Author: Verlyn Ross
A chip stroke is usually used when you are close to the green, and of course the aim is to get the ball on the green and hopefully in the hole.
While both chip shots and pitch shots are used to get onto the green, usually a chip shot is the best option when you are close and you need a low shot.
Chip Shot - The Perfect Time To Make A Chip Shot
The United States Golf Association updates annually the official Rules of Golf, which contains hundreds of game rules and regulations that keep game enjoyably challenging.
One of the regulations, called the Greens In Regulation (GIR), states that you must hit the ball onto the green in a specific number of shots as determined by the par rule of that particular hole.
On a par-3, for example, you have one shot in order to get the ball on the green. Par-4 holes give you two shots to reach the green. And par-5 holes mean that you have three shots designated.
Hitting the ball onto the green within these regulations is standard procedure for the professional golfer. However, for us regular players, it is a lofty goal just to make the green in the prescribed number of shots, and on every hole. Your ball may end up just off the green, a foot away, on the collar, or in the rough near the green. So close, but yet so far!
This Is When The Chip Shot Comes In Handy
A chip shot is very similar to the pitch shot, except that the ball does not go as far into the air. It may travel just a few feet when a chip shot is made. The ball simply chips its way up and onto another area of the course within a short distance.
While this shot may not seem like a major technique to use on the golf course, having the skill to successfully make a chip shot when you need to is very important. It will save you unwanted strokes and will prevent you from missing the green when playing by the rules.
A chip shot can best be described with the following characteristics:
1. There is very little loft when a ball chipped.
2. When the ball is hit with a chip shot, it pops right into the air, but with a very tight arc, moving it practically straight up.
3. When the ball is hit, impact actually produces a chipping sound.
4. Chip shots cause the ball to travel over 80% of its distance on the ground, the initial 20% is spent from the blast off into the air.
You can learn to judge distances by practicing from different positions around a practice green, or you can even do it on your backlawn.
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