John Phillips Tuition Series: Chipping
Grip / Setup /Which Club

The short game is one area that most people spend little time working on, but is where the game can be won or lost and to this end valuable time should be spent working on shots from 100 yards into the green.

The more time you spend practicing your short game the lower your scores will become.

There are two different types of standard shots within the short game; the chip shots and pitch shots.

When playing chip shots you try to keep you wrists firm like a putting stroke with the ball played between the centre of your stance and your right foot, whereas when playing pitch shots your hands are slightly more active and the ball is played more in the centre of your stance.

The three clubs I recommend to play standard chip shots with are 6, 8 and S/I or lob wedge if you have one.

Grip

There are two ways that you can grip the club for the standard chip shot, one would be with your normal grip (fig 1) as used with a full swing or the reverse overlap grip (fig 2) as used when putting. Try both grips to see which can give you more feel and control, remembering to grip the club down the shaft to help with more control over these shots.

Figure 1

Figure 2

Chipping: Grip / Setup /Which Club