Soft high Chip

What adjustments do you need to make in the chipping stroke to hit a soft high chip?

Lets say im 10 foot off and have a small bank to carry but the pin is on the short side facing me. I want to chip it high and stop it quickly but I dont want the risk of a lob/flop shot? I can hit great low running chips with wedges but im not quite sure how best to play a softer one with higher carry?

Placement is the key when executing such a shot.

I'd be inclined to use my 60* lob wedge with the ball positioned inside the left heel (R/H) using soft hands. Must have a good lie though.

What's the fringe like? Could you bump and run it?

tough call

What is your lie like, and is your stance going to be on level ground? I play at a course with a simular type hole. What I do is open up the club face, and my stance up. I play the ball a bit more foreward than normal, and take a hefty swing along my toe line. This basically sends the ball straight up, forward, and then straight down. A ball falling straight down usually does not roll very much. I know you posted you do not like to hit lob shots, but sometimes that is the correct shot.

Another shot might be to chip the ball into the bank with enough momentum to allow it bounce off the bank, and onto the green, then roll towards the hole. This shot takes practice to pull off, but is a good specialty to have.

An even tougher shot might be to play the ball back in your stance, and open up the club face. Trick here is to know how hard to swing for the distance you need. If struck correctly, the ball will have plenty of back spin to help stop it quicker on the green. Again, practicing this shot is a must, so you can pull it off when needed. GJS

For such shots I'd use my sand wedge to chip with. Place the ball in the middle of your stance or slightly forward and open the club. Keep your head down during the shot.

Cheers guys

Ive tried the low one into the bank trying to kill it but 1 in 2 times i'll get a bad kick and the ball goes off at an 45 degree angle

I've tried playing the ball off the inside of my left foot with a slight lean away. This seems to work occasionally but again I fear skulling these off tight lies so its one of those where you dont always feel confident setting up

GolSnr, im going to try some of those on the practice area tonight

The key to this shot is loft so the lob wedge is the club to use but that doesn't mean that you need to try a flop shot. I play this sort of shot with the ball in the middle of a narrow stance, hands and weight forward. I take a short backswing and accelerate throught the ball to ensure that the ball pops up steeply and with a bit of bite. Essentially the technique is much like a chip shot but with a little bit of right wrist cocking at the transition.

Depending on the lie there are a few variations that I use.

On a "normal" lie I'd set up with the clubface square.

If the lie is tight then I close the face of the club, this eliminates the bounce so you can nip the ball off the surface. There's still plenty of loft to give plenty of elevation.

If the ball is lying on a slightly fluffy lie I'll occassionally open the face slightly. This gives more loft but does mean the ball slides off the face so the bite on the green is less. You need to be a bit careful as in some cases the ball is sitting up so much that there's a danger of the clubface sliding right underneath so the ball doesn't go anywhere.

Open or close the club face? Just wanna double check before I try something new.
I thought you close the face and put the ball back in your stance and then with a steep swing "trap" the ball for spin? But that would be the low flying chip with bite.

Please explain... sounds interesting

The original question was to gain height, to a short side pin placement. An open club face will generate the height, and the back spin created will help the ball stay put near it's landing spot. A closed club face, trapping the ball, will give it more spin, but will be lacking in height. The ball may not clear the bank. The short sided pin placement may not have enough room for a closed club face to stop the ball, even if it did clear the bank. Plus with less room to work with you would have to hit the ball more aggressively with a closed club face to generate enough spin to bring the ball back. Not enough room, and aggressive swings are not a good combination. So, an open club face equals a higher shot, while generating some back spin, which helps with a softer landing, with little roll. Hope this helps to explain it better. GJS

When chipping I was under the impression. Weight forward. Hands ahead of the ball and a low follow thru. When is it appropriate to chip with the ball further forward in the stance?

I find that I can vary the height of the ball by varying the position of the ball in relation to my stance. With a high lofted club like the SW it shoud be easier to clear the bank and land the ball softly if the ball is placed in the middle of the stance or even slightly forward depending on the height of the bank. I'm using the SW because I don't have a lob wedge.

this is one of those high risk - high reward, high risk - high penalty shots. If you pull it off and save par thats great, but if you miss going for the pin could penalize you 2 more shots. The question is, can I get is close to the pin 70 per cent of the time. If in competitive situation, I would probably hit is hard enough to get on the green and if it rolls 20 feet by then deal with that putt for par. If you make bogey, the error was not the chip, but the shot before it to get you in that situation.