How to Chip a Golf Ball: A Beginner's Guide

Chipping is the shot you play when you're just off the green and need to get the ball rolling toward the hole. Done right, it's one of the simplest shots in golf, and getting decent at it will save you more strokes than almost anything else you work on.

What a chip shot actually is

A chip is a low, running shot played from just off the edge of the green. The ball spends a short time in the air and most of its journey rolling along the ground, like a long putt that happened to start a little above the turf.

That's different from a pitch, which is a higher shot with more carry and less roll, used when you have an obstacle to clear or more green to cover. If you're curious about when to use each, the guide on how to pitch the ball for distance control around the green goes deeper into that decision.

For now, think of the chip as your go-to tool whenever you're close to the green, the ground is open, and you have plenty of putting surface between you and the hole.

Club selection: don't overthink it

Beginners often assume chipping means grabbing a sand wedge. It doesn't have to.

The loft of your club determines how much the ball flies versus rolls. A higher-lofted club gives you more air time and less roll. A lower-lofted club does the opposite.

A simple way to think about it:

Situation	Club to consider
Lots of green to cover, fringe is tight	7- or 8-iron
Moderate carry needed, some roll	9-iron or pitching wedge
Short carry, need the ball to stop sooner	Gap wedge or sand wedge
Very tight lie, firm ground	Pitching wedge or 9-iron

When you're starting out, pick one club and learn how the ball reacts with it. Many beginners use a pitching wedge for almost everything and get perfectly respectable results. Mastering one club beats fumbling with five.

How to set up for a chip shot

Setup is where most beginner chips go wrong. Get this right and the swing almost takes care of itself.

Narrow your stance. Your feet should be closer together than they are for a full swing, roughly shoulder-width minus a few inches. This limits hip rotation and keeps the motion compact.

Open your body slightly. Aim your feet and hips just a touch left of the target (for right-handed players). This helps the club move through the impact zone naturally.

Put your weight forward. Shift about 70 percent of your weight onto your lead foot (left foot for right-handers) and keep it there throughout the shot. This is the most important piece. Weight staying forward prevents the club from bottoming out behind the ball, which is what causes the dreaded fat chip.

Hands ahead of the ball. Position the ball slightly back in your stance, toward your trail foot, and make sure your hands are ahead of the clubhead at address. You want a forward shaft lean, not a scooping position.

Grip down on the club. Choking down an inch or two gives you more control and feels less unwieldy than gripping the full length.

Once you're set up like this, the actual motion is short and quiet.

The chipping motion

The chip swing is small. Think of it as a big putting stroke rather than a miniature full swing.

Your arms and shoulders do the work. Your wrists stay relatively quiet, and your lower body barely moves. That weight you set on your lead foot at address? It stays there.

Take the club back with your shoulders and arms together, letting your wrists hinge only slightly. Then swing through, making sure your hands stay ahead of the clubhead at impact. That forward lean you established at address should still be there when you strike the ball.

One useful thought: try to feel like you're "brushing" the turf rather than scooping under the ball. The club should contact the ball first, then the ground. If you hear a clean, crisp click at impact, you're on the right track. A dull thud usually means you hit behind it.

Follow through toward the target. Your finish should be roughly the same length as your backswing, maybe a little longer. If you stop the club right at the ball, you'll tend to decelerate, which kills consistency.

A common mistake: the scooping motion

Almost every beginner does this at some point. You try to help the ball into the air by flipping your wrists through impact, which raises the handle and drops the clubhead. The result is either a thin shot that rockets across the green or a fat shot that goes nowhere.

The fix is trusting the loft of the club. The club already has enough loft to get the ball airborne. Your job is to hit down and through, not to lift.

How to figure out distance and landing spot

Here's the most practical way to chip around the green without overthinking it:

Pick a spot where you want the ball to land, usually a foot or two onto the putting surface, and think of your swing as lofting the ball to that spot. From there, the ball will roll out on its own.

The ratio of carry to roll changes with your club. A pitching wedge might carry a third of the total distance and roll the rest. A 7-iron might carry less and roll more. Spending twenty minutes on a practice green hitting chips with different clubs and watching how far each one rolls is genuinely worth your time.

A good practice drill: drop several balls in the same spot, pick a target, and chip all of them. Notice which shots came out the way you wanted and what they had in common. You'll calibrate your feel faster than any instruction can provide.

When you're chipping from rough, the ball will often come out softer and with less spin. From a tight lie on hard ground, it can come out hotter. These things take time to learn, but being aware of them helps you make better decisions on the course.

Practice drills that actually help

You don't need a full practice green to improve your chipping. Here are a few that work:

• Towel drill. Place a towel a few inches behind the ball. If you hit the towel, you bottomed out too early. Aim to miss the towel on every chip.
• One-hand drill. Chip with only your lead hand on the club. This forces you to keep the handle moving through impact instead of flipping.
• Land zone drill. Put a tee or a small target about two feet onto the green. Try to land the ball within a foot of that spot every time. Focus on carry, not the final destination.
• Variety from the same spot. Chip from the same location with three different clubs. Watch how the ball rolls differently with each one. This builds your mental database fast.

Consistent chipping also makes your putting life easier, since you're more likely to leave the ball close. For the complete picture on finishing the job, the guide on putting for beginners and how to read greens is a good next read.

What to do when there's rough or a bunker in the way

If you have a bunker between you and the hole, a chip probably isn't the right call. You'll want more carry, which means a pitch or a different club selection. But if you're in a greenside bunker yourself, that's a different shot entirely, and the guide on how to get out of a greenside bunker covers the technique.

When there's thick rough between you and the green with no bunker in the way, a chip can still work. Use a higher-lofted club to help the ball clear the grass cleanly. The key is making clean contact rather than trying to dig through the rough.

A quick safety note: always check that no one is standing near your landing zone or in the path of the ball before you play. On a practice green especially, other players and pedestrians can appear quickly.

Frequently asked questions

What club should a beginner use for chipping?

Start with one club and stick with it until you build feel, a pitching wedge or 9-iron works well for most situations. Once you're comfortable with the basic motion, you can start experimenting with different lofts to match different distances and lies.

Why does my chip shot go sideways or thin?

Thin chips usually mean you've either moved your weight to your trail foot during the swing, or you tried to scoop the ball into the air with your wrists. Keep your weight on your lead side throughout the shot and let the club's loft do the lifting.

How hard should I swing when chipping?

Think about how far you want the ball to carry in the air, not the total distance. A shorter, quieter swing will carry the ball less, a longer swing more. Most beginners swing too hard and then decelerate. Smooth acceleration through the ball beats a big swing that dies at impact.

What's the difference between a chip and a pitch?

A chip is low and runs along the ground, like a glorified putt. A pitch flies higher, lands softer, and has less roll. Chips are better when you're close to the green with plenty of putting surface ahead. Pitches are better when you need to carry something (rough, a bunker, a mound) or stop the ball quickly.

Should I use a chipping wedge or a special chipping club?

Specialty chipping clubs exist, but you don't need one. A standard pitching wedge, gap wedge, or even an 8-iron will do the job fine. Learn the fundamentals with the clubs already in your bag before adding anything else.