Home About Us The Instructors Clinics Private Lessons Junior Golf Instructional Tips Oak Marsh Golf Club Phone: 651-730-8886 Fax: 651-730-6711 institute@wpgolf.com The Chip Shot & Free Lesson Month - May 2005 By David La Pour This month I'd like to talk about the smallest and possibly the most effective shot in golf, the chip shot. The chip is a shot where you are usually five to twenty feet off the green with no real obstacle in front of you. The shot normally will spend the majority of the time rolling to the hole as opposed to flying in the air. It's important to note that the percentages tell us that we have a better chance of controlling the shot if we roll the ball instead of flying the ball to the hole. Below is a brief outline on how to hit the chip. Set up  • Ball back in your stance (off your back foot)  • Stand tall so you are 6-8 inches away from the ball  • Hands and weight (65%) forward off your lead thigh Swing  • Small upper and lower body turn back (#1) and through (#2) staying synchronized  • No use of small muscles like wrist cock or re-cock  • Hold finish until ball stops rolling As an instructor, I've learned better than to say this is an easy shot but it is one of the simplest moves in the game (because it's so small). Of course there is a little more to the shot than what I can describe in this tip but your first goal should be to get the shot on the green and two putt. Once you become proficient with your chipping then you can get a little greedy and try and get it close (within a club length) or even in! Have fun with this shot and it should bring your stroke total down relatively fast. If you want someone to look at your technique, May is PGA free lesson month so this would be a good time to take your free 10-minute lesson at one of the 5 WP Golf properties. Good luck with the shot and I'll see you at the course! MORE TIPS Home / Putting / Short Game / Full Swing / Mental / Health / Other "The shot normally will spend the majority of the time rolling to the hole as opposed to flying in the air."