Think about it:  chipping is such a simple action.  The only stroke that you can make that is more simple at its core is a putting stroke, and chipping can certainly be done in a nearly identical fashion to putting.

At the same time, so many players have trouble chipping effectively.  Put some players just off the green with a perfect lie in the short grass and the results will be somewhere between inconsistent and disastrous.

It almost goes without saying at this point, but I have completely modeled my short game using the techniques outlined in Dave Pelz’s Short Game Bible.  This certainly goes for chipping too.  To summarize his chipping technique:

• Stand relatively tall, close to the ball, feet close together, turned about 20 degrees toward the target, with the ball positioned off the back ankle.
• Around 65% of your weight should be on the front foot.
• Grip down a bit with “dead hands”.  Keep the wrists firm and quiet throughout the stroke, but not tense.
• Use a finesse swing with the upper and lower body synchronized.

The setup is quite simple, really, and the stroke is even more simple.

One thing I want to examine a bit is how close we stand to the ball.  Pelz instructs players to “crowd the ball”.  I’ve heard it said that you almost can’t stand too close.

File that away for a moment and consider another part of the technique:  keeping the wrists firm.  One good way to do that is to bow them down toward the ground a bit.  Grip a club and hold it straight out in front of you.  Now bow your wrists down, making the club head move closer to the ground.  Then, simply address the ball with your wrists bowed like that.  Notice how that helps make your wrists a little more firm, making it easier to keep them from breaking side to side during the stroke.

Have you noticed what happens when you address a chip shot standing very close to the ball with the wrists bowed slightly?  If you noticed that it orients the heel of the club off the ground a little, you win a gold star.  That’s another part of Pelz’s technique, and other players and teachers advocate that, as well.

Getting the heel up helps keep from hitting the ball fat.  With a shallow swing, with the heel coming in first, it’s easy to hit the turf first, causing fat contact.

As I worked heavily on my chipping technique this year, I started to perceive that I was hitting the ball off the toe of the club.  Contact felt very dead and in the few cases where I contacted the sweet spot, I could tell the difference.

I started to question whether I had the heel of the club a little too high and whether I was forcing myself to only be able to hit the ball with the toe of the club.

I decided to experiment a bit.

For several weeks, I worked on standing just a tiny bit further away and addressing the ball with the sole of the club flat.  I started to notice better contact with the sweet spot.  Distance control was a little better.  However, I noticed something: I was hitting more chips fat.  I neglected to realize the specific reason for keeping the heel up a little in the first place.

I went back and reviewed the Pelz technique again and gave that method another go.  Almost immediately, I realized something.  Just like with my full swing, this year, my takeaway was faulty.  I was taking it away too far to the inside, instead of straight back and through.  Exactly like with my full swing, I was then experiencing toe-hits.

After a little work on my chipping swing path, I started to make more solid contact. My distance control got better, and I started hitting more quality chips.

I learned a few important things from this experience:

• Chipping is a seemingly simple action, and it is.  But there are many ways to ruin your chances of making solid chips. Learn proper technique and practice it.
• Learning in golf is not a one-time deal. It’s difficult to absorb everything you learn, and it’s easy over time to forget why something is done a certain way. I did this with my flat-sole experiment. On one hand, it was good to prove proper technique to myself. On the other hand, I could have saved myself some time by just referring to my learning materials in the first place to brush up.
• Even after a skill is learned well, it can just as easily be unlearned without attention to technique as time goes on. I grooved a faulty takeaway in my chipping stroke over time, just like I did with my full swing. It’s always good to perform checkups on your golf swing to be sure you’re not evolving your swing in a way that will be harmful later.  Swing faults don’t occur overnight.  It’s not enough to practice a technique until you start hitting the ball well.  Techniques should be re-examined to be sure they are being adhered to over time.

I’m back on track now, but for a while there, my chipping got hairy.  If you’re having trouble, don’t be lulled into complacency because it’s a seemingly simple action.  Re-learn your chosen technique and then be sure to maintain it as time goes on.

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