When Rotary Swing Instructor Clay Ballard first started playing golf as a teenager, his idea of short game practice was grabbing a sand wedge or lob wedge and launching every shot as high in the air as possible.
Those towering shots look impressive and they're fun to hit. Clay and his friends would compete to see who could generate the most backspin and get the ball to check up and roll back on the green. That was always the first thing they practiced.
As you progress in your golf career, however, you eventually realize that's not always the smartest play.
Sure, it's entertaining and visually impressive. But when Clay started competing in tournaments, he learned a humbling lesson.
He would hit one of those spectacular high shots, landing it perhaps 5-6 feet from the pin. Then the next player — usually someone older with more competitive experience — would step up and hit a simple little bump and run.
Nothing fancy about it whatsoever — but it would consistently roll 3-4 feet inside Clay's ball. Clay's shot may have looked more impressive, but the results simply weren't as good.
That's why we need to talk about club selection for chipping. How do you know which club to use around the green?
Get the Ball Rolling as Quickly as Possible
The fundamental principle of club selection in chipping — especially with the bump and run — is to get the ball onto the putting surface as quickly as possible and let it roll out to the hole.
To practice this, start by identifying a landing area on the front of the green, approximately 5-6 feet in from the edge. Choose a nice flat, even spot.
If the front of the green is flat and level without significant undulation, you should always aim to get the ball on the surface as quickly as possible and let it roll the remaining distance.
The only exception is when the front of the green doesn't cooperate — perhaps it has heavy undulation or a severe slope.
You obviously don't want to land on the face of a hill, where the ball might check up and roll back or kick sideways. But whenever there's a clean, level landing spot, your goal is to reach the front of the green with minimal air time.
Set up a 6-foot chipping ring for your landing area, and a smaller one farther in to represent your actual target. In these photos, Clay's target sits approximately 15 feet behind the camera.
8 Iron: The Bump and Run
Your first shot is a basic bump and run chip from barely off the edge of the green. Since you don't have far to go, use your 8 iron.
You want the shot to land in the circle and then roll out to the target. It should be a very straightforward, no-frills shot.
As you move farther from the green, however, the 8 iron won't be able to land in that same circle and still roll the correct distance to the target.
Hitting an 8 iron into the circle from farther back would produce too much roll — probably sending the ball 10-15 feet past the pin.
Pitching Wedge: More Loft, Same Technique
How do you hit the same landing spot using the same technique from a greater distance?
You still want to land on the front of the green and let the ball roll to the hole. The solution is switching to a pitching wedge.
The technique stays identical — nothing changes about your setup or stroke. Using the correct club allows you to execute the same shot from a new distance.
Since you're farther away, you need progressively more loft to land the ball in your target area on the front of the green while still allowing it to roll out the proper distance.
Sand Wedge: Maximum Loft Chip
Moving even farther back, you'll hit the same shot with the same technique — only this time using the sand wedge.
Your swing will be slightly longer as the distance increases, and your club selection changes accordingly, but the fundamental technique remains identical across all three clubs.
You can see the results of Clay's three shots demonstrated in the video.
Try this drill yourself. Purchase some chipping rings or find another way to mark the front of the green so you can practice landing your shots consistently in the same spot.
This drill provides excellent feedback so you begin learning exactly how far different clubs roll out from the same landing zone.
The more you work with different clubs and pay attention to where they land and how they behave, the better your judgment becomes during actual rounds.
You'll start to instinctively know: "I'm 30 yards away with a sand wedge. If I land it on the green, it's going to roll out this far." You'll develop excellent feel for which club produces the result you need.
Always mark a landing spot when you practice your chipping — it's one of the fastest ways to improve your short game. For even deeper insight into your swing mechanics, try a free AI golf lesson that analyzes your positions in real time.
Watch part 2 now to see how you're moving your body in the opposite direction of the pros!
Practice with a chipping ring
Use chipping rings for the target & landing area
Close shot (8 iron)
Farther back (pitching wedge)
