As an amateur who misses the green 50% of the time (probably more) on approach shots, developing strong chipping skills was a priority early in my career. I understood that shooting low scores is as much about being able to putt well, but also to shorten the length of putts. To accomplish this difficult feat, I focused my efforts on improving my chipping game in order to produce the successful results needed to shoot lower golf scores. It was a simple process and one I still focus on today.

Developing a strong short game (specifically chipping) does take some practice with the intent of understanding how each club reacts to your swing. Yes, if you have not figured it out from the above statement, I started using different clubs to chip with the same basic swing. My ability to improve my short game in the past was as simple as using different clubs.

The reason I followed this different club for chipping path was touch on each shot. I found that depending on distance and pin location, using a different club other than a wedge helped strengthen my short game. Now, after plenty of practice, I find using my 7 iron to chip is my best option. I love the roll out from this club and I can control it better than my wedges.

Having said this, my 7 iron does not work when I am short sided or if I have to avoid any hazards. If this is the case, I will select a wedge (PW, Gap, Sand or Lob) depending on the distance I want my ball to carry and the roll out needed to be successful. Here is a great video explaining what I mean:

Using different clubs to chip produces different results. This might be an obvious statement, however the prove is in the flight characteristics of each shot. I recommend you spend some time on the practice area (if you have not already) experimenting with different clubs. The results might surprise you with shorter putts and lower golf scores.

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