If you’re looking to improve your golf game, you need to learn how to master chipping. I would bet that you are spending too much time on the range, when the more effective approach is to hit up the chipping and putting green. When you can control your wedge shots and putts, you become a better golfer. There’s no way around it. People will argue this point and tell you that it’s not entirely true, but those people are wrong. All you need to improve your game and lower your handicap is to control your chips and sink more putts. In this post I want to share a simple drill that’s going to amp up your chipping game and help you get a lot more up and down pars.
How to Master Chipping
Are you confident when you step up to a 10 yard chip? How about a 20 yard chip? 30? Probably not that confident. Why not? Have you created a practice routine for chipping? Why not? If you have a consistent routine for practicing, you’ll learn the feel of chipping, and successful chipping (and putting) is all about feel. You may be thinking the practice green is boring, or you’d rather spend your valuable time piping bombs at the driving range.
If your goal is to improve your handicap, then leave the range, and pick up your wedges and putter. I completely understand the “practicing short game is boring” mindset. I used to feel that way myself. But I realized I just needed to make a game out of it to make it more enjoyable. You can fix all your chipping shortcomings with one simple drill. It’s called the 10 Yard Chip Drill.
The 10 Yard Chip Drill
Michele Low has a great instructional video on short game. I took a lot of these ideas from her video. This is the only drill you need to master the art of chipping. There’s two ways to set it up, depending on if you’re at home or on the practice green.
At Home Chipping Drill Set-up
Choose something to be your target. Whether it’s a practice chipping net or a frisbee in your backyard. It doesn’t matter, just pick something to be your target. Once you have a target set up, take 10 paces away from your target. Once you’re set up, you’re going to hit 100 balls at the target. You get a point every time a ball hits your target. Write down your scores every time you do this drill, and if you haven’t previously dedicated some real time to a routine like this, you’ll see your score improve very quickly, not only on the drill, but on the golf course.
On the Practice Green
You’ll do the same thing as above on the practice green, except you can use your golf towel as your target, and you can place the towel about half way between where you’re hitting and a hole on the practice green. (The hole should be about 20 yards away from where you’re chipping) Then you can not only get really good at flighting your chips 10 yards, you can also see how that translates on the greens. By following this 10 yard chip drill, you’ll not only be able to fly the ball the distance you want to, you’ll also be able to pick the spot you want to fly the ball to.
1 Putt Pars (and Birdies)
How many up and downs do you normally have per round? If you haven’t practiced chipping consistently, I’d guess 1 or 2. If you can commit to this drill 2-3 times a week, you will find yourself hitting a lot more up and downs, and it will not take long. It’s such an easy way to improve your score and make golf more fun.
NSC (Never Stop Chipping)
When you first start doing the 10 yard chip drill, you are going to get frustrated because you may only hit your target with 5-10 balls. That’s okay. It’s important to set a baseline so you can work up and see your improvement over time. I taught this drill to a student yesterday. They liked it so much they did it 3 times. First round they were 6 out of 100 on hitting the target. Second round 8 out of 100. Third round 13 out of 100.
Improvement comes fast because you are training your body to know exactly what 10 yard flight feels like when chipping. If you keep coming back to this drill, you’ll start finding yourself making a lot more chips, and you’ll see a lot more up and down pars. This will directly translate to a much higher level of confidence on the golf course, improving all other aspects of your game as well!
More Great Golf Drills
After you’ve learned how to master chipping, here’s a couple other tips you might enjoy:
