Stop Wasting Strokes

Wanna make a bet? I’ll be willing to bet that right now, this very moment that you are listening, if I told you to go to the nearest driving range, put the ball down on the grass, and take your favorite wedge that you chip with and take your normal, comfortable, default chip swing…just your natural chip shot, ? swing, ? swing, whatever. This is the shot that you would make if you didn’t have a target and you want to just warm up your chipping to get a feel. You would hit 2 or 3 the same way. And it would probably land around the same area without you even thinking about it. I bet you don’t know how far you just hit. Not to the exact yard, but approximately, maybe like plus/minus 3-5 yards, let's say. Have you ever measured it?

But I am also willing to bet that you have a pretty good idea how far your 7 iron goes…plus/minus five yards, your 8 iron, your 5 iron even…and I bet you even measured how far you can hit your driver as welll. You actually might know that to the yard. In fact, you might know the longest distance you drove it the last round as well as your average.?

Am I right about the chip shot yardage? If not, you are a small percentage of golfers that have figured it out. You are a small percentage of the elite or on your way to being an elite golfer…I am so proud of you.

What’s my point? My point is that most of us don’t give a crap about our chipping game as we should. Well, let me take that back. Maybe you give a crap but…you don’t show it.?

How do I know? Because I am the same way. When I see someone chipping on a driving range, I think to myself, yo, you are wasting your money right now; save those precious range balls for real swing practice…learning to hit your mid irons pure, practice something that really matters…figuring out how to not slice your driver, figure out how to hit your 3 wood off the perfect lie straight and long so you get your eagle opportunity on a par 5,? figure out how to hit that 6 iron consistent and long. You gotta figure that out first to start scoring low. WRONG!

It’s quite the opposite. On this article, I am going to help you to completely flip your thinking to realizing that playing better golf is anchored on your chipping game, not anything else. And I know you’ve heard this many times before. But I am also going to tell you why you don’t actually believe it. Because if you did, you would be working on your chipping game more than anything else, and you don’t. You really don’t. And you know what? They don’t want you to get better either? Who’s they? You know…them. Those people that design golf courses and run pro shops. The money is in selling range balls and tee times…and yes, practice greens don’t make money are a necessity, but most of them have “no chipping” signs on them. How many courses really dedicate their facilities to the most important practice of all…the chipping greens? There are very few courses that offer that; why? Because maybe they don’t believe it’s that crucial for bettering our game.?

But I am telling you this, a great golfer must not only accept the significance, power, and value of the chipping game, but a great golfer must learn to relish and be obsessed with getting the ball into the hole more than a mere pure ball-striking skill. You have go be more obsessed with getting that ball into the hole then hitting your mid irons pure.?

Tony Finau did something that caught my attention during the Genesis Open Tournament at Torrey Pines last weekend, and it really got me thinking. You see pros chipping in all the time, right? If the players are having a decent day playing in a decent condition, you’ll see couple of chips fall in throughout the tournament…whether from the fringe, the rough, or sometimes from the bunker, we are not crazy surprised by it. But Tony did it 3 times in 9 holes. Did I say that right? 3 times in 9 holes. Was it rare for Tony? Was it a big deal? He says this after the round. “I think that's the most chip-ins I've had in one round really in my life, for sure in my career; maybe as a kid I may have chipped in a few times. But that's always a bonus. Chip shots, most of the time you're aiming for the hole, so it's nice when they go in.”

Okay, key sentence…an Easter egg for you. “Most of the time, you’re aiming for the hole.”

Let’s start with some cold, hard facts. According to the PGA, approximately 60-65% of all shots in a round of golf happen within 100 yards of the hole. That’s right—more than half your strokes are chips, pitches, greenside bunkers and putts.?

And yet, how much time do most of us spend practicing our short game? If you’re like me, you probably spend 90% of your range time smashing driver and 10% half-heartedly rolling a few putts before your round. And chips? Probably none at all, either because your course doesn’t have a convenient chipping area or you just ran out of time.

