The Chipping Myth That’s Ruining Your Strike

Why “using the bounce” might be making your short game worse — and what elite players really do instead.

I’ve always thought I was a decent chipper.

I grew up in England, chipping off rye or bent grass. It always felt natural — a bit steep, a bit hands forward, and no fear of hitting the ground before the ball. Then I moved to Australia.

Different turf. Firmer conditions. Sand-based lies. And suddenly, everyone around me had one piece of advice:

“Use the bounce.”

So, like any good student of the game, I tried. I got more neutral. I opened the face. I softened the wrists. And my chipping? Fell off a cliff.

That was until February this year, when I stood in front of Joe Mayo in Nashville, TrackMan set up, camera rolling, and got one of the best short game lessons I’ve ever had.

“People using the bounce is why I still have a job.”

That’s a direct quote from Joe. And if you’ve watched any of his recent short game content, you’ll know why.

The myth that shaft lean = digging is one of the most damaging ideas in amateur golf. Joe explained it with my first chip shot of the day:

• 60° wedge

• 10° down angle of attack

• Dynamic loft: 44°

• Launch angle: 30°

“So how does a 60° wedge launch at 30°?” Joe asked. “You’ve taken 16 degrees of loft off. That’s shaft lean.”

In other words:
You have to de-loft the club to control launch and generate spin.

But here’s what surprised me most…

Even though I was 10° down, it didn’t look steep. The divot was minimal. The turf disturbance was clean. There was no digging.

Most golfers think steep equals chunky. But that’s not true.

“You would think that was shallow,” Joe said. “But it’s actually quite steep. And that’s what people don’t get.”

Shaft lean isn’t the problem. It’s the solution.

When I caught one fat, hit a bit behind it, Joe pulled up the TrackMan numbers.

• Same dynamic loft: 45°

• But now the launch jumped to 37°

• Spin rate collapsed to 1800 rpm

The geometry of the swing didn’t change. I just hit the ground too early. That one detail ruined the flight, spin, and strike.

So the issue wasn't the steepness, it was where I made contact with the ground.

The bottom line?

If you want to chip with control and spin, you need:

• A de-lofted club at impact

• A downward strike

• The confidence to stay forward and trust it

Joe kept repeating one number like a mantra:

“45° dynamic loft — that’s the magic number.”

And every good one I hit? That’s exactly the number we saw.