Short Game
Golf Chipping Technique for Beginners
Setup, Club Selection and Drills to Get on the Green Consistently
April 14, 2026 · 8 min read · Stephen Pickering
Setup, Club Selection and Drills to Get on the Green Consistently
April 14, 2026 · 8 min read · Stephen Pickering
Key takeaway: Every consistent chip starts with the setup: 70% weight on the lead foot, ball back of centre, shaft leaning forward. Get those three right before anything else. From there, practise with a scoring target every session — count how many chips finish inside 3 feet — and you’ll see measurable improvement within weeks.
Most beginners practise their driver and wonder why their scores stay the same. Here’s the truth: you’ll miss greens on almost every hole. What separates a 90 shooter from a 100 shooter isn’t the tee shot — it’s what happens next.
Chipping is the skill that saves your score every time you miss. And unlike the full swing, you don’t need months to get decent at it. Get the fundamentals right — setup, ball position, weight, club selection — and you’ll be getting up and down within weeks. This guide covers everything a beginner needs to build a reliable chipping technique from scratch.
Every consistent chip shot starts before you swing. Most beginners skip the setup and wonder why they’re getting inconsistent results. Don’t.
Stand with a narrow stance — feet roughly hip-width apart, maybe slightly narrower. Open your front foot slightly toward the target. This frees up your hips and makes it easier to rotate through the shot.
Keep your knees slightly flexed. Not a deep bend — just enough to feel athletic. You’re not making a full swing here.
Put around 70% of your weight on your lead foot at address. Keep it there throughout the shot. This is the single biggest fix for beginners who chunk chips.
When weight stays back through impact, the club bottoms out behind the ball — that’s a fat shot. Lead foot, stay there, and you’ll stop hitting it heavy overnight.
Play the ball slightly back of centre — roughly opposite your back heel. This encourages a slightly downward strike on the ball, which is exactly what you want for clean contact.
Press your hands slightly forward, so the shaft leans toward the target. This reduces loft and ensures the club hits the ball first, not the turf. Maintain that forward shaft lean through impact — don’t let your wrists flip.
Struggling with chip distance control? The up-and-down percentage is one of the fastest stats to improve.
How to Get Up and Down in Golf →The biggest mistake beginners make with chipping is reaching for the lob wedge every time. The lob wedge is high-risk — it requires a steep swing path and precise contact to execute. Get it wrong and you either thin it across the green or chunk it 3 yards.
Start with one club and get good at it before adding more. A pitching wedge or gap wedge is ideal for beginners. They’re forgiving, easy to control, and land the ball with a lower trajectory that rolls out predictably.
Use this rule: land the ball just past the fringe and let it roll to the hole. Think of it like a long putt you’re controlling with a wedge — less air time, more roll time.
Once you’re comfortable with your go-to chip, start expanding:
- Pitching wedge or 9-iron — for chips where you need more roll than carry. Works well when the pin is at the back and you have plenty of green to use. - Gap wedge or sand wedge — for standard chips from just off the green, 5–15 yards out. - Lob wedge — only when you need to clear an obstacle or stop the ball quickly. Not a beginner’s default club.
A simple way to think about it: the more green you have to work with, use less loft. Less green, more loft. Match the club to the shot, not habit.
Good news — the chipping swing is short and simple. It’s not a scaled-down full swing. Think of it as an extended putting stroke with a little extra body turn.
Keep your grip pressure light — a death grip kills feel. Use your shoulders and chest to control the swing, not your hands and wrists. The swing should feel like a pendulum: back and through at the same pace.
Length controls distance. A short backswing = a short chip. A longer backswing = more carry. Practise controlling distance by changing the length of your swing, not by swinging harder.
Flipping the wrists — the lead wrist breaks down through impact, adding loft and causing thin or fat contact. Keep the shaft leaning forward.
Looking up too early — the head lifts before impact to see where the ball goes. Trust your setup. Keep your eyes on the ball through contact.
Swinging too hard — more power equals less control with chips. Slow down. Feel the club.
Using too much loft — lob wedge for every shot is a bad habit. Get out of it early.
Put 10 balls down just off the edge of the green, 8–10 yards from the hole. Use your gap wedge. Count how many finish inside 3 feet.
That’s your benchmark. Repeat it every practice session. Once you’re getting 6 or more inside 3 feet consistently, move back to 15 yards and restart.
Scoring Zone’s chipping challenges are built around exactly this kind of benchmark tracking — every drill has a points target so you always know if you’re actually improving, not just hitting balls.
Want a structured chipping practice session with scoring and benchmarks built in?
Chipping Drills →Hitting balls aimlessly doesn’t build skill. You need a target, a scoring system, and a way to measure improvement over time.
Set up 10 balls from the same spot, 8 yards off the green. Chip all 10 to a hole and count how many finish inside 3 feet. Record the number. This is your baseline. Repeat it every session and track whether the number improves over time.
Set three targets at 10, 20, and 30 yards. Chip 3 balls to each target, trying to land the ball within 1 yard of the flag. This trains distance control — arguably more important than accuracy. Most amateurs are inconsistent with distance, not direction.
Set up five different chip shots around the green, each from a different angle and lie. Try to chip and one-putt (chip + putt = 2 shots, the par). Count your pars. Track it across sessions. This replicates on-course pressure — every chip matters, just like on the course.
15–20 minutes of structured chipping practice is more effective than 45 minutes of mindless hitting. Split it this way:
- 5 minutes: proximity drill from 8 yards (baseline) - 5 minutes: distance ladder at 10, 20, 30 yards - 5 minutes: par 2 challenge with on-course pressure
Count everything. If you’re not tracking results, you’re just warming up.
Scoring Zone’s Practice Assistant builds full sessions like this around your specific weak areas — it tells you what to work on rather than leaving you to guess.
See how your up-and-down percentage trends over time as your chipping improves.
Round Stats →A pitching wedge or gap wedge is the best starting point. They’re easier to control than a lob wedge and give you more margin for error. Once you’re making consistent contact, add a sand wedge and learn to adjust for different distances.
Play the ball slightly back of centre — roughly in line with your back heel. This encourages a descending strike and clean contact. Many beginners position the ball too far forward, which causes thin or chunked chips.
Chunking usually comes from too much weight on the back foot or a breakdown in the lead wrist through impact. Put 70% of your weight on your lead foot at address and keep it there. Think shaft lean forward at impact — the handle leads the clubhead. That alone fixes most fat chips.
With focused practice, most beginners see measurable improvement in 2–4 weeks. The key word is measured. If you’re just hitting balls without tracking how many finish inside 3 feet, you won’t know if you’re actually improving. Set a target, count results, and you’ll progress faster.
Stephen Pickering
3-handicap golfer with 25 years on the course. Built Scoring Zone to bring structure and pressure to short game practice. Writes about what actually works from the practice green, not the press box.
Scoring Zone gives you structured chipping drills with scoring targets and benchmarks — so every session has a goal and every improvement is measurable. Free during early access.
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