Chipping and Pitching Basics: How to Save Shots Around the Green

Learning the chipping and pitching basics is the fastest way for most club golfers to shoot lower scores. The average amateur misses far more greens than they hit, so the shots you play from within thirty yards decide most of your round. Get the short game working and a loose approach becomes a par save rather than a dropped shot. This guide explains the difference between a chip and a pitch, how to choose a club, the setup that produces clean contact, and a couple of simple drills you can groove before your next round.

Chip or pitch: know which shot you need

The two shots do different jobs. A chip is a low runner: it carries a short way onto the green and then rolls most of the distance to the hole, like a long putt hit through the air. A pitch flies higher, lands softer and stops quicker, so it is the shot when you have to carry a bunker, thick rough or a slope and cannot let the ball run. A useful principle is to keep the ball on the ground when you can and only take on the higher, riskier pitch when something is in the way.

Setting up for a clean chip

Good chipping is mostly setup. Stand a little closer to the ball with a narrow, slightly open stance, and get your weight favouring your front foot and keeping it there through the shot. Play the ball back of centre, with your hands slightly ahead of the clubhead so the shaft leans towards the target. From there the stroke is a quiet rock of the shoulders, with the wrists staying firm. The single biggest fault to avoid is trying to scoop the ball up: trust the loft that is already built into the club.

• Weight roughly 60 to 70 per cent on your lead foot, and keep it there.
• Hands ahead of the ball at address and at impact, shaft leaning towards the target.
• A short backswing matched by an accelerating, low through-swing.
• Pick a landing spot on the green, not the flag, and let the ball roll out.

Playing the higher pitch

A pitch needs a slightly wider stance, the ball nearer the middle, and a longer swing with a natural hinge of the wrists going back. Use a more lofted club, a sand wedge or a lob wedge, and let the clubhead slide under the ball on the turf rather than digging. The key feel is a smooth, unhurried tempo: pitches are ruined by rushing. Keep accelerating gently through impact so the loft can lift the ball, and resist the urge to add force with your hands at the last moment.

Simple drills that transfer to the course

Put a towel or headcover down about a club length onto the green and practise landing every chip on it, ignoring the hole entirely. This trains the one thing that matters, controlling where the ball lands, and the roll takes care of itself. For pitching, hit shots to three different flags with the same club and learn how length of swing changes distance. Fifteen focused minutes of this beats an hour of raking balls without a target.

When you are ready to test your short game on a real course, our green fees and booking guide covers turning up for a round, or head back to the Lullingstone Park homepage to plan your visit. For more on practice and getting a handicap, England Golf is the game's governing body in England.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between a chip and a pitch?

A chip is a low shot that spends most of its journey rolling along the ground, played from just off the green with a putting-style stroke. A pitch flies higher and stops sooner, uses a fuller swing and a more lofted club, and is the shot for carrying a bunker or longer grass. As a rule, chip when you can, pitch when you must.

Which club should I use for chipping?

There is no single right club. A common approach is to pick a landing spot just on the green and choose the club whose roll-out gets the ball to the hole: a pitching wedge or 9-iron for more roll, an 8 or 7-iron when you are further from the flag with green to work with. Learning one or two clubs well beats owning a bag full of options you never trust.

Why do I keep thinning or duffing my chips?

Most poor contact around the green comes from trying to help the ball into the air and from decelerating. Keep your weight favouring your lead foot, let the loft of the club do the lifting, and keep the clubhead moving through the ball. A short backswing with an accelerating through-swing is far more reliable than a long, tentative one.

How can I practise chipping without a course?

Short-game practice needs very little space. Drop a few balls on any patch of grass, put a towel or headcover down as a landing target, and rehearse landing the ball on it and letting it release. At Lullingstone Park you can work on the real thing on the practice ground before a round, which is the quickest way to lower your scores.