Phil Mickelson shares simple fix for tough chips around the green

Mickelson’s long career in the professional ranks speaks for itself, and much of that success can be traced back to his short-game skills.

In 2023, he shared a video on his official X account, talking through how amateurs should handle bad lies around the green.

He started off by saying: “I want to share with you a little shot around the green that you may or may not have.”

“It’s when you get a really bad lie. Obviously you might want to putt it, that’s the easy way, but if you want to fly it on the green or give yourself the best chance, the toe-down chip is something that we all work on.”

“What we do is we get just the toe of the club making contact. Imagine the leading edge being the shaft, trying to get this entire shaft under the golf ball is very difficult but if I tip it to where only the toe makes contact, I can get that underneath the ball easier.”

“So what I do is I play it with the shaft as vertical I can and I get as close as my toe and so only just kind of sticking down then just let it fall right underneath it comes out pretty consistent”

Mickelson finished up with: “Keep in mind you’re not hitting sweet spot so comes out a little slower so maybe use a little bit more pace maybe hit it. But that’s one way solid contact when have bad lie around green.”

Good chipping leads to lower scores

Most amateur golfers don’t realise just how many shots they could save simply by tidying up their chipping around the greens.

Many of them spend hours hitting balls on the range without any clear purpose, when in reality, an hour working on their short game would be far more valuable.

The best place to start is by developing a solid technique from a clean lie.

Focus on limiting your wrist hinge and driving your chest through impact with speed and intent.

Your arms will naturally follow, and you’ll likely notice a big improvement in the consistency of your strikes.

Once you’re comfortable with your basic technique, you can start experimenting with different methods for various situations and lies, like the one Mickelson outlined earlier.