Most beginners either chip everything or pitch everything, regardless of the situation — and both defaults cost strokes. The right shot around the green depends on one simple question: is there anything between my ball and the hole that the ball must fly over? If no: chip. If yes: pitch. This page gives you the decision framework, the setup keys, and the most common mistakes for each.
Track your short game in Chip →A chip is a low-trajectory shot that spends most of its travel on the ground rolling like a long putt. A pitch is a higher-lofted shot that spends most of its travel in the air and stops more quickly when it lands. The chip is simpler to execute because it minimizes air time — less time in the air means less that can go wrong. The pitch is more versatile around obstacles but requires more wrist hinge and a more controlled swing, which makes it harder to strike consistently. Beginners should default to the chip whenever the situation allows it.
The chip is your go-to option when: you are on the fringe or just off the green with no bunker, rough, or mound between your ball and the hole; the ground between the fringe and the hole is firm and relatively flat; and you have at least 15 feet of green to work with before the hole. In this situation, a 7-iron, 8-iron, or even a putter chip is the percentage play. You are running the ball like a long putt and letting the ground be your friend. Tour professionals use bump-and-run chips far more often than beginners realize.
Choose a pitch when: a bunker, rough collar, mound, or other obstacle sits between your ball and the hole and requires the ball to fly over it; the green is soft and you need the ball to stop quickly; or you are playing a downhill shot where a rolling chip would race past the hole. You pitch with higher-lofted clubs (sand wedge, lob wedge, 50-54 degree wedge) and swing with more of a V-shaped motion — up and down steeply. The trade-off is a higher-risk swing: if you thin or chunk a pitch, the result is typically worse than a mis-hit chip.
Set up for a chip by placing about 70% of your weight on your lead foot and keeping it there throughout the swing. Ball position is back in your stance (off the trail heel). Hands are slightly ahead of the ball. The key: minimize wrist hinge. Your hands and arms act as one lever — a putting-style stroke that just happens to use a lofted iron. The club brushes the grass at the bottom of the swing arc, gets the ball rolling quickly, and there is no big finish. Use a 7 or 8 iron for bump-and-runs with lots of green to cover; switch to a pitching wedge or 9-iron when you need a bit more loft to clear a collar.
For a pitch shot, open your stance slightly (aim feet left of target for a right-hander), play the ball center to just forward of center, and use a higher-lofted club (sand wedge or lob wedge). The key move: hinge your wrists on the backswing to create a V-shape (club goes up steeply), then swing down and through with an accelerating, committed follow-through. The biggest pitch mistake is deceleration — slowing the club before impact causes the fat or thin hit. Even on a 20-yard pitch, commit to a full, smooth acceleration through the ball. Let the loft do the work; do not try to scoop or help the ball up.
A chip is a low-loft, ground-first shot that rolls most of its distance like a long putt. A pitch is a higher-loft, air-first shot that uses wrist hinge and a more complete swing to fly the ball higher and stop it more quickly. The easiest way to remember it: chip = roll; pitch = fly. Use chips when the path is clear and the green is firm. Use pitches when you need to carry an obstacle or stop the ball fast on a soft green.
The classic chip club is a 7-iron or 8-iron for long bump-and-runs where you have plenty of green between the landing spot and the hole. Use a 9-iron or pitching wedge when you are closer to the green and need a touch more loft. Use a sand or lob wedge only when you specifically need the ball to stop fast — these clubs are harder to chip with consistently because the extra bounce and loft make the leading edge more likely to blade (skull) the shot if your contact is slightly off.
Within 10 to 40 yards of the green, the choice depends on what is between your ball and the hole, not the distance. From 20 yards with a clear path to the hole and 30 feet of green to roll on, chip every time. From 20 yards with a bunker between you and the hole, pitch. Distance alone does not determine the choice — situation does. From more than 40 yards, you are typically playing a full or half pitch regardless of obstacles.
A bump-and-run is a chip shot played with a less-lofted club (7 or 8 iron) that lands just onto the green and rolls the majority of its distance to the hole. It is named for the bump as it lands and the run as it rolls out. Use it whenever you have a clear path — off a tight lie just off the fringe with 20 to 40 feet of green between you and the hole. The bump-and-run is one of the safest shots in golf because ground contact is more forgiving than air contact.
A skulled chip (blade) happens when the leading edge of the club strikes the equator of the ball instead of the ground-then-ball sequence. The most common causes: ball position too far forward in the stance; trying to help the ball up by flipping the wrists; taking too much grass by adding wrist hinge. The fix: move the ball back in your stance, keep weight on the lead foot, and use a quiet one-lever arm swing without scooping.
Learn to chip first. The chip uses a simpler stroke — essentially a putting motion with a lofted club. It has fewer moving parts, less wrist hinge, and a smaller margin for error. Once you can chip with a 7-iron consistently, add the pitching wedge chip, then graduate to short pitch shots with a sand wedge. Many teaching pros recommend that beginners spend 80% of their short game practice time on chipping and putting before dedicating significant time to the pitch shot.
A chunk (hitting behind the ball) on pitch shots usually comes from one of three things: decelerating through impact (the most common cause), ball position too far back in the stance (the club hits the ground before the ball), or too much weight on the trail foot through impact. The fix: move the ball to center or just forward of center, keep your weight on the lead side through impact, and commit to accelerating the club through the ball. Even a small pitch needs a purposeful follow-through.
Yes — the pitching wedge is a versatile chip club. It gives you more height than a 7 or 8 iron while still being easy to chip with because the loft and bounce are moderate. It works well for chips from 10 to 20 feet off the edge of the green where you need a little more height to clear the fringe but still want the ball rolling most of its distance. Avoid using it from tight lies with a severe swing — the bounce can cause the club to skip off the ground. Off the fringe or fairway-length rough, a pitching wedge chip is a reliable go-to.
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