Hello, Daily Duffer readers! Sarah Chen here, ready to help you shave strokes off your game. As a PGA-certified instructor with over 15 years of experience, I’ve seen firsthand how a strong short game can truly transform a golfer’s scores, whether you’re a seasoned pro or just starting your golf journey. Today, we’re diving into the crucial art of chipping and pitching, often called the “low-hanging fruit” of scoring.
It’s no secret that even tour professionals only hit an average of 13 to 14 greens per round. This means they rely heavily on their short game to save pars and make birdies. For the rest of us, if you’re hitting only three or four greens per round, improving your chipping and pitching isn’t just an option—it’s essential for bringing those scores down. As the source article insightfully puts it:
“Oftentimes I will hear instructors say that if you want to knock a shot or two off your scores in short order start with the low hanging fruit. And that, for the vast majority of golfers, would be chipping and pitching.”
So, let’s break down the fundamentals to help you gain confidence around the greens.
Mastering the Setup: Your Foundation for Success
Every great shot begins with a great setup. For chipping and pitching, your stance, weight distribution, and hand position are key. Think of these as your launchpad for consistent contact.
- Feet Together for Chips, Wider for Pitches: For chip shots, where the ball stays low and rolls more, keep your feet close together – about a clubhead’s width apart. This reduces unnecessary body movement and promotes a more arms-focused stroke. For pitch shots, which require more loft and carry, widen your stance slightly to allow for a fuller, more dynamic swing.
- Lead Foot Dominance: This is a crucial concept. For *every* short game shot, you want 60-70% of your weight on your lead foot (your left foot for right-handed golfers). This pre-sets you in a forward lean, helping you hit down on the ball, ensuring ball-first contact, and preventing those dreaded fat shots.
- Ball Position: With chip shots, place the ball slightly back of center in your stance. For pitch shots, a more centered ball position works well.
- Hands Ahead of the Ball: Always have your hands slightly ahead of the ball. This encourages a downward strike and helps you use the club’s loft effectively.
My students often struggle with solid contact, and nine times out of ten, it comes back to an improper setup, especially weight distribution. Remember, we’re trying to hit the ball first, then the turf, and this lead-weighted setup is your best friend!
The “Y” and “L” Shapes: Visualizing Your Swing
To keep your short game consistent, visualize these simple shapes during your swing:
- The “Y” for Chips: In your chipping setup, your arms and the club shaft should form the letter “Y”. The key is to *maintain* this “Y” shape throughout the entire chip shot, minimizing wrist hinge. This keeps the clubhead moving on a consistent path and prevents you from “flipping” at the ball.
- The “L” for Pitches: For pitch shots, you’ll introduce a little more wrist hinge. As you take an abbreviated backswing, your lead arm and the club shaft should form an “L” shape at the top. The beauty of this is that the same “L” shape should be mirrored in your through swing. As the source notes:
“I always want to see the backswing and through swing lengths to be the same. And this goes with every shot in golf from a full swing with the driver to a 3-inch tap-in.”
This equal backswing and through swing ensures balance and consistent acceleration through impact.
The Power of Body Rotation and Shirt Buttons
Even on short shots, your body needs to be involved. A common mistake I see is players stalling their chest rotation, leading to a “scooping” motion or “casting” the club. This results in inconsistent contact.
Think about your shirt buttons. When setting up for short game shots, your button line should be slightly angled toward your target. This subtle tilt helps you establish the correct low point of your swing *after* the ball, promoting ball-first contact. As the source highlights:
“But with short game shots, if the button line is angled slightly toward the target, it becomes much easier to make ball first contact as we have moved the low point of the abbreviated swing to the target side of the ball.”
Your chest should continue to rotate through the impact zone, keeping everything moving together. This prevents your hands from taking over and ensures a clean strike.
Actionable Drills for Your Practice
Now that we’ve covered the fundamentals, let’s put them into practice with a couple of drills:
Drill 1: The “Lead Foot Only” Chip Drill
Try this: Set up for a chip shot, but lift your trail foot so only your lead foot is on the ground. Your weight will be 100% on your lead foot. Now, hit small chip shots, focusing on maintaining your balance and making consistent ball-first contact. This drill exaggerates the sensation of having your weight forward and will train your body to hit down through the shot. Start with extremely short chips and gradually increase the distance as you gain confidence.
Drill 2: The “Y-L-L” Pitching Drill
Here’s a drill: Take your address, forming the “Y” shape with your arms and club. Now, take a slow backswing, paying attention to forming a clear “L” shape at the top of your lead arm and the club shaft. Then, swing through, ensuring you create that same “L” shape on the follow-through, with equal backswing and through swing lengths. This drill helps engrain the proper wrist hinge (and release) for crisp pitch shots and promotes consistent distance control. Try it without a ball first, then introduce the ball, focusing on the shapes.
Drill 3: The “Towel Under the Lead Arm” Drill
Another excellent drill is to place a small towel or headcover under your lead armpit for both chipping and pitching. Your goal is to keep it there throughout the swing without letting it drop. This encourages your body and arms to work together as a unit, preventing independent arm movement or “casting” and promoting better rotation and connection.
Club Selection and Distance Control
Don’t be afraid to experiment with club selection! Many golfers automatically reach for their highest-lofted wedge. However, sometimes a less-lofted club, like a pitching wedge or even a hybrid, can be your best friend, especially for chip shots where you want the ball to run more toward the hole. The source makes an important point about reducing risk:
“When it comes to club selection, always remember that the less loft you use the less risk you take. Chipping with a hybrid (try it and I bet you’ll like it) is pretty much risk proof whereas the same shot with a lob wedge off a tight lie can be terrifying if you haven’t practiced it much.”
For dialing in pitch shot distances, I recommend calibrating your lead arm’s position. Practice making swings where your lead arm is parallel to the ground (think of this as the 9 o’clock position for a right-handed golfer). Hit a few balls and observe the distance. Then, try slightly longer swings to 9:30, 10:00, and 10:30, noting the distance each generates. This “clock face” method, combined with solid contact, is a fantastic way to develop reliable distance control.
Improving your short game takes dedicated practice, but it’s incredibly rewarding. Embrace the challenges on the practice green – don’t always pick the perfect lie. As Nick Saban wisely said, “We make practice hard so games will be easy.” You’ve got this! Keep practicing with purpose, and you’ll be holing out chips and sticking pitches closer than ever before.
