Golf Practice Drill #23 – The Chip It Close Drill

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Okay, now let’s get into today’s golf practice drill which we call The Chip It Close Short Game Drill.

What this Golf Practice Drill Aims to Accomplish

In this golf practice drill, the goal is to chip the golf ball onto the green and get it to finish close to the hole, as the name of the drill suggests.

Easier said than done.

Every time you set up to hit a chip shot, imagine a 3 foot target zone circling around the hole. This zone is where you want the ball to finish inside of so you can leave yourself a short, makeable putt.

3 feet is roughly one putter length so imagine laying your putter down on the ground several times around the hole in a circle to create this target zone.

When you hit chip shots inside this 3 foot zone, you’ll have putts that are 3 feet or less from the hole and this increases your odds of making the up & down a success to save par, birdie, bogey, etc.

If you do not hit the chip shot close to the hole, you risk leaving a tough putt and if you don’t sink the putt, you’ll have to spend extra strokes putting to finish off the hole, hurting your overall golf score.

This is why short game is so key to lowering your golf score and why we spend a lot of focus on short game in our golf practice programs.

How to Set Up the Chip It Close Golf Drill

To get started, grab several ball markers from your golf bag that you can use to create the boundary zone around the hole.

Next, find a hole to chip to on the practice green.

Walk up to the hole with your putter and set it down on the ground so that the putter head is at the hole’s edge. Place a ball marker at the other end of the putter so it sits just beyond the putter grip.

This ball marker now marks one putter length away from the hole.

Repeat this several more times going around the hole in a circle until you’ve formed a circle around the hole with your ball markers, each one putter’s length away from the hole.

You’ve now successfully built the target circle to chip golf balls inside of.

Next, find a location to chip from in the rough (off of the green) and set down 5 golf balls.

How to Complete the Chip It Close Golf Drill

Using sets of 5 golf balls, hit one chip at a time and watch how it lands on the green and then rolls towards the hole.

The goal is to get the ball to stop inside of the target circle zone you created around the hole.

Hit all 5 chips onto the green and count how many ended up inside the 3 foot circle zone.

Repeat this process 10 times so you do a total of 50 chips but move around to various locations in the rough each set to change the distance and angle to the hole for your chip shots.

At the end of the 50 reps, calculate your total score. How many chips out of 50 got inside the circle zone, within one putter length or closer to the hole.

Try to beat this score the next golf practice before you quit the practice drill. Keep restarting the golf practice drill until you successfully achieve a new high score.

Once you get to where you can get 45/50 chips within 3 feet of the hole, it’s time to pick a new hole on the practice green.

Overall, this golf practice drill is effective at making you a better chipper, gaining control over your wedge, and helping you lower your golf scores overall. Be sure to follow our YouTube Channel for video lessons, swing tips, and more golf drills. If you struggle with the chipping motion, our YouTube channel is full of helpful swing lessons.

And also check out our golf practice plans to follow step by step. They’re great at helping you lower your score fast.