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Can You Chip Off The Green In Golf?

golf lob wedge chipping off the green
golf lob wedge chipping off the green

In the game of golf, it usually makes the most sense to use a putter once you are on the green for a given hole.

How ever, some people get a rare feeling to want to chip off the green instead of using a putter. For some people, chipping feels more reliable, at least to get an approach shot when they are far from the green.

But can you chip off the green? Is chipping off the green legal according to golf rules? Should you chip off the green? These are all questions this article will answer thoroughly.

What is Chipping Off The Green In Golf?

In golf, chipping off the green means you use a other than the putter to chip the golf ball from the green, making it lob in an arc. Chipping usually requires the use of a golf club with a high loft number (in degrees), such as a wedge.

In golf, the green is the end zone of any golf hole, the delimited section of grass on which the golf hole is; the green is often more or less has a circular or potato shape.

To chip off the green, you would usually use a lob wedge, often with a loft of 58 or 60 degrees. Although you could technically use other golf clubs to perform a chip shot, a golf club with a higher loft number will make it easier to control.

In most cases, it is better to use a putter on the green, rather than chipping the golf ball, unless there is an obstacle between you and the hole that you must lob over.

Can You Chip Off The Green In Golf?

Can you chip in golf? The answer is: it depends.

In most cases, you can totally chip off the green in golf. There is no rule in golf that stipulates that you cannot perform chip shots on the green.

In fact, the rules of golf stipulate that you can use any golf club from virtually anywhere on the golf course.

Technically, this means that you would be allowed to tee off a golf hole with your putter instead of your driver, even though it would probably take an unproductive amount of strokes to get to the hole.

However, chipping can damage the green, creating a divot in the ground. Because of this, your local golf course might disallow using anything else than a putter on the green. The divots will make putting nearly impossible on the green for other players.

If you chip off the green on a golf course where it is not permitted, you are very likely to get either a stern warning, or kicked out of the property.

You must also consider, is it worth it to make a divot in the green just to make one chip shot, even if you are allowed to? Unless you are in a professional PGA Tour tournament, it probably is not worth it. Chipping off the green will seem a bit disrespectful to other players using the golf green because of the divots you create.

How To Chip Off The Green In Golf?

Step 1: Pick the correct golf club

The golf green usually spans over a fairly small area, so to get a good lob on your chipping technique, you should favor the use of a golf club with a high loft number.

The best golf club for this purpose is usually the lob wedge, with a loft number of 58 to 60 degrees.

Step 2: Perform the usual chipping technique

To get a good chip off the golf green, the technique is no different from for a chip outside of the golf green.

To get a good chip in golf, you need to stand in front of the golf ball, feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent, back straight, upper body hunched over the ball slightly by bending at the hips.

Next, hold your golf club with the correct technique. If you do not know how, read our article: How To Hold A Golf Club Correctly – The Best Golfing Grip.

Then, twist your hips to bring your golf club back for the wing wind-up.

Finally, swing your golf club down to hit the golf ball with the sweet spot of your club head by twisting your hips the other way, and follow through.

For this last step, the swinging down, it is essential that your golf club follows the correct swing path, which feels somewhat unnatural to beginners. If you are new, a great training aid to help you learn correct swing path is the Hula Hoop Golf Club Training Aid, which you can read about in this article: Hula Hoop Golf Club Training Aid – Innovative Golf Development. You can also find the product page for this tool by clicking here: Hula Hoop Golf Club Training Aid Product Page.

If you wish to learn more about how to chip in golf, or need to remind yourself of the basics, read our relevant article here: How to Chip in Golf?.

Conclusion

There you go! After reading this article, you have learned that is generally possible to chip off the green in golf, unless your local golf course staff prohibits it, as it can damage the green for other players.

You also got a reminder on how to chip in golf, and discovered an innovative golf training aid called the Hula Hoop Golf Club Training Aid, designed to help you learn & perfect your down swing path.

Have you attempted to chip off the green in a round of golf before? Let us know in the comments down below!

