This article goes into the chip shot and offers some pointers as to how to improve your chipping. With a chip shot, your goal is to get the golf ball onto the green and have it run on, you do not want it to land and stop. If you can get the ball rolling like a putt so much the better. You would play a chip shot when close to the green and use a variety of clubs depending on the situation, from a 5 iron to a sand wedge.

First get it clear in your head where on the green you would like the ball to land - preferably somewhere on the green. The reason for this doe not take much working out. Because the green boasts the smoothest grass on the course, predicting the bounce is much easier than in, say, the rough. If you work on getting the chip about two feet onto the green with room to run on towards the hole, that will be a good starting point.

Club selection for chipping is governed by how far the ball needs to run from the landing point to the hole. For shorter distances you need to reduce the distance the ball travels once it has landed. For this you should use a club with more loft. If the distance is quite large, for example fifty feet or so then a shallower-lofted club is what you should go for. Another factor that comes into the club selection equation is the lie of the ball. If the ball is in long grass you need a lofted club to get the ball up and out of the grass. This takes quite a bit of practice owing to the many variables at work. The best way to improve is with experience. If you practice with lots of different clubs in different situations you will start to get a "feel" about what club is the right choice for the situation.

A good way to hit a chip shot is to treat it like a putt shot. That is you use the same grip and swing as you do with a putter. Stand with your feet fairly close together and move the left book back a touch. Most of your weight should be on your left foot. Downwards movement of the club face, and lots of it, is essential when chipping. Using your putting stance and grip will ensure this movement is imparted. As you play the stroke, as in putting, try to keep your left wrist solid as any movement will cause serious deviation in the direction of the shot. To get a good idea as to how fast the greens are playing you should hit a few practice chip shots on the putting green.

Hopefully this has been a useful introduction to the chip shot and you have learned something new to try on you next round of golf.