The ball’s flight is the primary distinction among chip and pitch strokes. Chip shots roll out, land quickly, and stay low. Based on how you smash the ball, pitch shots can go high in the air and fall gently with some rollout or even backspin.
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What is Chipping?
Chip shots are made low to the ground and don’t stay in the air long. Most of the time, chip shots are taken near the green when you want to avoid carrying the ball very far but still want a little roll. A chip shot, then, rolls beyond where it flies.
What is Pitching?
Pitch shots are similar to chip shots that have been turned on their heads. They are played from a greater distance, have a higher trajectory, carry the ball much further and longer than chip shots, and bounce more than roll.
Difference Between Chipping and Pitching
Despite the similarity of these short game shots, there are four critical differences between chipping and pitching: roll, body placement, and ball flight.
Roll
The ball rolls up to the desired location in a chip shot due to the lower trajectory. If you would like to run the golf ball up to the hole or chip it, the more fantastic trajectory of a pitch shot causes the ball to bounce a few times before entirely stopping.
Body placement
When making a chip shot, rotate your lower body and shoulders to send the ball toward the hole smoothly. To increase clubhead speed and power when hitting a pitch shot, rotate your forearm and hinge your wrist. The ball will then rise to the desired altitude due to this.
Ball Flight
Overall, ball flight is the primary distinction between chipping and pitching. Chip shots are better suited for close-to-the-hole but too-far-to-putt shots because they roll closer to the ground than they fly.
On the other hand, a pitch shot has a significantly greater trajectory and travels farther than rolls, making it the best option for strokes between three and thirty yards from the green.
Effective Chip Techniques
Although chipping isn’t the most exciting golf shot, it has long-term benefits. A proper chipping education will help you save more pars and occasionally drain a birdie.
Have the Right Equipment.
The right club must be used to hit the best chips. With a less lofted club, it is simpler to get the ball to the green and get it rolling in the right direction to the hole. In extreme circumstances, this might be your sand wedge, hybrid, or even 3-wood.
- The requirement for loft decreases as greenery increases.
- Read the green and choose a good line if you would like to treat chipping like a putt.
- Next, decide which club to use based on how close the ball will land to the green.
- A club with a little bit more loft, such as your pitching wedge or 9-iron, is what you want if you have some feet between you and the green collar.
Less loft is needed if you are right up on the fringe, and if you have a way to go, consider using a 7-iron or a hybrid.
It’s Important to Use the Right Technique
- Every time you are presented with a chip, keep these crucial elements in mind to ensure you obtain the consistency required.
- To reduce hip rotation, the stance is opened slightly toward the target.
- 90% of your weight should be on your front foot.
- Keep your hands in front of the ball and drive the shaft slightly forward.
- Keep your wrists in a triangular shape and avoid breaking them.
- In your stance, place the ball in the middle or slightly to the rear.
- Hit the ball low.
- You should always follow through farther than you did on your backswing.
Effective Pitch Techniques
You can appear incredibly fantastic by pitching and simultaneously getting yourself out of trouble. However, pitching can occasionally be embarrassing if you need the correct equipment and technique.
Have the right Equipment.
For throwing, having the proper equipment is far more critical than chipping. You need a loft if you want to get height and avoid spinning. Choose a wedge with at least 54°; the higher the angle, the better. In most situations, I prefer to use my 60° since it has height and is simpler to hit out of the rough.
- Additionally, you want to maximize the bounce of your wedge based on how sharp your approach angle is.
- The leading edge’s angle of elevation above the surface is known as bounce.
- If you place your wedge lightly on a level surface and hold it such that the shaft is parallel to the ground, you can easily see this.
Golfers who use a steep swing will benefit from more bounce since it will improve their contact with the ground and assist them in avoiding making large chunks and deep divots. If your swings are flat and you usually only take thin “bacon-strip” style divots, choose a lower bounce.
It’s essential to use the proper technique.
- Your full-swing action is considerably more similar to a pitching motion.
- Compared to the proper chipping method, it is less rigid.
- Continuously accelerating through the collision zone is crucial.
- The most common error amateurs make deceleration, and the consequences are terrible.
Keep these things in mind when setting up;
- Ball placement should be in the center of your stance or slightly ahead.
- No matter how brief the pitch, rotate your shoulders and hips together.
- Do not move your head.
- Allow your wrists to turn inward like in full swing rather than breaking or “flipping” them.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):
While they are both comparable, chipping and pitching are not the same, for situations requiring height and distance, hitting a pitch shot is preferable, whereas chipping is better suited for strokes nearer to the green that calls for more range and rolling than a putt.
As soon as the green is three feet or more from the fringe, a chip turns into a pitch. Pitch shots are legal upto 30 yards from the green.
Conclusion:
Chipping and pitching are comparable because they support you in challenging terrain over short distances. When you consider golf chipping, visualize a quick shot that necessitates taking a chip off the ball. This will be extended by your pitch, assisting you across longer distances and providing air for your prom.