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How to Chip in Golf? – Best Technique Breakdown

How to chip in golf
How to chip in golf

How to chip in golf? If you have played golf before, you know how frustrating attempting to chip a golf ball onto the green can be. You know just how hard it is to direct the ball as close as possible to the hole, without having it roll too far. Chipping is one of the most important skills in golf, and practicing it is extremely important.

Look no further than down below for a breakdown of the best chipping technique in existence.

How to Chip in Golf?

If you require 2 shots to get close to the hole on the green instead of 1 shot, you’re increasing your score by 1 per hole. Over the course of an 18-hole course, you would be increasing your score by 18. That has a huge impact on your handicap and it can easily be avoided by practicing your chipping.

If you typically score 90 on an 18-hole golf course, you quite literally have the opportunity to reach the scratch golfer score of 72 by practicing your chipping. Only under 2% of golfers reach scratch golfer level, so you can definitely brag to your friends if you practice your chipping.

There are different takes on what the best chipping method is. However, we guarantee you that our chipping method is the most consistent chipping technique. Look to the next section for the steps on how to chip in golf with maximum performance.

Best Chipping Technique Breakdown

Step 1: Adopt the correct golf grip

Place both your hands on the golf grip as you do in most situations. If you do not know the correct golf grip, or have any doubts, read our article: How to Hold a Golf Club Correctly – The Best Golfing Grip.

Step 2: Set Up Your Feet

Place both your feet square to your target, about shoulder width apart. Next, point your lead foot slightly more towards the target to open up your hips slightly. Bend your knees slightly.

Step 3: Place the Ball in the Middle of Your Feet

Keep the golf ball in between your feet, at the same distance in front of you as usual, halfway between your feet.

Step 4: Level Your Shoulders

Level your shoulders to make sure one shoulder is not higher than the other. In addition, do not excessively bend your knees, and keep your torso relatively straight. Hunch over the golf ball slightly with your back straight. Do not sway to one side or another of the golf ball.

Step 5: Pull Your Golf Club Back

Look at the golf ball. Then, look at your target. Finally, look back at your golf ball, remembering the distance you want the ball to travel in your head.

Without bending your torso much, very slightly rotate your torso to pull back your golf club. Your arms should not move much; the movement of your golf club comes from the rotation of your torso. Pull back your golf club about to the height of your knee level, or just below.

Step 6: Swing the Golf Club with the Flat Bottom of the Club Head Barely Touching the Ground

Swing your golf club by rotating your torso slightly the other way with good pace. When you swing the golf club, the flat bottom part of the club head should slide on the ground, barely touching it. Letting your club slide on the grass gives you a larger acceptable area to hit your club, increasing the consistency of your shot. With this technique, you do not need to be extremely accurate with where you hit your golf club.

After you hit your shot, look at the grass. If there is a noticeable divot, you hit the ground instead of letting the club head glide. Of course, if there is no noticeable divot after hitting your chip shot, you likely performed the technique correctly, and your shot will hopefully be close to the hole.

Step 7: Follow Through With Your Golf Club

Follow through with your shot by continuing the rotation of your torso until you naturally feel resistance. The power you drive into your torso rotation is what will allow the ball to travel distance more than how far you follow through. After you are done with your shot, look at where your ball is, and admire the progress you can still make for next time.

How to Master the Chipping Technique?

To master the chipping technique, you need to do one of two useful things.

First, you can hire a coach to give you instant feedback on your technique when you are practicing your drills. A good golf coach can be expensive, but a coach will be able to give you pointers. A good golf coach should know correct technique, and be able to instantly improve your shots if you are using incorrect form.

Secondly, you can decide to film yourself doing your drills, and compare your technique with this article at www.sportsruby.com, or with video tutorials online. This is a great option because it is free, and you can visually see exactly what you are doing wrong.

Conclusion

You now know how to chip in golf and maximize your chances of approaching the hole closely on the green. With this best chipping technique in golf, you will absolutely improve your consistency, making you one step closer to becoming a dominant golf player. If you are lucky, or you train hard enough, you might even chip the golf ball directly into the hole!

What’s the longest chip in you ever shot in the hole? Share with us in the comments down below!