Chipping: The Silver Lining

I mentioned before that my chipping's the best part of my game at the moment, and it's true. Yesterday I opted to chip from a foot off the green with my 7-iron (I used to always putt from here) and I holed it. The hole was a good 10 yards away and downhill. Shots like that save me a lot of the strokes I waste in slicing and pulling myself into danger.

Actually, yesterday was the worst that I've chipped for a while, but even then I think I could count the bad chips on one hand.

For me, the most important things I think about in chipping are:

• Use the right club (choose the right club for loft and distance).
  
• Use your putting grip.
• Choke down a bit on the club.
  
• Keep your eye on the ball and head down.
• Don't stab at the ball: aim to swing though. If the ground happens to stop you're club, so be it.
• Put the ball well back in your stance.

I've also started using a chip to get out of trees. Instead of trying to do a half-swing to get out of trouble, I just use something like a 7-iron and chip it out. I find that gives me more confidence and control: I don't need to worry about hitting it too far and going into the trees at the other side of the fairway.