Here’s another stat that’ll blow your mind: the average PGA Tour player gets up and down from around the green about 60% of the time. The average amateur? Less than 20%. That’s a 40% gap, and it’s not because the pros have magic wedges. It’s because they’ve mastered the art of chipping. And listen, yes, they are great putter, but if you pay attention, most of their up and downs aren’t from magnificent putting; it’s from getting their chip shots close to the hole.

Another fun fact, Did you know that the average PGA Tour player only hits about 12 greens in regulation per round? That means even the best players in the world have to get up and down at least six times per round just to save par.

Now, let’s look at us normal golfers. If you’re an 18-handicap, you’re probably hitting, what, 6 or 7 greens in regulation? Maybe fewer? That means you’re chipping a lot.

And yet, we don’t track our chipping distances. We don’t log our chipping stats. We don’t have a system for dialing in our feel around the greens.

That’s insane.

Imagine if you put even half as much effort into your chipping as you do into your driver. You’d be shaving 3-5 strokes off your score overnight.

So let’s fix this.?

And, in order to fix this, I want to give you three game-changing chipping takeaways that will help you cut strokes right away.?

But, before we get into the fix, let’s first define various shots around the green and why it matters. Most golf instructors teach 3 basic shots around the green. And for you, I am going to give you a youtube link on the show notes that has millions of views that teach you these 3 basic shots.

Chip and Run (Standard Chip Shot)

• What it is: The chip and run is the most fundamental short game shot. It’s a low-trajectory shot that lands on the green and rolls toward the hole, almost like a putt.
• When to use it? When you have plenty of green to work with, from tight lies or short grass near the green & when you want consistency—less air time means less risk
• Why it matters: It’s the most reliable and predictable chip shot, since it rolls like a putt, reading the green is crucial, and the lower flight minimizes error from mis-hits
• How to hit it: Use your favorite wedge (higher loft = more carry, less roll), weight slightly forward, stance narrow, hands ahead of the ball, using a pendulum stroke, focus on landing spot—not the hole—so the ball rolls out naturally

Backspin (One-Hop Stop Shot)

• What it is: A backspin chip is a high-precision shot where the ball bites and stops quickly after landing, rather than rolling out. It’s controlled by creating spin, which allows the ball to check up.
• When to use it: Fast greens where a rolling chip won’t stop in time, tight pin locations with little green to work with & when you need to carry a ridge or rough area
• Why it matters: A high-spin chip shot gives you control over distance, helps in avoiding big mistakes when you don’t have space to run the ball and mastering spin makes you look like a magician on the course
• How to hit it: Use a sand wedge (54°-56°) or lob wedge (58°-60°), play the ball slightly forward in stance, accelerate through impact, brushing the turf with a descending blow, open the clubface slightly, and use soft hands for feel & generate clean contact—hitting it too hard cancels the spin

Lob Shot (The High Flop Chip)

• What it is: The lob shot is a high, soft-landing chip that stops quickly. It requires a big, open clubface and a confident swing to pop the ball up and let it land gently.
• When to use it: When you need to get over an obstacle (bunker, rough, ridge), short-sided situations (little green to work with) & when the pin is tucked close and a running shot won’t stop in time
• Why it matters: It's a lifesaver when a normal chip shot isn’t an option, allows you to attack tricky pin positions, & adds variety to your short game—every great golfer needs this shot
• How to hit it: Use a lob wedge (58°-60°), stance wide, ball forward, clubface fully open, hands neutral (not forward like a chip), swing long and smooth, let the loft do the work & keep soft hands—don’t jab at it.

So, to summarize, here are the 3 shots again.

• Chip and Run → The go-to shot, high percentage, keeps the game simple
• Backspin Shot → The precision tool when you need control
• Lob Shot → The escape artist for tricky situations

If you don’t know how to hit these shots, I highly, highly recommend you get a lesson and get these shots dialed in. Or, get on youtube and figure out how to hit these, it’s essential to your game.

