You're Correct!

To contact the ball correctly during a chip shot the club head needs to strike the golf ball on a descending blow which contacts the ball before travelling down into the ground. This allows the ball to roll up the club face where the loft of the golf club will give the ball its lift into the air.

A common error when golfers chip the ball is to use the wrists through impact to slide the club under the ball and lift the ball into the air. In doing so, the chances of a poor shot such as hitting the ball fat (ground before the ball) or hitting the ball thin (hitting halfway up the ball) hugely increase.

To ensure the ideal downward trajectory through the ball, the hands should always stay ahead of the club head throughout the chip shot. Heres how to do it.

1. Set up as you mean to go on. Stand to the ball with the ball in the middle of the stance but with the hands in line with the front knee and ahead of the ball.
2. Use the shoulders to power the shot. Rock the shoulders back and forth like a pendulum. The wrists, hands and club should remain still like they have been carved from a block of stone. There should be no wrist movement.
3. Finish like you started. The finish position for the wrists should be the same as the start - still ahead of the club head with the same wrist angle.

Use this drill to practice these points.

Hold the golf club in the middle of the shaft (halfway between the grip and the club head) and stand in normal chipping stance. The golf club should be way above the floor and you should find that the grip end of the golf club is pointing out past the front side of the body (left side for right handed golfers).

Now practice your chipping action. The goal is to keep the wrists still and use the shoulders. If the wrists are used during the chipping action, the grip end of the golf club will hit you in the side.

Remember this feeling, hold the club properly and have a go with a ball. Check your finish position to see if the club points at your body (it would have hit you in the side) or whether it points past the front side of the body (correct). Lead with the hands and chip the ball correctly and consistently.

Using the wrists to slide the club under the golf ball is a risky affair. It demands a perfect lie to provide room for the club to slide under the ball and if mis-timed will result in a shot that is fat (ground before the ball) or thin (hitting halfway up the ball).

Setting up with the wrists ahead of the ball does slightly de-loft the golf club. This is the point of a chip shot - a low running shot. If the ball is running too low then use a more lofted golf club. To chip a ball it is normal to use the clubs ranging from a 7 iron to a lob wedge, dependant on the shot in hand. A correct chip with a lob wedge should certainly not roll along the floor, if so check that the position of the golf ball is in the middle of your feet.

This is a common mistake. When setting up take a normal set up position and grip the golf club. When you set the hands forward to a chip position do not move the hands on the grip, retain the original position. If you re-grip the golf club at this stage the club face will be in a closed position on impact. This causes the ball to go to the left (for right handed golfers).