7 Benefits of Chipping with your Putting Stroke
What one area of the game is the most difficult for beginning golfers to master?
What part of your golf game did you always struggle with when you first started to learn how to golf? Think back…
I can certainly tell you where I had trouble as a beginner (and sometimes still do).
It was CHIPPING THE GOLF BALL FROM JUST OFF THE GREEN. I lost a lot of strokes due to this part of my short game not being as good as other parts of my game and I sometimes STILL have trouble in this area.
One thing that I always recommend for beginning golfers is to try chipping the golf ball using a putting stroke.
WHY?
Because this technique gives beginners a way to consistently hit short chip shots without making that one very common and crucial short-game mistake: Hitting the ball too thin and sending it sailing past the flag on a low line drive that usually ends up on the other side of the green.
Before learning this chip-putt technique, I would often three and four-putt most holes. At the end of the round, putting accounted for 36-42 of my overall strokes – all due to the fact that I couldn’t get the ball close to the hole on my short chips.
Once I talked to golfers with more experience, I realized that 28 putts per round was possible for a golfer with a good short game yet I was wasting too many strokes on and around the green due to my poor chipping technique!
Chipping with your Putting Stroke – The Basics
A good putting stroke is simply a stroke that goes back and through the ball where the backswing and follow-through are, roughly, the same distance. Typically, the wrists are locked and the club is swung using a shoulder turn (sometimes called an arms-and-shoulders putting stroke).
Set-Up
Address the ball with your stance slightly open and your weight slightly forward and toward the target (flag). Keep your hands slightly ahead or in front of the club head in order to create more downward contact with the golf ball at impact.
Take a look at the video below from PGANewman.com to get an idea of the mechanics behind this very simple golf stroke.
Chipping with your Putting Stroke – 7 Benefits
Benefit #1 – Chipping with Your Putting Stroke Eliminates Most Hand and Wrist Action
The fewer moving body parts you can use during any type of swing means that less possible things can go wrong.
Benefit #2 – This Technique is Easy to Learn
Even most beginning golfers have a basic understanding of what a good putting stroke is and it’s not hard to make the slight changes necessary to adapt this to chipping.
Benefit #3 – A Putting Stroke is Easy to Repeat
Once you can putt, you can easily adapt your putting stroke to your chip shots and your short game will become a lot more consistent because a putting stroke is easier to repeat than any other type of golf stroke.
Benefit #4 – Less Embarrassment Among Your Golfing Buddies
Walking across the green after your golf ball goes whizzing past the flag and ends up in the far green side bunker (or worse) while all of your playing partners wait and watch is NOT fun.
Benefit #5 – Much Closer Proximity to the Hole
One you learn how to chip the golf ball with a putting stroke, the result of your short chip shots will be a golf ball that ends up much closer to the hole.
Benefit #6 – Improved Ball Flight and Backspin
By following the tips included in this online golf tutorial you will consistently strike the golf ball with a downward blow and good follow-through. The descending impact will get the ball in the air quickly and, when combined with the follow through of your putting stroke, there will be enough backspin on the ball to make it land in front of the hole and release towards the hole as it decelerates.
Benefit #7 – Lower Score!
Perhaps the best benefit of chipping with your putting stroke is all of the putting strokes you save by getting the ball closer to the pin on a more consistent basis. I actually lowered my total putts per round to about 28!
Conclusion
So there you have it. Not only will learning to chip using a putting stroke vastly improve your short-game. This technique is easy to master and will give you more confidence when hitting those chip shots from just off the green.
By following the golf tips above and watching that golf video a few times, this part of your game should become a lot less intimidating.
I hope you enjoyed this golf lesson.
Happy Golfing!
Thanks for the well written article.
Though I’m not a beginner, I’ve always considered switching to a putting stroke when I chip.
But how far will this take you? Are there players with a 10 index still using this technique? A 5 index?
I was watching a video where Phil Mickelson was saying that this motion results in too steep of an angle of attack or something.
Is this a big factor that will hold a player back as they improve?
Thanks!
I think that even some professional level players still use this technique. Remember chipping with your putting stroke is a great technique for chipping from just off the green. I like it best when chipping from the fringe, especially whenever I’m too far from the hole to feel comfortable putting.