Try These Chipping Drills To Lower Your Score
Chipping is one of the quickest ways to lower your handicap and save you strokes around the green.
Like with any golf skill, practice makes perfect…and luckily, there’s plenty of fun drills and games that can help your short game take off.
Steve Weathersbee, a First Tee coach and golf instructor at Fairway Hills Golf Club, shares a few of his favorite ideas below. But first, let’s quickly review a few fundamentals of chipping technique:
- For low chip shots, the ball should be located toward the back foot. For high chip shots, place the ball toward the front foot. Avoid trying to chip with the ball between your feet.
- Regardless of whether it’s a high or low chip shot, your hands always need to be forward. Your grip pressure should be fairly light, not too tight.
- Your feet should be close together. Put more weight in your front foot, instead of the weight being distributed 50/50 between your feet.
- The swing should be smooth with a slight downward stroke on the ball. Keep soft shoulders, soft forearms and soft hands.
- Accelerate through the ball!
Now, onto the drills that will help you start shooting better scores!
21 chipping
This is a great game drill to challenge your friends and enjoy a little friendly competition. Or, simply play against yourself.
- Set up three different distances with various point values (1-3-5 points). Each section can be marked with a tee, headcover or towel – anything visible
- Players earn points by playing into each zone. The first player to score of 21 wins.
Variation: Try 1-5-7 points instead of 1-3-5, and challenge players to get to 21 in as few attempts as possible. Establish consequences if the player’s putt roll past the high point zone (aka, player loses 5 points).
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Over/under game
This fun game helps you learn to hit consistent high and low chip shots.
Equipment
- Putting Rings (E-Rings) (Hula Hoops will also work)
- Range Dividers/Alignments sticks for stations
- Foam Noodles
- Range Balls
Setup
- Place two alignment sticks in the ground and puncture a pool noodle to be halfway up the pool noodles.
- Repeat process and set up three more stations just like the last around the green to give different shots into the green.
- Practice hitting each shot either under or over the pool noodle. If you’re successful, you receive a point and move to the next station. If not, you can move to the next station without a point.
- If you’re playing against yourself, try to continuously raise your score. If you’re playing with others, whoever earns the most points is the winner.
Practice on the SkyTrak
At Fairway Hills, anyone is welcome to come in and rent the indoor launch monitor — it’s the perfect way to work on your chip shot on a rainy day. You don’t have to be a CA member to rent the SkyTrak. Come rent this virtual driving range for 30 minutes or up to an hour, and you’ll benefit from real-time ball flight data and record practice session history. Learn more on our website!