When I first started teaching golf several years ago, I would take players over to the Short Game Area and show them how to chip. My reasoning was that it was a chance to show them the proper grip and to demonstrate a short shot close to the hole that would get rather quick results and put a smile on their face.
Now that I coach golf, I no longer even teach chipping and jokingly encourage my players to not even say the word “chipping.” That’s because now I coach Putting w/ Loft (PWL). As I’ve learned during my time with Revolutionizing Golf Instruction (RGX), the difference between a coach and an instructor is that an instructor gives the player what he/she wants while a coach gives the player what he/she needs in order to achieve their goal. And that’s why I no longer coach chipping.
What I found is that while players could chip successfully over at the Short Game Area, once I took them out onto the course, something strange happened to their technique: they started blading or chunking it as if they’d never even attempted the shot before. That’s tension, not technique!
But what I also found is that players don’t generally hit their putts fat or thin. So why not apply the same technique off the green from where players would usually chip? It’s a much more high-percentage play because there’s much more margin for error.
Now, my mantra is, “Putt whenever you can, putt w/ loft when you can’t putt, and chip when you can’t putt w/ loft or putt.” Of course, it helps when PGA Tour players like Louis Oosthuizen demonstrate putting w/ loft to prove your point like he did during Round 1 of the WGC-Workday.