How to improve chipping/pitching

check out mickleson's youtube series on the short game, specifically the chipping/pitching video. He teaches a method he calls hinge & hold.

first rule of chipping/pitching - Make sure your next shot is not a chip or a pitch

2nd rule - ACCELERATE, ACCELERATE, ACCELERATE!

3rd rule - ACCELERATE AGAIN!

Use 1 club around the green and two different strokes and practice those. I use a lob wedge and a pitch and a chip. Thats it.

Play the ladder game on the practice green. Chip the first ball just onto the green. Then try to chip each ball incrementally past the last one.

Your distance control will improve dramatically

The 3' circle is the one tip/trick that improved my play around the greens.

I agree with this. Phil does a fantastic job of showing what to do, but also what not to do and why.

I would say just go have fun one day, and just try a bunch of different shots. Play with ball position, swing path and club choice. Learn how far each shot releases etc. try not to take it too seriously.

I tend to get mechanical and try to hit perfect shots. Just focus on where you want to land the ball and be athletic. It works more than you'd think.

Ton of great advice here. I'd stress the ACCELERATION through impact. However, one that wasn't mentioned is grip pressure. You have to maintain a light grip.

Most people I have come across who are poor at chipping tend to get nervous and increase the grip pressure while trying to force the club back to impact. Be sure to maintain light pressure and let the club / bounce do the work--while accelerating, of course.

I was in your shoes until about a year ago.

I grew up on slow , shaggy greens and always hit,thru the ball with a square face and sharp , descending blow on my chips. This works fine on slow greens and thick grass to chip off of, but doesn't translate well to most "real courses."

I really struggled with my chipping as I tried to keep chipping like this for years. About one year ago, my buddy made me learn how to "use the bounce" of the wedge. This is essentially slightly opening the face and swinging outside in. (Think about trying to hit a pull cut). This makes it MUCH easier to control distance, trajectory, and spin off of just about any lie.

When learning it, keep the face slightly open, keep triangle of the arms intact back and through and think about hitting a "cut" to promote out-in path. Soft, but quiet wrists. Start with hands even with ball at address. If you want more roll out, move hands in front of mall at address.

Hope this helps. This simple thing took my chipping game from a real weakness to a strength.

Learn distance control with wedges. And learn to hit shots with 7 iron to LW.

The first you do the later drill. Put a tee about 5 feet on the green. Then put a tee 20 feet. Try to get as many balls inside them but with the catch that you have to hit it past the last ball you hit.

The second you place a tee 3-4 feet on the green. Place ball in back of your stance and use sort if a putting stroke. Land the ball at the tee and see how far it runs out. Once you get the distances write them down so you know exactly what club to pitch with each time.