You're Correct!

The movement in your arms if you are going to play an effective, crisp, chip shot needs to replicate the movement of a pendulum. There needs to be a free swinging action back and forth. If you stop the movement in your arms at the ball then the club head will decelerate through impact and mis-hit the ball.

The key to being able to create a pendulum action in your arms as you chip is to create a great set up position to be able to freely swing your arms from. In order to do this, play the chip from the centre of your feet, with your stance narrower than usual. This will encourage balance and a downward striking action in the club head to promote a clean strike. Hold lower down on the handle than usual and stand a little closer for control. The key is to ensure that you set your weight and your hands forward so that you can then simply swing your arms back and forth with a pendulum action.

To do this, position your hands correctly and you should notice that your weight is set forward on your front foot due to this. Create a straight line from your left shoulder, down your left arm (for right handed golfers) and extend this down the shaft of the golf club. This will set your hands forward of the club head and if you set your head so that your nose is just left of the golf ball, you will notice that your weight is set slightly more on your front left foot.

Achieving this will now allow you to make a very simple pendulum swing with your arms from your shoulders. You will have created a “Y” shape between your arms and the shaft of the golf club and all you need to do is swing this Y shape away from the golf ball and then back through it for your arm movement to be correct. However far the club head travels away from the golf ball on the back swing, it must replicate this distance from the ball to its follow through position to ensure an effective chip. The wrists remain very passive during the action, the arms swing freely from the shoulders as a pendulum swings freely back and forth.

The movement in your arms if you are going to play an effective, crisp, chip shot needs to replicate the movement of a pendulum. There needs to be a free swinging action back and forth. If you stop the movement in your arms at the ball then the club head will decelerate through impact and mis-hit the ball.

If you only use your wrists to play a chip shot, then you will pick the club head up very steeply as you move it away from the golf ball. This will result in it moving very steeply back down towards the ball and this angle of attack will result in the top of the golf ball being struck, producing a low shot with little distance control.

When you set up to play a chip, your arms will be set closer to your body than for a full shot. If you swing back away from the golf ball and then move your arms away from your body during your down swing, then you will present the hosel of the club head to the ball and you will hit a shank.