The Easiest Chip Shot

November 30, 2018


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In the winter, as you all know, those lies around the greens can get pretty thin. The ground is hard and the Bermuda has gone dormant and it can become difficult to predict what the ball will do off the club face. Not to mention wet and soggy conditions. What’s this all sound like? A bit like the British Open to me. So let’s take a cue from two legendary players who mastered a simple way to play chip shots from around the green, and those two names would be Raymond Floyd and Tom Watson. Raymond Floyd in particular is famous for being shown on TV, just a foot maybe off the green and still chipping the ball.

So we’ll call this shot putting with a 5 iron. It’s basically a short bump and run chip where you don’t wish to carry the ball a long way in the air. Floyd used to take his 5 iron, slide the hands down the grip and lean the shaft slightly forward. His weight would favor his left foot. Then he would use his putting stroke to pop the ball on the green and get it rolling to the hole. The putter stroke swing takes the wrists out of the shot and can increase the chance of solid contact, improves feel and distance control.

Give this a try, but go ahead and commit to the shot, use a 5 iron, try not to cheat some with a more lofted club. If you don’t carry a 5 iron then try with the 6. I hope this could help in some of these British Open type days we may have this winter when the air is cold and the ground is wet. Good Luck!!

-Jeff Hale

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