How to hit the perfect bump and run chip shot in golf -

A chip, or “bump and run”, is where the ball flys in the air a short distance and rolls out like a putt for the majority of the distance traveled.

These 2 terms are used interchangeably. So if you hear a chip shot or a bump and run shot, they are referring to the same exact shot explained below.

Golfers should primarily use bump and run where applicable, as it is 90% fundamentals and will produce a lot better results with a mishit than a pitch or flop shot. Below are the basics on how to master the bump and run.

What club and strategy to use for Bump and Run Chip shot

Using the right club when hitting a bump and run shot will maximize your success of getting up and down from just off the green.

If you are in the rough, consider using a sand wedge or gap wedge to help get the ball out of the rough initially. You will need a steeper descent angle in order to hit the ball first.

If you are on the fringe or fairway, use the lowest iron that will get you on the green and allow the ball to roll as much as possible to the hole. You can read these chips like a putt and maximize your chances of getting up and down!

For example, let’s say you are on the fairway just off the green. The beginning of the green is 1.5 yards away and the hole is 10 yards away. According to the chart above, it would make sense to use an 8 iron (20% carry/80% roll= 2 yards of carry, 8 yards of roll for a total distance of 10 yards) to allow for maximum rollout while carrying the ball safely on the green.

When to use a bump and run chip shot

Plenty of Green to Work With
- Ideal when there is a lot of space between you and the hole. This allows the ball to roll on the green for a long period of time versus flying in the air.
Playing a Links Style Golf Course
- Links Style Golf courses often have hard, tight lies with greens that have lots of mounding. This makes it very hard to get a pitch shot close to the hole, making the bump and run the ideal shot most of the time.
Tight Lies
- It is very hard to successfully get the clubhead underneath the ball for a pitch shot or flop shot on a tight lie. This usually leads to skulling the ball across the green.
Tree Trouble in front of you
- If your chip shot will hit the tree in front of you with any sort of loft, keeping it low and running it up to the pin is the only safe option.
Windy conditions
- The wind can blow a 10-20 yard pitch shot off line, enough that it can turn your 4-foot putt into an 8-10 foot putt real quick if you don’t account for the wind. Keeping it low and out of the wind with a bump and run is the safe and smart play on windy days.

Setup for a Bump and Run Chip:

Hands are slightly ahead of the ball
Use your putter grip. We don’t need hand or wrist action
Lean slightly towards the target promoting a downward blow
You want about 70% of your weight on the front foot
Choke down on chip shots for extra control
Narrow stance slightly
Flex knees slightly and keep back straight, you want to feel athletic
Ball position is slightly behind center to promote downward blow on back of ball

read the green and Visualize the Shot

You will want to get this chip close to the hole to get up and down, start by reading the green and finding out what the ball will do once it lands on the putting surface.

Picking a landing spot and visualizing the ball traveling to the hole will maximize your chances of doing this.

There are several factors in how far the bump and run shot will travel:

Slope of the green, ball will roll farther downhill and stop sooner uphill (Uphill, Downhill, Left to right, or right to left)
Current Lie (perfect lie in the fairway will get a little check and stop sooner, where a ball in the rough will roll out farther)
Speed of the green, slower the green the less it will roll out
Type of golf ball: A high-performance urethane cover ball such as a ProV1 or Chrome Soft will check up and roll out less than a hard two-piece ball such as a Top Flite XL Distance.

Bump and Run Stroke

A chipping stroke is simple, almost identical to a putting stroke. It’s a simple one-two stroke controlled with our shoulders more than the arms and hands.

Start the backswing with the shoulders, making sure to not hurry your tempo
You don’t need a big swing, the goal is to hit the ball solidly.
Concentrate on hitting down on the back of the ball
Accelerate smoothly through the ball
Good swing thought for bump and run is to return hands to starting position with hands in front of the ball. Don’t scoop the ball!
Don’t flip the wrists through the ball! Your leading wrist should be flat after impact.

How to hit Bump and Run Chip Shot with Sand Wedge

Follow tips above on the bump and run stroke
Remember the ball will approx. carry 55% of the way and roll the other 45%
- Ex. A 10-foot chip will carry 5.5 feet and roll the other 4.5 feet

How to hit Bump and Run Chip Shot with Gap Wedge

Follow tips above on the bump and run stroke
Remember the ball will approx. carry 50% of the way and roll the other 50%
- Ex. A 10-foot chip will carry 5 feet and roll the other 5 feet

How to hit Bump and Run Chip Shot with Pitching Wedge

Follow tips above on the bump and run stroke
Remember the ball will approx. carry 40% of the way and roll the other 60%
- Ex. A 10-foot chip will carry 4 feet and roll the other 6 feet

How to hit Bump and Run Chip Shot with 9 Iron

Follow tips above on the bump and run stroke
Remember the ball will approx. carry 30% of the way and roll the other 70%
- Ex. A 10-foot chip will carry 3 feet and roll the other 7 feet

How to hit Bump and Run Chip Shot with 8 Iron

Follow tips above on the bump and run stroke
Remember the ball will approx. carry 20% of the way and roll the other 80%
- Ex. A 10-foot chip will carry 2 feet and roll the other 8 feet

How to hit Bump and Run Chip Shot with 7 Iron

Follow tips above on the bump and run stroke
Remember the ball will approx. carry 15% of the way and roll the other 85%
- Ex. A 10-foot chip will carry 1.5 feet and roll the other 8.5 feet

How to hit Bump and Run Chip Shot with 6 Iron

Follow tips above on the bump and run stroke
Remember the ball will approx. carry 50% of the way and roll the other 50%
- Ex. A 10-foot chip will carry 1.2 feet and roll the other 8.8 feet

How to hit Bump and Run Chip Shot with 4 Iron/Hybrid/Fairway Wood

Follow tips above on the bump and run stroke
This shot is slightly different from the others as you want to replicate your putting stroke.
Ideal use for this shot is just on the fringe with 15+ feet to the hole
Remember the ball will approx. carry 10% of the way and roll the other 90%

Bump and Run Practice Drills:

The bump and run table shown above is a guideline made on a green running at 10 on the Stimpmeter.

You will need hundreds of repetitions with each of your own clubs to get a good feel for how your golf ball will react off your club at your home course.

Here are some good drills to help perfect the bump and run so you can use it with confidence on the course.

Extended Shaft Drill

This drill will ensure you are not flipping your wrists, the absolute worst thing you can do for a bump-and-run shot.

Grab an old shaft or alignment stick and either stick it into the butt end of your golf club or hold it along with your club so it “extends” the shaft of your club 2-3 feet.
Hit some shots, you will notice if you flip your wrist the alignment stick will hit your lead side.
To hit this shot correctly, use the swing advice above and make sure to have firm wrists through contact with your hands staying ahead of the clubhead.

Practice, Practice, Practice!

The best golfers perfected this simple shot by hitting it thousands of times on the practice green.

Make a game out of it by trying to get up and down with various clubs and distances on the practice green. Maybe start out by trying to get up and down 3/10 times and not allowing yourself to leave the putting green until you do so.

Increase the amount of times you have to get up and down as your skill level progresses.

Try different variations of clubs, lies, ball position, etc., and get used to how the ball rolls out on your home course.

Final Thoughts:

This is the basic set of rules I abide by when using the bump and run shot. I’m as guilty as most players are when saying I don’t hit the chip shot nearly enough and pitch the ball to the hole with my sand wedge or lob wedge.

However, I think significant strides can be made in your short game if you practice the bump and run shot with various clubs in different conditions around the green. It may take a few weeks or months of practice to get good at it, but your scores will start to get lower as you successfully get up and down more often!