I know I told this story millions of times, but I’ll tell it again. I used to come home from school, get my shagbag, and hit hundreds of chips over and over again into the same area in my backyard. Bobby Jones spent countless hours on long summer afternoons and evenings chipping and pitching shots to the 13th green at the Atlanta Athletic Club. Jose-Maria Olazabal lived on a golf course where his father was the superintendent, and he spent hours and hours chipping and pitching.? He learned the game by learning the short game first. Tom Kite’s father built a bunker and green in his backyard, where Tom spent countless hours. So did Ernie Els and Phil Mickelson. Most great players first became good at getting the ball into the hole, then, later, they refined their swings.

So, how do you develop an amazing short game if you don’t have a grassy backyard or grow up on a course or have a backyard bunker? I don’t know. But, I know this. You have to find a way. You have to find a way if you want to score lower. You have to find a way if you want to get better.

Once you are finally putting the time into your chipping game, these are the 3 essential things you’ll need to focus on.?

• KNOW YOUR DEFAULT CHIPPING YARDAGE. You ever go to a range, see some guy with alignment sticks, a launch monitor, and a whole science experiment going on… and then, when he gets to the chipping green, he just flops a few balls around like he’s killing time waiting for a tee time?

Yeah. We’re all guilty.

But let me ask you—how are you supposed to get good at chipping if you don’t know how far you actually hit your basic chip shot?

Watch the movie “The Gorge”, it’s about 2 elite snipers assigned to a mission to guard either side of a deep gorge and their conversations with their previous sniping feats are fascinating; you know why? Because they know exactly how far their target is, it’s one of the most important data that they analyze.?

Now you officially have a stock chipping number. If you ever need a safe, predictable chip, this is it.

• LET THE SHORT GAME FLOW Dr. Bob Rotella, the golf psychology guru, basically says that overthinking kills your short game. And he’s right.

Ever notice how kids just walk up and hit chip shots effortlessly? They don’t think about shaft angle, wrist hinge, or launch angle. They just react.

And they’re usually better at chipping than most adults.

Why? Because they let it flow.

Meanwhile, you see a mid-handicapper over a chip shot and it looks like they’re trying to deactivate a bomb.

We need to fix this.

You’ll be amazed at how much smoother and more natural your chipping becomes.

• CHIP TO MAKE IT, NOT JUST GET IT CLOSE Let me tell you a secret—pros aren’t trying to ‘just get it close.’ They’re trying to hole it. Did you get Tony Finau’s comment after chipping in 3 shots on the front 9? If you’ve forgotten, let me repeat it for you. Tony says, “I think that's the most chip-ins I've had in one round really in my life, for sure in my career..chip shots, most of the time you're aiming for the hole, so it's nice when they go in.”

You ever notice how Tiger, Phil, or even Tony Finau this weekend always looked like they expected to make the chip? They weren’t hoping. They were hunting.

Meanwhile, the average golfer just wants to ‘get it on the green’ and hope for a two-putt. That’s loser energy yo. We’re flipping the mindset today.”

STOP WASTING STROKES Let’s be real—if you had a putting stroke that shaved 6 strokes off your game, you’d practice it constantly, right?

Well, your chipping game IS that stroke-saver.

The only difference between you and the guys who are automatic inside 50 yards is that they practice it with purpose.

So let’s review the game plan:

1. Find your stock chipping yardage—stop guessing.
2. Let your short game flow—react, don’t overthink.
3. Chip with the mindset of MAKING it—not just getting it close.

And to make it fun, I’ve got 3 awesome drills for you to help you with the game plan. https://bettergolfacademy.com/chip

If you take these seriously, you’ll transform your short game in a few weeks.

Now go out there and start gamifying your chipping practice—I want to hear those wedge shots rattling the bottom of the cup!” If this helped you, let me know—send me a message, tag me in your practice, or just go out and shock your golf buddies when you start chipping like Seve Ballesteros overnight.

PS. Check out this video to learn the 3 shots I mentioned.