How to Hit a Chip Shot

Master the Basics and Transform Your Golf Game

For many golfers, the search for private golf instructors near me is driven by a desire to shoot lower scores. While personalized coaching is invaluable (and something I offer at John Hughes Golf), there’s one skill you can start improving right now that will transform your game: how to hit a chip shot!

Mastering how to hit a chip shot not only saves strokes around the green, but also boosts your confidence for every other shot. In this post, I’ll walk you through the basics of chipping and explain why sharpening your short game skills can be the key to unlocking your full potential on the course. Learning how to hit a chip shot will become your go to shot.

Why Learning How to Hit a Chip Shot Matters for Lower Scores and Confidence

A solid short game can be a golfer’s greatest asset. Here’s why focusing on your chip shots pays off:

• Save Strokes Around the Green: Each quality chip that nestles close to the hole can mean one less putt. A great chip shot can turn a probable bogey into a par, or a double bogey into a bogey. Over 18 holes, those saved strokes really add up and can be the difference in breaking your personal scoring barrier.
• Boost Your Confidence: When you know you can recover from a missed green with a good chip, it takes pressure off your long game. Confidence in your chipping frees you to swing more relaxed with your driver and irons, knowing you have a safety net. This peace of mind can transform your mindset on the course.
• Frequent and Versatile Use: Miss a green? You’re chipping. Stuck under a tree? A low chip-out might be your only option. You actually hit chip-shot style swings more often than you realize. By improving your chipping technique, you’re equipping yourself with a go-to solution for countless situations.
• Build Better Fundamentals: Because a chip shot uses a smaller swing, it’s easier to execute consistently. Working on your chipping will improve your overall impact position and touch. Many players find that as their short game sharpens, their full-swing consistency improves as well, since they’re training good balance and contact on every chip shot.

Bottom line: a good chip shot is one of the biggest difference-makers in golf, especially for recreational players. After learning how to hit a chip shot, it’s not uncommon to see golfers shave several strokes off their scores once they start dialing in their chipping. In fact, I often tell my students that the chip shot is your “get out of jail free” card on the course – it can rescue a hole when things don’t go as planned from tee to green.

Chip Shot Basics: How to Set Up for Success

Chipping might seem simple, but it requires the right fundamentals. In my YouTube video “How to Hit a Chip Shot,” I demonstrate that a few key setup elements make all the difference in hitting consistent, clean chip shots. Let’s break down the essentials of a proper chip shot setup and technique. To learn how to hit a chip shot, follow these steps:

By putting these elements together, you’ll learn how to hit a chip shot. And in turn, you’ll begin to hit solid chip shots that check and roll out consistently. It might feel a bit unusual at first (especially the closer stance and that toe-down club position), but trust me – these adjustments make chipping more forgiving and reliable. Practice them a bit, and soon this setup will become second nature.

Common Chipping Mistakes (and How to Fix Them)

Even with a good understanding of the technique, golfers often fall into a few common traps when chipping. Here are some mistakes to watch out for, and how to avoid them:

• Standing Too Far from the Ball: When you set up with your body too far away, your swing plane becomes very flat (more like a baseball swing). This makes solid contact inconsistent and tends to cause the club’s heel to dig or the face to close through impact. The result? Fat or thin chips that go nowhere near your target. Fix: Stand closer to the ball with your chest over it, and set the club more upright (heel off the ground, toe down). A closer setup encourages a downward strike and more consistent contact.
• Ball Position Too Forward or Too Back: Playing the ball off your front foot might cause you to scoop at it (leading to bladed shots that fly over the green), while playing it too far back can lead to hitting down too steeply or flipping your wrists to compensate. Both mispositions make distance control tough. Fix: Keep the ball in the middle of your stance (even though your stance is slightly open). This neutral ball position is key for letting the club bottom out naturally beneath the ball. It helps you strike the ball first, then turf, for that clean “pop” contact.
• Flipping or Scooping with the Wrists: Many amateurs try to help the ball into the air by flipping their wrists or letting their weight fall backward during the chip. This usually results in either chunks (hitting ground first) or skulls (hitting the ball with the leading edge). Fix: Keep your lead wrist firm and slightly ahead of the clubhead at impact. Trust the loft of your wedge to lift the ball. Think of maintaining the triangle formed by your arms and shoulders through the shot, as if you were making a putting stroke. And remember to stay forward on that front foot – no leaning back!
• Decelerating Through Impact: It’s tempting to swing big and then slow down, especially if you’re scared of hitting the chip too far. But deceleration is a common cause of chunky chips that flop short. Fix: Commit to a smooth, accelerating stroke. If you’re worried about distance, take a smaller backswing rather than intentionally slowing down at impact. A good rule of thumb is to accelerate through the ball and let the club swing to a natural finish. This ensures the ball comes off the face with proper energy and spin, giving you a predictable result.

