Chipping past the hole is a thing. I often wondered if the advice we receive about putting with enough speed to ensure the ball has enough force to pass the hole my 8 inches (it is actually 17 inches) should be applied to chipping. The old adage of “100% of short putts do not go in” is a great one because it is very true. After a bit of introspection on my chipping game, I realize that most of my chips are short and never have a chance to drop in the hole. The challenge for most amateurs, including myself, is the fear of being too aggressive and leaving a putt that is far outside the ‘gimmie range’. Is this a challenge for your game?

The fundamental mistake by most amateurs is failing to see the whole chip shot. We focus on two things mostly: the ball and the pin. We worry about the lie and which club help make the best contact and how far the pin is from our position. These two points are very important, but I would like to add a couple of more influencers: aim and landing area.

Aim seems very simple, right? Just line up our ball with the pin and swing away. However, the length of roll out we are trying to achieve on a chip forces us to read the green like a putt. Which direction will the ball break? Is the pin uphill or downhill? How are the greens rolling: fast or slow? There are as many factors that affect the roll of our ball when chipping the ball as when putting. So, aim is a bit more challenging than point and shoot.

Next is landing area for our ball. The landing area is very important because it will determine our roll out, direction of the ball on the green, and how close the ball will finish near the pin. This factor will determine if we hit the ball long enough in order to leave a short tap in for a smooth up and down. The landing area is key to the success of every chip. Achieving success with the proper landing area can be achieved in two ways: varying the distance of the landing area or the club to the same landing area.

You will often see a pro or an experienced player walk to the edge of the green as they work through the mental process of making a decision. The look at the break on the green, the grass on the fringe and the length of the grass between their ball and the green.

Yet, what are they really looking at? Once they select the type of shot, all of their focus turns their landing area. They do not care about anything but landing their ball exactly on the spot they selected. The landing area is that one spot that determines the results of their upcoming shot. So it requires the complete attention. Interestingly, the landing area will vary depending on the club selection, the its importance never wanes.

Before we go forward, the other school of thought is to select the same landing point, about 5 feet on the green, and change the club being used to increase the flight to release ratio. I used this technique early in my career with success. However, I found that it was limiting my game because it was not flexible enough for all the complexities I encountered on the links.

In all cases of chipping, I would venture to guess that 85% of all my chips are short. I realize that a close chip leading to a tap in is the goal for most shots, however if I all my putts were short by that much, my average scores would be much higher than they actually are during every round. So, this circles us back to the original premise: not chipping the ball with enough force to roll past the hole. My conclusion is that I need to be more aggressive when chipping in order to give the ball a chance to drop. After analysis, this conclusion only makes sense.

On a side note, I found this great drill that I think will help all of us with our chipping. It encompasses all the things we are talking about in today’s article.

I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!