Hello, fellow golfers! Sarah Chen here, your golf instruction editor at The Daily Duffer. With over 15 years in the game, working with everyone from aspiring pros to weekend warriors, I truly believe that dedicated practice and proper guidance can unlock anyone’s potential. Today, we’re diving into a topic that many instructors, myself included, often refer to as the “low-hanging fruit” for shaving strokes off your score: your short game, specifically chipping and pitching.
It’s easy to get caught up in the allure of a powerful drive, but the truth is, a solid short game is your secret weapon for lower scores. Think about it: Even the best tour players in the world, who seem to hit every green, only average 13 to 14 greens hit per round. That means they’re still relying on their short game for those crucial up-and-downs.
“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.”
Mastering Your Setup for Chips and Pitches
Let’s start with the foundation: your setup. The right address position is absolutely crucial for consistent contact and control, especially around the greens. While chipping and pitching have similarities, there are subtle differences in their setups that yield big results.
For chip shots, where the ball stays low and rolls most of the way, you want your feet close together – imagine just a clubhead’s width between them. Your weight should be predominantly on your lead foot, about 60-70%, and the ball positioned slightly back of center in your stance. Your hands should be slightly ahead of the ball, promoting a descending blow. This setup encourages a clean, ball-first contact and helps prevent “chonking” the ball.
When it comes to pitch shots, which involve more air time and a longer swing, you can widen your stance a bit more, but still keep that 60-70% weight distribution on your lead foot. The ball position will be closer to the center of your stance compared to a chip, and your hands will still be slightly ahead.
I often tell my students to think about their shirt buttons. For short game shots, if your button line is angled slightly toward the target, it makes ball-first contact much easier. This is because you’re effectively moving the low point of your swing arc to the target side of the ball, ensuring you strike the ball before the turf.
The “Y” and “L” for Stroke Mechanics
Once you’ve got your setup dialed in, let’s talk about the motion. For chip shots, the goal is to keep your arms and the club shaft forming the letter “Y” throughout the swing. This promotes a compact, controlled motion driven by your shoulders, minimizing wrist hinge and maximizing consistency.
For pitch shots, where you need a bit more power and height, we introduce more arm movement and a subtle wrist hinge. During the backswing, your lead arm and the club shaft should form the letter “L” at the top of your abbreviated backswing. The beauty of this technique is that you’ll also form an “L” on your follow-through. Maintaining equal backswing and through-swing lengths is a key principle across all golf shots, ensuring balance and consistent speed.
Crucial for Success: Rotation and Clubface
One common downfall I see with higher handicappers is stalling their chest rotation through impact. When your body stops turning, your hands can take over, leading to a “scooping” motion, similar to casting in a full swing. This almost always results in poor contact.
“So even on a chip shot where you are only flying the ball less than 10 yards in the air, we still need to have some amount of chest rotation through the impact zone.”
Even on the smallest chip, you need a subtle, continuous rotation of your chest through the impact zone. This ensures your body and club are working together, promoting a crisp, descending strike.
Regarding your grip, while I generally advocate for a consistent grip across all shots, for short game fluidity, you might consider weakening it slightly. For a right-handed player, this means turning your hands a little more to the left. This adjustment encourages a slightly open clubface through impact, reducing the chance of digging into the turf and allowing the club’s bounce to work its magic. Watching tour pros, you’ll often see their clubface pointed towards the sky in their finish after a short pitch or bunker shot – a testament to effectively using the bounce.
Practice with Purpose: Drills for Instant Improvement
Nobody gets good at golf by accident. Practice is paramount, and challenging practice makes the game easier when it counts. Here are a couple of drills you can try:
Drill 1: The “Y” and “L” Checkpoint Drill
For chipping, practice your setup, forming the “Y” with your arms and club. Then, make small, controlled swings, focusing on maintaining that “Y” throughout. Don’t worry about the ball flying far; concentrate on solid contact. For pitching, set up, and make slow swings, pausing at the top of your backswing to check that your lead arm and club shaft form a perfect “L.” Then, continue to an “L” on the follow-through. This drill builds muscle memory for the correct swing shape.
Drill 2: The “Clock Face” Distance Control Drill
This is fantastic for understanding your pitching distances. Use your lead arm as a clock hand. Take 10-15 balls and make swings where your lead arm goes back to 9 o’clock (parallel to the ground). Note the distance those shots travel. Then, repeat for 9:30, 10:00, and even 10:30 positions. Just remember, this works best when you are making solid contact. This helps you calibrate your swing length for specific distances, which is invaluable on the course.
“When your lead arm is parallel to the ground, call that 9 o’clock and determine how far you hit the golf ball from that position. When you go to 9:30 or 10:00 or 10:30, calibrate those distances as well.”
Wedge Selection and Lie Assessment
Don’t be afraid to experiment with your club selection. While wedges are your primary short game tools, sometimes a less-lofted club can be your best friend. Chipping with a hybrid, for example, can be surprisingly effective and much less intimidating than a lob wedge from a tight lie. The less loft you use, the less risk you generally take.
Finally, mastering your short game also involves understanding your lies. A ball sitting up in 2-3 inch rough might give you more options than a perfectly tight lie on the fairway. Learning to assess the lie—and adjusting your shot accordingly—comes with practice and experience. Don’t just practice from perfect conditions; make it hard on yourself, just like Nick Saban said, “We make practice hard so games will be easy.”
Your short game is a powerful tool to lower your scores and boost your confidence. By focusing on these setup fundamentals, understanding the “Y” and “L” swing shapes, ensuring continuous rotation, and practicing with a purpose, you’ll be knocking strokes off your game in no time. Keep practicing, keep learning, and keep enjoying this fantastic game!
