Golf Strategy - Chipping For the Cup
Your approach shot missed the green. Well, that happens. You can't hit every iron straight as an arrow. Even the pros don't. But they get their chip close so they can make their par putt. You might not be able to develop a professional swing, but there's no reason you can't be just as deadly around the greens.
Truth be told, you begin planning your chip shot even before you've hit your approach to the green. If you're familiar with a course, you know which sides of the green you can chip successfully from and which ones you can't. For example, if the ground slopes from left to right, it might be awfully hard to stop the ball if you're chipping from the left side onto a downhill slope. You might know that a particular area around the green is always soggy, or quite hard. You would plan your approach so if you miss the green, you would miss those problem areas, too.
Once your ball is greenside, check the lie first. It will dictate your shot. If the ball is sitting up on a clean lie, only a few yards off the green at most, hit a simple greenside chip. The key to this shot is not breaking your wrists at any time during the stroke, especially in the follow-through. If the hole is close to you, a 7-iron is a good choice of club. For a chip of significant length, a 5-iron would be better. From a lie in taller grass, a wedge would be best, and from hardpan, even your putter would work.
If the ball is farther away from the green, say up to fifteen yards, you're still chipping, but the shot is different. Unless the grass between the ball and the green is cut low and smooth, you'll have to fly the ball onto the green and let it run to the pin. Use your sand wedge. Set up leaning slightly toward the hole, hit down crisply on the ball, and keep the clubhead low on the follow-through. Let your wrists break going back, but arrest their breaking motion at impact, letting them break no further in the follow-through.
Getting back to the pros, their short game is so good that from around the green it is almost impossible to hide the pin from them. That's not the case for a recreational golfer. Without lots of practice and without having lots of different short shots at your command, you must decide if you really can get the ball close to the pin from where you are. If it looks like that would require a shot you don't have, find another place on the green to which you can safely chip, and hit the ball there so you can start putting.
Bob Jones is dedicated to showing recreational golfers the little things, that anyone can install in their swing and game, that make a big difference in how they play. See more at http://www.bettergolfbook.com. See Bob's blog at http://recgolfer.blogspot.com