The fastest way to lower your golf scores isn’t necessarily by hitting your driver farther; it’s by mastering the 50 yards around the green. This is where a great short game saves strokes and builds confidence. In order to transform a frustrating portion of your practice session into a fun activity, you need to use golf chipping games. These types of deliberate practice drills are purposefully designed to develop your accuracy, consistency, and distance control, which will lead to lower numbers on your scorecard.
Why bother with a structured chipping practice routine? Simply hitting 100 balls to a random pin is inefficient. Playing chipping games for golf provide immediate, measurable feedback, introduce pressure, and make you think creatively about trajectory and roll, skills you absolutely need under tournament conditions. If you enjoy competitive golf formats, exploring other great Golf Games can help keep your practice engaging all season.
Best Golf Chipping Games
Forget tedious repetition. These chipping games for golf inject fun and consequence into your practice, making every chip count. They’re excellent for solo practice or for challenging a friend to a friendly competition.
Par 18
This classic golf chipping game turns the short game into a challenging 9-hole circuit that requires strategic thinking. To set up Par 18, you first select nine different, challenging spots around the practice green, incorporating various lies (e.g., fringe, rough). All nine holes are a “Par 2.” You will chip, and then putt once at each hole. The goal is to complete the entire course in 18 strokes or less.
You can keep score simply. Chip-in a 1 (Birdie) chip-and-putt a 2 (Par) and if you miss the putt the score is a 3 (Bogey). It works well both for playing solo or with many people and the lowest team score wins. You can make it advanced by assigning a Par 3 to the hardest three spots, demanding an up-and-down to save par.
Horse
Borrowed from basketball, Horse is a penalty game that applies immediate pressure and is perfect for competitive practice, requiring players to execute identical, successful shots. Two or more players alternate taking a challenging shot and when it is your turn, you take a chip from the same spot and as long as you make the chip, you can choose the difficulty of the next challenge. The second player must attempt the same chip from the same place.
If the second player fails to chip in where you chipped in, he/she will get a letter starting with H – then O – R – S – E. The first player to get H.O.R.S.E. is the loser. For intermediate play, both players can use one specific club for the chip in this challenge, like an 8-iron for the whole round. The use of golf chipping tips under pressure is essential here, as the focus is solely on execution consistency.
5 Ball
This simple and efficient, weighted scoring game will send you into the short game thinking and it will never stop. All you have to do is set up 5 balls 15-20 yards from one pin in a straight line and you will need to chip all 5 balls from the exact same spot. You chip all five balls sequentially, working on repeating the exact same stroke.
Points should be awarded for the five chips depending on how close to the hole they come: 10 points if you are in; 5 points if you are in “the leather” (gimme distance); 3 points if you land inside 6 feet, and 1 point if you land in the 10 feet area. In case you were practicing alone, you could establish a point ratio (25 points) and work to achieve 25 points in the least number of attempts. The advanced version includes a penalty of minus 2 points for any chip that misses the green entirely.
Darts
The Darts golf chipping game is the most direct method for training accurate distance control by defining concentric scoring zones around the pin. You first choose a pin and place three visual markers (like rings or towels) defining zones at 3-foot, 6-foot, and 12-foot radii. You then hit ten chips from a variety of distances and lies.
Precision and distance are scored by the following scheme: a hole out accounts for 5 points; an inner ring finish is 3 points; a middle ring finish is 2 points; an outer ring finish is 1 point and 0 for missing the rings entirely. During group play, you take turns alternately firing, and the player who first reaches 50 points is the winner of the game. If you’re looking for more short game practice, you can adapt this concept easily for your putting practice. Read more in our Golf Putting Tips.
Dollar Signs
Dollar Signs introduces a crucial element of simulated financial pressure into your chipping drills, forcing you to focus intensely on execution. Designate five chipping spots and take three balls at each. You keep a running “bankroll” starting at zero and track whether you win or lose imaginary money based on your result.
Scoring is based on money either won or lost: a $10 win for a chip-in, a $2 win for being under 3 feet, a $5 loss for missing the green, and breaking even for any shot that lands on the green but outside the 3-foot circle. In a more advanced group format, you double up the money and restrict players to only one specific high-lofted wedge (i.e.: 60-degree) on all shots.
Crazy 3’s
This golf chipping game is designed to force creativity and practice high-risk shots that mirror difficult situations encountered during a round. Played as a group game, Player 1 selects a pin and then chooses three different, difficult spots to chip from (e.g., deep bunker, tight downhill lie). Player 1 chips from all three spots, and the other players must then attempt the same three shots.
