You're Correct!

Every golfer wants to hit a chip shot and see a lot of spin as it lands on the green like the pros on television but it is not just about the technique, it is about the type of lie, choice of shot and the club selection for the shot.

When chipping or pitching into the green, it is important to make sure you are hitting the maximum loft for the shot, a solid connection is made and with plenty of speed.

Many golfers fall into the trap of swinging long and decelerating through impact. This will cause poor strikes such as a fat and a thin shot which takes away all the spin and leaves the ball short or sends it very long over the green.

Every chip shot should have some acceleration through impact. It is this increase of speed which will create the most possible spin and therefore get the height and stoppage on the greens. With this speed of swing comes the length of swing so try hitting chip shots with acceleration through impact and if the ball goes too far but with a good strike, shorten the back swing rather than slow it down.

You may have the right loft of club in your hands and you may be accelerating nicely through impact but the most important fundamental to this shot is contact on the ball. If the ball is in the rough, the contact will not be clean enough to produce a lot of spin. If the ball is on the fairway, the only way to create a bad contact is through a poor address position.

The set up position should have a close to neutral grip, with the ball position just forward of centre in the stance, the weight 65%-35% favoring the left foot with the stance narrowed to around 18 inches wide. This set up encourages a slightly steepened angle of attack so the club hits down on the ball to create spin.

This set up, with maximum loft club selection and acceleration through the ball will encourage a high spinning chip shot and plenty of stop on the green.

When the ball is placed further back in the stance then the chances of having back spin will be minimized. Although the angle of attack is still very steep, the dynamic loft of the club face has reduced causing the ball to come out low and roll further than what is required.

Using less loft will encourage the ball to leave the club face lower, therefore when the ball lands on the green it will run out a long way. Many players prefer to use the 7 iron chip and run, and land the ball approximately one quarter of the way to the hole and allow it run to the rest.

Many golfers try to speed up their swing or even try to slide the club underneath the ball by using a very wristy golf swing. This can cause really detrimental shots such as the thin and fat shot. These shots can ruin a round of golf from what should technically be a simple chipping action.