Golf Tips: Ratio Chipping Can Reduce Your Short Game Score

Golf Tips: Ratio Chipping Can Reduce Your Short Game Score.

Drive, Chip and Putt Contestants Kelsey Smith & Peter Tippett by Pete Kelbel

Ratio chipping may be exactly what you need to reduce your scores ^[1] by using wise short game chips around the green. Use this ratio chipping drill to increase your chipping accuracy.

If you're looking for great golf tips, then consider ration chipping. In its simplest form, chipping uses minimum wrist cock by creating a letter "Y" with your arms and the club. The challenge is to hold the "Y" throughout the swing.^[2]

When near the green, it is usually wise to land the ball safely over the apron and onto the green at a point which is less than halfway to the hole and let it roll more than halfway to the hole. On a flat green, get to know where the one-third point is on the way to the hole on the green. It usually is just a few feet over the apron.

Here are seven simple steps to set up ratio chipping practice as you work on your golf tips. Follow these golf tips closely and watch your chipping improve.

7 Steps to Ratio Chipping

Start at the flag stick and take 16 steps.
Put a tee into the ground at an area safely on the green.
Now take eight more steps where you are off the green by a few yards and drop a few balls.
Take a narrow stance, with the ball slightly back in your stance and your hands slightly forward. (The ball back and hands slightly forward will reduce the loft of the shot and make the ball want to roll further than it flew.)
Use a letter "Y" motion (the tail of the "Y" will be a little to the back foot).
Do not let the club head climb higher than your knee on the backswing or the follow through.
Try to let the ball land just over the tee (about 35% of the way to the hole) and watch it roll further than it flew.

You just learned the ratio of the pitching wedge (35% air-65% roll). Of course, you would land the ball in front of the tee on a downhill chip and a little further past the tee on an uphill chip.

Anytime you follow golf tips there are important keys. The key in ratio chipping is to land the ball safely on the green less than halfway to the hole. Other clubs can be used, but their ratios are different.

Once you know the first ratio, it is easy to remember the rest. A 9 iron will fly 30% on most greens and with nice greens will roll 70%. An 8 iron will fly 25% in the air and roll 75%.

PW 35% Air 65% Roll

9 Iron 30% Air 70% Roll

8 Iron 25% Air 75% Roll

7 Iron 20% Air 80% Roll

It may take some extra effort when you begin using ratio chipping but as you practice the technique will become automatic.

Additional Golf Tips

When you are close the green, but the spot safely on the green is over half way to the hole, it is wise to use a sand wedge and put the ball in the middle of your stance and the hands more in the middle.

Open the club face slightly. Make a higher "Y" above the knee as the loft has increased and more speed is available to get the ball to that landing spot.

Try landing the ball half way between where the green starts and where the pin is located. Now the ball is flying more than halfway and rolling less than half way after it lands.

Next: Avoid Disaster on the Tee Box ^[3]

As with many other golf tips, this ratio chipping system has been predictable for years. Give it a try. Most recreational players make the mistake when they have a lot of run room of taking too much loft and landing the ball over halfway and rolling it less than half way. Only fly it over half way when the safe spot on the green is over half way there! I don't usually plug my own Twitter account here, but feel free to check out @Pete_Kelbel on Twitter for the Ratio Chip Video!