Part One
The three checkpoints.
A good chip isn't a small full swing — it's its own little setup and motion. Three things make almost every chip behave, and these are the three to check every time.
01 · Setup
Narrow, and leaning forward.
Feet close together, weight favouring your lead foot — about 60/40 — and stay there the whole time. Ball back of centre, hands slightly ahead of the ball. This setup pre-sets a clean, downward brush so you don't have to manufacture one.
02 · Motion
A putting stroke, with loft.
Think putt, not swing. Chest and shoulders rock the club back and through, arms quiet, wrists calm. Stay leaning into your lead side and brush the grass under your chest. Small motion, big muscles, no flick.
03 · Through
Accelerate — don't scoop.
The club keeps moving low and through toward the target — never quitting at the ball. Don't try to lift it; the loft of the club does that for you. Trust it, stay forward, and let the ball ride up the face.
Part Two
Land it. Let it run.
Great chipping is less about the swing and more about picking the right shot. Here's the simple system we used today — it turns a guess into a plan.
01
Pick a spot
Aim at a landing spot a step or two onto the green — not the hole. Land it on the green and let it roll out like a putt from there.
02
Club the roll
Less loft rolls more, more loft rolls less. A lot of green to cover? Reach for an 8 or 9 iron. Not much green? A sand or pitching wedge. Same stroke, different club.
03
Land & release
Make your one simple stroke, land the ball on your spot, and let the ground do the rest. You control the carry — the roll takes care of itself.
"
Chip it to roll like a putt. Land it on a spot, let the ground do the rest.
Part Three
What we did today.
A recap of the hour, in order — so you can mentally rewalk it on the short-game green and remember what each piece felt like.
The Why
The shot that saves the most.
We talked about why the low, running chip is the highest-percentage shot in golf — fewer moving parts, less that can go wrong, and the fastest way to turn three shots around the green into two.
The Setup
Narrow, weight forward, hands ahead.
We built the little setup and held it — feet close, leaning into the lead side, ball back, hands forward — and felt how it pre-loads a clean strike before you've even moved.
The Brush
Rehearsals on the grass.
Stroke after stroke just brushing the turf, weight staying forward — no scoop, no flick. The sound and the brush mark told you when it was right.
The Spot
Landing on a target.
We dropped a towel on the green and chipped to land on it, so you could feel carry versus roll — and stop aiming at the hole and start aiming at a spot.
The Send-Off
Real chips, real pins.
We finished with live chips from different lies to different flags — same simple stroke, just changing the club to match the roll. That's the whole game.
This Week
Your homework.
Four small things between now and your next round. Do these and chipping becomes the part of your game you actually look forward to.
i
Weight-forward rehearsals.
Set up leaning to your lead foot and brush the grass ten times in a row. Stay forward the whole time — no rocking back. Feel the clean, downward brush.
ii
Land on a towel.
Drop a towel a few feet onto the green and chip to land on it. Train the landing spot, not the hole — that's the skill that drops your scores.
iii
Same stroke, three clubs.
Hit the same little stroke with a pitching wedge, a 9, and an 8. Watch how the roll changes. That's your whole short-game toolbox in three clubs.
iv
Accelerate through.
No quitting at the ball. Smooth back, a touch faster through, and let the loft lift it. If you feel like you're scooping, you've stopped trusting the club.