Beyond working on the basics of your chipping technique – which is certainly the best place to start – you can also use drills to remind yourself of how to make solid contact with the ball. In this section, we are going to outline one such drill. If you add this drill to your regular practice routine, we believe you’ll take a big step toward improved consistency in your chipping game.

To perform the drill, please follow the step-by-step directions below.

• For this drill, you will want to find an area at your local course where you can practice chip shots. The only equipment you will need for the drill is a wedge and a few golf balls. While you can use any of your wedges, we recommend that you start out with the pitching wedge before moving on to more lofted options.
• Find a relatively flat spot around the green to drop your golf balls, making sure that you are standing on fairway-length grass. It is a good idea, of course, to practice chipping from the rough as well, but not right now. The point of this drill is to work on your ability to make clean contact, and the best place to work on that skill is on the short grass.
• Once you have found your spot, set your golf balls down and work on picking a target. You want to make this shot as easy as possible, so pick a hole that is cut near the middle of the green. You shouldn’t be short sided for this chip, but you also shouldn’t need to chip the ball a long distance.
• At this point, all of the necessary preparations should have been made. You have your spot to chip from, you’ve picked a target, and you have your club in hand. The only thing left to do is hit the first shot. So, pick out a landing spot for the chip, step up to the ball, and take your stance.
• But wait! There is one more thing you are going to do before sending the ball on its way. Once you are settled into your stance, take your right hand off the club and place it either in your pocket or behind your back. For this drill, you are going to be chipping with only your left hand on the club.
• In order to hit solid chip shots with only your left hand on the club, you’ll need to control the swing with your shoulders. If you are going to make great contact, it is important to keep your left wrist flat while using your shoulders and arms to swing the club through the ball. This is going to feel quite awkward at first, and your initial efforts will likely be ugly. That’s okay – stick with it, and watch your results gradually improve as you get more and more comfortable with the task.
• Hit as many shots as you would like while using just your left hand. Then, when you feel that you’ve made good progress, go ahead and put your right hand back on the club. Even with two hands on the grip, remember what you learned during the drill and try to maintain the same technique.

This is one of the best drills available for getting rid of thin shots in your chipping game. Taking your right hand off the club will obviously take it out of the equation, so it won’t be able to get in the way of making solid contact. Use this drill from time to time just to remind yourself of the proper way to use your hands while chipping. After all, once you learn how to hit solid chip shots with just one hand, doing so with both hands on the club should be no trouble at all.