstacles | Chip or pitch depending on pin location |
| Unsure and nothing is blocking the way | Putt |
When two options seem equally valid, go with the simpler one. A chip is simpler than a pitch; a putt is simpler than a chip.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I always just putt from off the green?
Yes, and many experienced golfers do exactly that when the conditions allow. There is no rule against putting from the fringe or even from farther off the green. If the grass is short enough and the path is clear, a putter is a perfectly reasonable choice. The main limitation is when thick rough or a raised collar makes it hard to keep the ball on line.
What is the most common mistake beginners make with shot selection?
Reaching for a wedge out of habit when a chip or putt would work fine. The wedge requires a more precise swing, and in a high-pressure moment beginners often skull it (hit it thin) and send the ball flying over the green. When in doubt, use the shot with the smaller swing.
Should I practice all three shots or just focus on one?
Practice all three, but spend the most time on chipping and putting. Research consistently shows that the majority of strokes in a round of golf happen within 100 yards of the green, and a disproportionate number happen within 30 yards. Getting your chip and putt dialed in will lower your scores faster than grinding on your full swing.
How do I get better at reading which shot to use in the moment?
Before each shot, stand behind the ball and look at the path to the hole. Ask yourself: what is between me and the green, and how much green do I have to work with after landing? Those two questions cover most situations. With practice, the answer becomes instinctive.
Does the slope of the green affect which shot I choose?
Yes. If the green slopes sharply away from you, a chip that rolls long can gain speed and roll far past the hole. A pitch that lands soft and stops quickly becomes more useful in that case. Conversely, if the green slopes toward you, a chip will slow down naturally, making roll-out easier to predict. Factor in the slope when you picture where you want the ball to land.