Golf Tip: When and How to Chip with Loft
By Pete Kelbel
This golf tip will help you decide when you need to add loft to your chip and how to set up the shot.
A good golf tip will shave strokes off your score. This golf tip will pay big dividends because it will cut strokes where it really counts, on the putting surface.
Chipping is not always a low, running shot. Many situations dictate that the ball must travel in the air more than half way from your ball to the hole in order to land it safely on the green. Any time you need to hit the ball over a bunker to a fairly tight pin about 15-25 yards away, you will be facing this situation.
Use a lofted sand wedge (54-56 degrees), or a lob wedge (58-60 degrees). The ball should be placed in the middle of the feet and the hands will be middle as well, or just slightly ahead of the ball.
Try to set a slight majority of your weight on the front foot. You can get the job done with a letter “Y” swing with minimal wrist action where the club head climbs only as high as your waist on the back swing and a little higher yet on the follow through.
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Use high finishes for higher shots. You can also add a bit more wrist where the swing more resembles a Letter “L” if that feels more comfortable.
You can experiment with opening the club face for more loft and a softer landing. Remember, when you open the club face, the ball will travel more in the air and roll less on the ground with the added loft.
Ratio wise, think of the shot as traveling more than half-way to the hole in the air and then rolling less than half way to the hole after it lands. I try to think in terms of 2/3 air, 1/3 roll. If I need a 3/4 air and a 1/4 roll, I will open the club face and add loft.
Remember, when you add loft by grabbing a lob wedge or opening the club face, be sure to make a “Big Y” swing! Get that club head above your knees, up to the waist and higher, especially if you use some wrist cock. Hit the shot with acceleration! Decelerating and not lifting the club head high enough often result in a high soft shot that lands in the middle of the bunker!
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If the distance over the bunker is greater, invite the letter “L” by cocking your wrists. The chip shot (minimal wrists) becomes a pitch shot (cocking the wrists). This creates more club head speed for greater distance. The shot is similar in that it has to travel well over half way in the air and roll much less than half way on the ground after it lands. Ball placement is still in the middle. Lower handicap players may be able to play the ball a little further forward in their stance for a bit more loft.
A golf tip should also have a visual image. When it comes to chipping with loft I think of “de-stemming the dandelion” with some zip. After all, if you do not clip under the ball, it will not be the high, soft landing shot you need! Be sure to push a little off the back foot with some air under the back heel as you clip the grass out from underneath the ball. If you hit a fat shot, you will most likely find your weight on the back foot.
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