HOW TO CHIP - GOLF CHIPPING
Over the years, countless golfers have asked me how I generate so much backspin on short chip shots. For the first time, you'll get an inside look at the technique I use to hit delicate chip shots in golf with soft contact and maximum spin. Most golfers attack the ball with a steep, chopping motion that creates a blunt, compressed strike.
The problem? Generating spin through steep contact demands speed — and on a short shot, that speed launches the ball far past your target. By learning this shallower chipping technique, you'll save par more often around the greens and maybe even leave your playing partners wondering how you stopped it so fast.
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HOW TO PUT SPIN ON A CHIP SHOT - LOFT AND SPEED
The keys to putting spin on your chip and pitch shots come down to two fundamental variables. The first — and most important — is loft. The amount of loft you present at impact determines how much spin you put on the ball more than any other factor on a chip shot.
Note the difference in loft with the two different setups. In this video, you will learn which is better for producing more spin and how to setup correctly. Click for larger view. The second key is speed. On a full swing, clubhead speed is the primary driver of spin rate, but on a chip there simply isn't enough speed for it to outweigh dynamic loft at impact.
GOLF CHIPPING ANGLE OF ATTACK AND FAT CHIPS
The final variable is angle of attack — how sharply the club descends into the ball during your chip shots. Understanding how these three factors interact is exactly what this video teaches, and it could transform the weakest part of your game into a genuine scoring weapon.
Most golfers believe that hitting down steeply on a chip shot will generate tremendous spin. There are two major problems with that theory. First, for most amateurs, a steep angle of attack typically leads to a chunked shot where you lay the sod over the ball — that dreaded fat chip everyone has experienced at the worst possible moment.
The wedge has a razor-sharp leading edge that is more than happy to dig a deep trench on even the shortest of shots. The second problem is that steep contact reduces dynamic loft — the effective loft the club presents at the moment of impact on a chip.
LEARNING HOW TO USE THE BOUNCE IN GOLF CHIPPING
As I mentioned, the number one determinant of spin on a chip is how much loft you have at impact, so coming down steep actually works against you.
The only logical solution is to approach the ball on a shallower angle of attack. This preserves our three most valuable assets in chipping: plenty of loft at impact, the ability to use the bounce effectively as the club glides through the turf, and the freedom to apply more speed without fear of blading it. For a complete breakdown of how your swing mechanics currently score across every category, try a free AI swing analysis.
Learning how to chip and put more spin on a short chip shot just requires a patient greens keeper as you'll see in this "How To" chipping video. Just kidding! This chipping technique used by tour professionals allows the club to glide through the turf on even the tightest of lies while maintaining full loft and generating loads of backspin. If you want to learn this simple technique in this "how to chip" video, click the link above to watch the video (must be logged in)!
In the next part of this article, I'm going to show you a video clip that demonstrates the MASSIVE difference in how the club works through the grass with the chipping stroke I teach vs. the method you typically see taught in golf magazines. So, continue reading....
HOW TO CHIP WITH MORE SPIN ON YOUR CHIPS & PITCHES
As I explained, loft is your friend — and not just for more spin. By setting up the way I demonstrate in the video, you also gain more bounce. Additional bounce prevents the club from digging into the turf at impact.
Instead of gouging the ground, the club will glide through the turf and you will never worry about hitting another fat chip shot or pitch. Watch the video clip below that shows exactly how the club skims through the grass with my chipping method compared to how it digs with the technique most golfers are taught.
WHY YOU HIT FAT CHIP SHOTS
In the video above, you can see the extremely steep descent that results from the setup recommended by instructors like Butch Harmon in this Golf Digest article. Playing the ball back in your stance dictates a steep angle of attack because of the forward shaft lean this position creates.
Most amateurs instinctively sense the club is coming in too steep and try to "flip" the hands or "yip" at the ball to avoid hitting it fat. By making one simple setup change and practicing the drill I demonstrate in this video, you'll discover how you can even chip off a cart path without concern.
CHIPPING "SAUCE" - INCREASE SPIN BY 30%
As you saw in the clip above, when you play the ball well back in your stance, you're effectively turning your 60 degree lob wedge into a pitching wedge in terms of loft. That dramatically reduces your spin potential — but by how much exactly?
By setting up with the ball back — the way you see in the golf magazines — you strip roughly 10 degrees of loft at address. That's the equivalent of dropping 2-3 clubs. This reduction cuts your spin rate on a typical 8-yard pitch shot by approximately 700 rpm, or about 30 percent.
As the data shows, spin rate on an 8-yard pitch shot averaged around 3,000 rpm with this RotarySwing chipping technique. Now let's compare that to the "old-school" method and examine the numbers.
By playing the ball way back in your stance and chopping down on it, not only are you more susceptible to fat chips, but you're slashing your backspin to only 2,300 rpm. That's barely enough spin to keep a good drive in the air, let alone stop a pitch shot around the green.
CHIP SHOT ANGLE OF ATTACK
Click Image for larger view.
The angle of attack is everything when learning how to put spin on a chip shot. That's precisely why changing your setup is so important if you're tired of knifing your chips and laying the sod over the ball.
As you can see in the image below, there is more than 13 degrees difference in the angle of attack between the two setups. The shot on the right still allows you to use the bounce on your wedge to avoid digging, while the shot on the left with the ball back in the stance will clearly dig a trench. To practice with real-time coaching that monitors your technique, check out a free AI golf lesson.
