You are going to find yourself trying to get up and down a fair amount of times while golfing. As you have already experienced, it is not an easy task. Besides the pressure of saving par, the chip has to be executed close to perfection to work. The good news is there are golf chipping practice drills that can help you get better at it.

Chipping is difficult enough because of all the different lies your ball can end up in. To increase your odds of success, you can do the following drills.

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Quiet Wrists Drill

This is one of the most important things when it comes to chipping. The less your wrists move through your swing, the more your chance for a good outcome. It is especially important for chipping around the green. Here is where mistakes can cost you the most with minimum room for mis-hits.

Now, you can do this drill at home as well which makes it easier to do. The goal of the drill is to get you comfortable with hitting the ball without moving your wrists to get more consistency and accuracy. It also helps to gain more distance control while chipping. There are a few steps to follow:

1. Take a stance like you usually do for chipping
2. Position your club with a slight forward shaft lean
3. Start making short swings without hinging the wrists
4. When swinging try to make contact with the ground at the same spot each time
5. Once you are comfortable with the drill, start doing longer swings
6. Try to do it all over again this time with a golf ball (if circumstances allow)

Body Rotation Drill

Another key thing you should be doing while chipping. It helps with all the elements, starting from consistency, contact, accuracy, and distance control. Turning your hips and upper body through the swing is crucial for a good outcome. This is where solid short-game golfers get separated from the rest.

Here are the steps to do the drill:

1. Setup as usual for a chip
2. Tuck a piece of your shirt under your lead arm armpit
3. That will help your arms to stay tight to your body through the swing
4. It is important that you keep your arms as straight as possible
5. You can open up your lead foot a bit toward the target to help you with the turn
6. Start with shorter swings the way your piece of shirt stays tucked under your armpit
7. It is important that you rotate your upper body and hips in harmony with your arms
8. Work your way from shorter to longer swings

Different Lies Drill

While golfing it is impossible for you to hit your ball from the same type of lies each and every time. This goes especially for chipping due to different hazards around the green. The best way for you to prepare for a round is to practice chips from different lies. Not everyone will have access to all the different lies to practice, but if you do it can be beneficial to your game.

For this drill simply try different chip shots from a certain type of lie at a time. Chip from the green fringe, from shorter grass, from long grass, and from bunkers. Hit multiple times different shots to see what the ball does in each situation. Even with all that the course might still surprise you, but you will at least have more shots in your bag.

Close to the Flag Drill

This drill is self-explanatory. In a few words, you pick a target, a flag if you are at a driving range, and try to land the ball as close to it as possible. As simple as it sounds if you never did it before it can be challenging. Once you nail this down your short game is going to go to the next level.

I would recommend hitting 10 to 20 balls at one target and then switching to a new one. The major reason is you are unlikely to hit two shots at the same distance on the course one after the other. This not only helps you with accuracy but also helps you build your stock chip shots.

Your stock shots are basically chips you have for every single distance. It does not have to be for each yard, but it should be within 5 to 10 yards apart. So when your distance to the pin is 20 yards, you know exactly how to hit the ball. The same goes for 15 or 30 yards and so on. This can lower your score quite a bit.

Different Clubs Drill

A lot of golfers automatically pull a wedge out of their bag when chipping comes into play. Guess what? You do not have to chip every single time with your wedge. What ultimately determines which club to use is the distance to the pin and the ball’s lie. Not every chip has to go up in the air and land close to the hole.

For example, sometimes it is a better option to go for a bump and run chip shot with a 7 iron. In fact, you can use almost any club in your bag to chip. If there are obstacles in front of your ball you can definitely go with a more lofted club. But if the ball is close to the green or it is a clear path to the hole, you can bump and run it with a less lofted club.

The objective of this drill is for you to try to chip with different clubs and see how the ball reacts in those situations. See how much your ball rolls and what the total distance is for each one. Do it from closer to the green and from further from the green. Add some creativity to your short game to improve your score.

Always Be Prepared for a Difficult Chip

The bottom line is if you practice for all sorts of scenarios, there are not many situations that will surprise you on the course. There is a good chance your practice time is limited, which is fine. Try to make the most of it by doing various drills. More importantly, do the drills correctly so it is all purposeful.

Chipping does not have to be something you are scared of. On the contrary, it can be fun once you get better at it. There are enough potentially frustrating situations while you are golfing. Do not make chipping one of them. Stay positive, visualize a good outcome, and execute that chip with confidence.

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How to Chip Better – Improve Your Game Around the Green

Golf Chipping Tips for Beginners – Scramble Like a Pro