The scoring awards 1 point to the player who gets closest on each shot. The player with the most points after all players attempt all three shots wins the round. For an intermediate variation, the player who chooses the three spots must also name the club the others must use (e.g., “Use only your 8-iron”), adding another layer of challenge to the golf chipping tips being tested.
One Shot – 3 Clubs
The purpose of this drill, often set up as a golf chipping game, will build a sense of distance control and consistency because you will hit from the same spot with different clubs. For practice, you will need to choose at least 3 clubs (i.e.: Sand Wedge, Pitching Wedge, 8-iron) and must pick one pin. Your goal is to hit one ball with each of the three clubs from the exact spot and in the exact same fashion or structure to get all balls to land in the exact target radius (for example 5 feet).
You will earn 1 point for every ball that lands in the target radius with the maximum score being 3 points. This game is excellent for solo practice to track club distance control. In advanced competition, the rule can be changed so the three balls must finish within a small three-foot circle of each other, testing relative accuracy regardless of how close they are to the pin.
Golf Chipping Drills & Tips to Improve Short Game
In order to use these drilling activities effectively, you must have some sort of a process behind them to leverage their value. Here are some key things for you to try, and some minor adjustments to consider for cleaner, more consistent ball contact.
Essential Chipping Drills
These chipping drills are just simple games to hollow out all of the necessary movements to avoid common errors with the short game.
- Circle Drill: Set up 10 balls in a circle around the pin (5-10 feet away), then chip each ball ensuring that you are executing the same smooth tempo and landing zone and attempting all 10 putts.
- Landing Spot Drill: Identify a different specific landing zone on the green or fringe (a single blade of grass or ball mark) only to hit that zone and not the hole.
- Ladder Drill: Set up a, tee, towel or any other type of marker at 5, 10, 15 and 20 yards away from yourself and practice chipping to each marker only using the same club and swing length in order to develop your distance control.
For more detailed information on sharpening your chipping skills, educational resources such as Practical Golf offer great training programs that are used by serious amateur golfers.
Golf Chipping Tips
Stick to these simple techniques to make good contact (and a solid hit):
- Stance/Weight distribution: Feet are somewhat open to the target line, and you should be sure that most of your weight stays on your front foot during the swing, and always above 60-70%.
- Club Selection: Depending on how far the chip shot will carry compared to how far the ball will roll, I recommend either a low lofted club (8-iron, 9-iron) that will allow it to roll further, or using a wedge (PW, 56-degree) that will carry higher and stop quicker.
- Tempo: The tempo should be smooth and pendulum-like. Depending on how far the shot will carry, the swing forward will be more than the swing back ensuring a smooth acceleration throughout and not slowing down (which is the biggest sin in golf).
- Visualization: Before every chip, pick out an exact landing zone on the green and commit to hitting it, then image the ball rolling out toward the hole.
Common Mistakes & How to Fix Them?
A few common flaws ruin more chip shots than anything else. One of the biggest mistakes is trying to “scoop” the ball up, which causes thin or fat shots. This usually occurs when weight transfers back to the trail foot during the downswing. The correction is quite simple: set your weight hard onto your front foot and keep the wrists quiet-let the loft of the club do the work. Another common fault is lifting the head too early. Keep focusing on the spot the ball was on until the completion of the follow-through.
Now that you’ve learned these fun chipping games for golf and effective drills, set up a short challenge session this week. Mix in 2 games and 1 drill each practice round, it’s the fastest way to lower your short-game scores.
When your scores improve, you can also easily check by using our Handicap Estimator, and see how your effort is affecting your overall results.
FAQs
How to play golf chipping game?
A game of golf chipping is an organized activity where you establish rules, targets, and a scoring method such as points, money, or letters that make it competitive and provide a record of your short game skills of accuracy and distance control in practice.
Why don’t professional golfers use chippers?
Professional golfers typically do not use a chipper. They have precise control over standard wedges (56 to 60 degrees) and lower-lofted irons, allowing them to execute a wide variety of shots, high, low, and spinning with far greater versatility than a specialized chipper can offer.
Are chippers legal on the PGA Tour?
Yes, chippers are permitted on the PGA Tour, as long as they follow ordinary Rules of Golf which state only one hitting surface, and conforming grips and lengths.
Does chipping on the green count as a putt?
No, a stroke made with any club other than a putter from the surface of the green is considered a stroke, but it is not defined as a putt under the rules of golf.
What is the proper chipping technique?
The proper chipping technique consists of a slightly open stance, placing 60% of your weight on the front foot, limited wrist action, and simply a smooth pendulum stroke that accelerates naturally through the strike.
