Every golfer knows the feeling – you’ve missed the green and find your golf ball sitting on a tight lie just a few yards off the putting surface. Suddenly, a simple chip shot feels like a daunting challenge. How do you lift the ball clean off a bare lie and land it softly on the green?
After months of struggling with these shots, I finally discovered a reliable chipping technique that works in any situation. If you’re ready to start chipping it close from tough lies, here’s your complete guide.
The Challenge of Chipping from Tight Lies
Tight lies around the green pose several unique challenges compared to chips from longer grass:
- Minimal cushion under the ball – it’s like the ball is resting on a tabletop
- High risk of hitting the equator of the ball, resulting in disastrous skulled shots
- Small greens and firm conditions amplify any distance control errors
- Unpredictable ball flight and rollout make it difficult to control trajectory
As a result, many amateur golfers struggle with chipping from tight lies. Common mistakes include trying to help the ball into the air (leading to chunked shots), or using too little loft and hitting it thin across the green. Mastering this shot takes a slightly different technique than standard chips.
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The Breakthrough
After countless challenging shots from tight lies, I had a lightbulb moment that transformed my chipping. It came down to two key realizations:
Loft is your friend
For a long time, I defaulted to an 8-iron or 9-iron for chipping, trying to bump the ball on a low trajectory. But when you’re chipping from a tight lie, less loft actually makes clean contact more difficult. Your golf club doesn’t have the cushion of some grass to slide under the ball. Instead, you need more loft to lift the ball at impact without needing perfect precision.
Experimenting with different clubs, I found my pitching wedge (48°) and gap wedge (52°) were the perfect tools from tight lies. They provide ample lift to avoid chunked or bladed shots, while still offering a predictable ball flight. You sacrifice some roll compared to a lower-lofted club, but these shots are all about getting the ball on the putting surface.
Stability over steepness
When you’re chipping off tight grass, it’s natural to want to hit down steeply to pinch the ball off the turf. But I realized that too much shaft lean at impact can actually increase the likelihood of skulling the shot. Instead, you want to keep your body stable and let your arms and shoulders control the chipping motion.
The goal is a descending blow that brushes the ground, rather than digging or pinching. Imagine you’re sweeping the grass with the sole of the clubhead. This shallower angle of attack keeps the leading edge from getting stuck and prevents you from hitting up on the ball.
Step-by-Step Chipping Technique
Armed with this knowledge, here’s a step-by-step process for chipping from a tight lie:
- Select a pitching wedge or gap wedge (48°-54° of loft)
- Take your chipping stance with the ball position slightly forward of center, about in line with your shirt logo or left chest pocket (for a right-handed golfer)
- Narrow your stance to about hip-width, with more weight on your front foot
- Grip down on the club for added control
- Keep your hands slightly ahead of the ball and the clubface square, creating a descending blow without excessive forward shaft lean
- Focus on keeping your chest and upper body stable with arms hanging naturally
- Initiate the chipping motion with your shoulders and arms, keeping the back of your lead wrist flat
- Make a pendulum-style stroke, brushing the turf just after contacting the ball
- Accelerate smoothly through impact, allowing the clubhead to pass your hands
- Keep your body and head still with the club shaft leaning toward the target in the finish position
This chipping motion is simple and repeatable. It’s more like a putting stroke than a full swing – the lower body stays quiet while the arms and shoulders do the work. You’re not trying to hinge your wrists or drive the ball up into the air. By keeping your body stable and rotating your arms through impact, you ensure a predictable strike that launches the ball softly onto the green.
Drills for Developing Feel & Skill
As with any golf technique, mastering this shot requires dedicated practice. Here’s a Practice Plan you can use to build confidence and feel:
- Start on a flat area of the chipping green with 10-15 balls. Hit chip shots to a target using the technique above. Focus on clean contact and that pendulum-style motion. After 15-20 balls, start to notice the difference in feel between crisp chips and slight mis-hits.
- Move to different lies around the practice green – uphill, downhill, and sidehill. Continue chipping to a target while adjusting for the slope. The key is rehearsing your technique from uneven lies so you’re ready for any on-course situation. Pay attention to how the ball flight and rollout change based on the lie.
- Begin holing out every chip, gradually working back from 5 yards, to 10, to 15 yards from the edge of the green. Track your “up-and-down” percentage as well as how many shots finish inside 3 feet of the cup. This drill builds your ability to judge carry distance and run-out on short shots.
- Simulate on-course conditions by scattering 10 golf balls in realistic greenside locations. Set up behind slopes, near bunkers, and on different grass types. Go through your full routine for each shot – picking a landing spot, factoring in any slopes or grain, and executing your chipping technique.
After multiple practice session, take this shot out for a test run. Over your next few rounds, use this chipping method anytime you’re faced with a tight lie near the green. Pick smart landing areas, commit to the shot, and accelerate through the ball. With a little on-course experience, tight lies will start to feel like a scoring opportunity rather than an intimidating challenge.
Real Results You Can Expect
Improving your ability to chip from tight lies can have a dramatic impact on your golf game. As you gain confidence from firmer grass and bare ground, you should expect to see:
- Crisper, cleaner contact on the majority of your chip shots
- More chips finishing on the putting surface within 10 feet of the cup
- 3-4 strokes shaved off your scores each round by getting up-and-down more often
- Lower anxiety and more assertiveness over all your greenside shots, regardless of the lie
Shave Strokes with a Solid Short Game
No matter your current skill level, refining your chipping technique is one of the most effective ways to lower your golf handicap. A reliable short game turns three-putts into tap-ins and bogeys into pars. Feeling confident over those 10-30 yard shots also takes pressure off your approach shots. It’s okay to miss a green when you know you can get it close from any lie.
Make Tight Lies Your Scoring Advantage
By using this step-by-step approach, you can build a repeatable chipping stroke that works from even the tightest turf. The next time you’re short-sided or find your ball on a bare patch, you’ll have a go-to technique to save strokes. Remember, more loft and a stable body are the keys to crisp contact and soft landings.
Practice this method consistently and those tough lies will become your secret weapon. You’ll be the golfer knocking it close when everyone else is struggling to get it on the green. Soon, you’ll be walking up to tap-in pars while your golf buddies are grinding over five-footers. And when they ask how you discovered this short game magic, just point them to this guide – but maybe wait until after the round!
