“Get your weight forward” has rescued plenty of golfers who try to help chip shots into the air. It can also become too much of a good thing.
I see the overcorrection when a player stacks over the lead toe, presses the handle hard toward the target and drives the chest forward. One ball comes out low and hot. The next catches the turf with the leading edge.
A little more pressure on the lead foot is useful for a standard chip. Falling toward the target is not.
“Forward pressure” and “forward lean” are different
For a basic chip from a clean lie, begin with a narrow stance and slightly more pressure in the lead foot. Think 55 to 65 percent as a starting range, not a number you must reproduce on a scale. You should feel centered enough to make the motion without stepping, swaying or gripping the ground with your toes.
“Pressure” describes what you feel under the feet. It does not require your upper body to lunge toward the target. Your sternum can be slightly forward of the ball while your body remains organized over your base. MyGolfSpy’s earlier look at forward pressure in chipping used 60/40 as a practical baseline and included an important warning: do not go crazy with it.
Too much forward can expose the leading edge
When the handle gets shoved too far ahead, the club loses some of its effective loft and bounce. Bounce is the part of the sole designed to help the club move through or along the turf. Take too much of it away and the leading edge is more likely to dig, especially from soft grass.
A small amount of forward shaft lean can work well. The trouble begins when shaft lean becomes the entire technique. MyGolfSpy’s explanation of how wedge bounce can protect imperfect contact shows why setup and sole interaction have to work together.
How to know you have gone too far
After a chip, stay in your finish position for a second. If you are up on your toes or need to take a step toward the ball, too much of you moved forward. Favoring the lead foot is fine. Losing your balance is not.
Now watch the ball during its first few feet. If your pitching wedge, gap wedge and sand wedge are all coming out low, look at the setup. The ball may be too far back, the handle may be pushed too far forward or both may be happening. There is nothing wrong with choosing a low chip. The problem is having no other flight available.
The turf will usually tell you what happened. After a solid chip from a clean lie, I expect to see a light scuff or a shallow mark. If the wedge is carving small holes and the leading edge keeps getting stuck, look at how far the handle has been pushed forward. You may have removed most of the club’s usable bounce. Sole design plays a part, too. This guide to wedge grinds explains why two wedges can react differently from the same lie.
Back off the forward press
Move to a flat patch of grass and take a pitching wedge or gap wedge. Keep your feet close together and play the ball near the middle of your stance. Let the grip sit only a little ahead of the clubhead. You can favor the lead foot but both heels should remain on the ground and your toes should feel relaxed.
From there, turn your chest enough to move the club back and through. Keep your arms soft and your legs fairly quiet. Listen for the sole skimming the grass. There is no reason to drive the clubhead down or help the ball into the air.
A towel can help separate two different contact problems. Lay it about four inches behind the ball and hit several chips. Catching the towel means the club reached the ground too early. Missing the towel but cutting a hole in the turf points to a delivery that is too sharp. In that case, ease up on the handle press and give the sole more opportunity to slide through the grass.
Test less and more instead of guessing
Hit three chips with what feels like 50/50 pressure. Hit three with a modest lead-side bias. Then hit three from the exaggerated forward setup you have been using. Keep the ball position and landing target the same.
Judge the groups by contact, launch and rollout. Most golfers do not need the group that looks most forward at address. They need the one that repeats the bottom of the swing while preserving enough loft and bounce for the lie.
The lie gets a vote
A tight lie may tolerate a slightly narrower bottom to the swing and a touch more handle forward. Soft turf usually gives you less room to drive the leading edge into the ground. A ball sitting up in rough may require a different clubface, ball position and speed altogether.
That is why “weight forward” should be a starting cue, not a fixed law. Use enough lead-side pressure to control where the club bottoms out. Keep enough balance and width in the bottom of the swing to let the club work through the lie.
Find the setup you can hold
Your final checkpoint is simple. Hit a chip and freeze. If you can hold the finish, the sole brushed the turf and the ball launched as planned, the pressure was probably appropriate. If you tipped onto the lead toe and buried the edge, “more forward” is not the answer.
Good chipping does not come from piling everything onto the front foot. It comes from controlling the bottom of the stroke without losing the club’s loft, bounce or your balance.
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