By being mindful of these mistakes and their fixes, you’ll build better habits. If you catch yourself doing any of the above, don’t get frustrated—almost every golfer has been there. Just reset your setup and focus on the fundamentals you learned above. Even the pros have to remind themselves of these basics when their chipping goes awry!

Practice Makes Perfect: Short Game Drills and Tips

Knowing the technique is one thing; grooving it is another. The good news is that chipping is one of the easiest skills to practice almost anywhere. (You can even chip in your backyard with foam balls or into a net.) Here are a few practice tips to accelerate your improvement:

1. One-Club Mastery: Start with your favorite wedge (say, a pitching wedge or sand wedge) and get comfortable with your standard chip shot. Practice hitting that one club from various spots around the green until you can consistently contact the ball first and control the distance. Mastering one club builds a baseline confidence – you’ll know “from this distance, with this swing, the ball carries about 5 yards and rolls out about 5 more,” for example.
2. Experiment with Different Clubs: Once you can reliably chip with one wedge, experiment by chipping with other clubs like an 8-iron, 9-iron, or maybe a lob wedge. Changing clubs while keeping the same setup and swing will change the ball’s flight and roll. For instance, a 8-iron chip will fly lower and roll further, whereas a lob wedge will fly higher and stop sooner. Learning these variations gives you more options on the course without complicating your technique.
3. Vary Your Lies and Targets: In real golf, every chip is a little different. So practice from all kinds of lies – fairway, rough, uphill, downhill, even bare tight lies – to build comfort in each scenario. Move around the practice green and drop balls in different spots. Pick a target (like a specific hole or a flag) and try to chip each ball to that target from wherever you are. A fun challenge is to see how many balls you can get up-and-down (chip close and sink the putt). This type of practice simulates on-course pressure and makes routine chips on the course feel easy by comparison.

When practicing, focus on quality over quantity. Fifteen minutes of focused chipping practice (really working on your setup and landing spot control) will do more for your game than hitting a bucket of drivers without purpose. If your practice time is limited, consider dedicating a third or even half of it to your short game. You’ll often improve faster by sharpening your chipping and putting than by only smashing long shots on the range. As I always remind my students, “drive for show, putt (and chip) for dough!”

Conclusion: Take Your Short Game to the Next Level

Improving your chipping is one of the fastest ways to lower your scores and enjoy golf more. With the basics of how to hit a chip shot in your toolkit, you’ll start to see those tricky greenside shots as opportunities rather than hazards. Remember, even the pros lean on their short game under pressure—so developing your chip shot is like adding a secret weapon to your arsenal. Commit to the fundamentals, get out and practice, and watch as your confidence around the greens soars.

If you found these tips helpful, be sure to subscribe to the John Hughes Golf YouTube channel for more free instruction. I regularly post videos (like the “How to Hit a Chip Shot” video) covering all aspects of the game, from short game techniques to full swing drills. Subscribe and hit the notification bell so you never miss a lesson that could elevate your play.

And if you’d like personalized help with your short game or any other part of your golf game, consider booking a lesson with John Hughes Golf. There’s no substitute for one-on-one coaching when it comes to pinpointing exactly what you need to focus on. I offer private golf lessons in the Orlando area, golf schools, and even remote coaching options. Visit JohnHughesGolf.com to explore our instruction programs and contact options, or simply give us a call at 407-852-8547 to get started. My team and I would love to help you sharpen your skills, lower your scores, and have more fun on the course.

Now grab your wedge, head to the practice green, and start chipping away at your score today!

Check out our video about how to hit a chip shot!