Students come to me for the short game and soon realize that 1)just using one club for chipping and or pitching will severely limit your scoring ability, and 2)they don’t know the difference between and chip and a pitch. Let’s get this matter taken care of once and for all!

To review, a ‘chip’ is getting the ball on the green early and letting it roll to the hole like a putt (I use the visual of “chipping under a bench”). You need a selection of irons to choose from to find the right distance for your ball to roll. Less air time, more roll.

A pitch is a high lofted shot that needs to fly over something – water, a bunker, a bush. Usually this is your most lofted club – a sand wedge or lob wedge. More air time, less roll.

The above pic is referencing short game irons options for chipping. Notice that with the different lofts of the clubs, the ball will roll different distances – shorter for the 9 iron and longer for the 5 iron. The shot is all dictated by the loft of the club! In essence, you are making the same chipping technique but simply changing the club for different results.

This pic is just a reference as I tell my students that most people usually chip with their pitching wedge, 8 iron or 6 iron combo, and I myself use the sand wedge a lot. But that is YOUR choice. You need more than one club to chip, but too many gets confusing! Three club choices is usually a good selection. Go out and try chipping to different targets and see the difference in flight and roll. You should be able to chip close enough to the hole that you have a makeable putt! The more you practice, the closer you get to cup, and THAT takes a bunch of strokes off your score.

If you need more work on your short game, sign up for a private lesson or take one of our  2 hour Short Game Schools.