1. Striking the Chip Shot
Probably the most common mistake in hitting a chip shot is striking the ball low or high. This leads to a long or short chip shot. If you hit the golf ball too low you run the danger of hitting a "chunker" in which the club rips a chunk of earth out of the ground. However if the golfer strikes the golf ball too high or "gets on top of it" the chip shot will reach beyond the intended target. It is important to strike the ball squarely in the middle or at the "equator" of the golf ball when chipping.
2. Accelerate Through the Chip Shot
A common fear when chipping in golf is hitting the ball too far, so a golfer will try make the chip a delicate shot and pull back on the swing. This is a mistake. The golfer should accelerate through the shot and have proper follow through. If you lay off the chip shot, it will usually be short. So bring the club head all the way through the shot and don't fear hitting it long.
3. Club Selection
Every club in golf has a different use for different situations. When you are hitting a chip shot there are generally three clubs or irons you'll use. Now, there are people that will tell you to use other clubs, which is a personal preference, but generally the most popular clubs for chipping are the seven, eight and nine irons. The seven irons will give you about a 1:2-foot ratio of flight to roll on the chip shot. This means for every foot the golf ball travels in the air, it travels two feet on the ground. The ratios for the eight and nine iron are 1:3 and 1:4, respectively. Which club to use will depend on the distance, course condition and personal preference.
4. Too Many Clubs
Often a golfer will overthink a chipping situation or make the game of golf too complicated. A golfer may bring five or six different clubs over to hit a chip shot in golf when in reality he only needs one club. In fact, Joe Sullivan from GolfLink.com offers up the following, "In my opinion, all of these clubs are the root of the entire problem. I think any more than one club for chipping is unnecessary." So when you practice chip shots, pick a single club and use it for almost all of your chip shots so that you can totally master the use of this club.
5. You Don't Know Chip
The term "chip shot" can be a bit confusing because of it's generic use in other sports. In golf a chip shot is a golf shot that is relatively close to the pin and rolls farther than it travels in the air. In other sports a chip shot is generic term used to describe an easy shot. "Well chipping" or hitting a chip shot in golf is anything but easy.
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