ONE SIMPLE DRILL TO BOOST YOUR BACKSPIN ON CHIPS
This instructional video teaches the chipping technique I use with all my students, including those competing on the PGA Tour. No longer will you fear tight, bare lies or firm greens. Learn the secret of the tour professionals and start putting real spin on your chip shots today!
Video Transcription: Low Spinning Chip Shots
I don't believe there are many secrets in the game of golf. In the short game, however, there are a few — techniques I've developed over the years that have helped me save a tremendous number of strokes.
One of those is hitting short, delicate shots where you can't put a lot of speed on the club to generate spin, yet still getting the ball to check up quickly on these difficult shots.
That's something I took time to develop in my own game, because you're constantly faced with situations where you're just off the edge of the green on a steep downhill slope and you need a lot of backspin but you can't swing aggressively enough to generate the necessary clubhead speed.
Working the club face under the ball also creates spin
There are basically two ways to get spin. The first is what you see a lot of tour players do — hitting down very steeply. That steep angle of attack causes the ball to spin, and it requires a more aggressive blow, a jabby, descending strike. That approach will put spin on the ball.
But if you're hitting a short, delicate shot, that method fails because swinging too hard launches the ball way past the hole. The challenge was learning how to develop a shot that delivered a lot of spin without making a big swing.
What I discovered was that the other way to put spin on the ball is to let it simply roll up the club face. The more the ball travels up the face, the more time it has to develop spin — and that produces higher spin rates. I think of it as slipping the blade under the ball.
Instead of coming down very steep and trying to pinch the ball, I'm actually letting the blade slip underneath it. I'm almost filleting the ball. This generates speed while taking the brunt of the blow out of the shot. If I hit it on a steep angle of attack, I've delofted the club and I'm getting a smash — really compressing the ball.
Right wrist works flat again
On these shots I actually don't want to compress the ball. I want the club to feel as if it's working under the ball, adding loft to the club and allowing it to accelerate, which produces more spin while softening the impact.
Your greens keeper is going to hate you for this, so don't tell them I mentioned it — and don't practice it on a good green. It takes a little time to get the feel, but one of the best ways to learn this technique is actually on the putting green. If you've got an old practice putting green somewhere, it's ideal.
What you'll find is that when hitting these shots with your trail hand only, at some point as you move through you can let the trail wrist start to work flat again. You can see that as I come through, the club head has a lot of loft on it.
By doing that, I'm allowing the club to feel as if it's slipping under the ball, and it's also not taking a divot. That's why practicing on a putting green is so important — you don't want to take any grass out. You're just barely skimming the turf.
If you have a wedge with a lot of bounce, this shot will be more difficult, but when we move to the fringe in a moment you'll see that it's not quite as delicate.
Right hand only shot gets lots of spin, the ball checks up
When you hit a couple of chip shots on the green this way, you'll notice the ball has tremendous spin. With a very short swing and virtually no speed or forceful blow, the ball checks up quickly. Just using my trail hand, you can see the ball checks up — and it's just a five-foot chip shot.
When you go to do this with both hands, the same feeling applies. You're using a little more trail hand involvement in this shot — it's a specialty technique. That extra trail hand feel helps slip the blade under the ball and take the brunt of impact off, because you don't want a solid, compressed strike. You want to slip the blade underneath.
Do the same thing with both hands — you can put even more spin on the ball this way. Practice on the green first. The reason is that we need to keep the angle of attack very shallow so the blade slips under the ball. Doing it on a firm, tight surface teaches you the correct motion while preventing you from taking a divot.
Now let's look at some shots on the fringe to see how the technique works with a less tight lie.
Right hand only shot on the fringe
I've moved over to the edge of the green — the fringe — and I've got a longer shot. You won't be able to see the ball land, but this is exactly the type of situation where I would use this shot.
I'll hit it a little shorter so you can see the result. Because I'm on slightly longer grass, I'll lose some spin, but there will still be plenty. I'm going to practice the shot using the trail-hand-only drill we started with on the practice green.
I'm going to set up, take my trail hand only, slip it under and hit a few little shots — these delicate short spinners that aren't really going anywhere — just getting the ball to come up and land soft with maximum backspin.
After a few of those, I'm going to hit a longer shot with both hands. You'll see a similar effect. The spin won't be quite as dramatic because the lead hand prevents the wrist from breaking down as easily, but you'll still see plenty of spin on the ball.
With both hands, lots of spin, short little blows — and you can start to vary it. As you improve, you can add more loft to the face and produce the same result. The ball comes out very soft.
Both hands are back on the club
The key — and the reason it's so important to learn this on the putting green — is that you develop the ability to slip the blade under the ball without digging down. That teaches you to use the bounce effectively on your wedge so that you get a simple glancing blow.
This allows you to swing aggressively enough to generate spin and the speed you need, without launching the ball over the green.
Work on this on a tight surface. You can even practice on the cart path if you don't mind a few scuffs on your wedges. Any tight surface works, but a green is unfortunately the best way to learn it. Just use your trail hand and make little chipping strokes. You don't need aggressive strokes on the green.
Make small chipping motions and you'll see the ball run up the face, generating tremendous spin. You'll save par around the green on these tight shots much more often.
Watch part 2 now to see how you're moving your body in the opposite direction of the pros!
Hitting down steeply is one way to get spin
