Bermuda Grass Chipping in Florida – How to Get Out of it and Onto the Green.

Florida golfers, let’s stop the bleeding.

You skull it, you chunk it, or (most often) you hit what feels like a perfect chip… and it dies 10 feet short like it hit a brick wall. All because Bermuda grass is a lying, grabbing, grainy son of a gun.

It's very easy to lose 5–7 strokes a round from 40 yards and in. Once you've missed the green and in the rough, our first goal has to be Get On The Green!

Here’s a few great techniques to learn and develop that'll help during your next round in the Sunshine State.

First Rule: Lie Before Everything Else

Forget what club you “feel like” hitting. Look at your lie! There's nothing worse than making a good swing with the wrong setup or club choice and being penalized for it. Your lie will

always dictate the shot or shots you have available to you with the most margin of error:

A. Ball sitting up on top of the Bermuda (you can see a good bit of grass under it)

• Lower lofted club (PW, 9-iron)

• Sweeping, shallow angle of attack – think putting stroke with a little hinge

• Ball position middle of stance, weight 60/40 favoring front foot

• Shoulders rotate horizontally around your spine – almost zero wrist action

• Goal: skim the grass, sweeping the ball onto the green, let it run like a putt

  
  

B. Ball sitting down/nestled in Bermuda (grass hugging the equator or lower)

• Higher lofted wedge (56°–60°, 56° is my 90 % club)

• Steeper attack – take it up quick on the backswing, then down behind the ball

• Ball in the middle of a slightly wider stance, shaft leaning slightly forward at address, we need to use the loft and bounce for this guy

• Slightly open the face a touch, then retain that shaft lean through impact (adds bounce, prevents grabbing)

• Weight 50/50 or even a hair on the back foot to encourage the steep descent

• Swing 15–20 % bigger than you think – the grass steals speed like crazy

• Priority #1: just get it on the green with margin for error. Bermuda greens are

  unpredictable; give yourself 10–15 extra feet of runway, aim for the center of the green, get on and trust for a one or two putt

  
  

  

Second Rule: Grain Is a Bigger Deal Than Spin When Chipping

• Shiny side of the green = down-grain → ball will chase like it’s on hardwood

• Dull/cuppy side = into-grain → ball will stop much faster than you think

• Uphill + into-grain = dead in its tracks

• Downhill + down-grain = rocket fuel

  
  

Walk halfway to the green, look back, and pick your landing spot accordingly. I’ll happily land it 5–8 feet shorter if I’m coming in down-grain.

Third Rule: Build Two “Go-To” Stock Shots in Practice

Spend some time developing these two shots until they're automatic:

1. 12–15 yard “sitting up” with Pitching Wedge (sweep, run like a putt)

2. 30-yard “nestled” shot with Sand Wedge (steeper, center of green)

   
   

Once you own those two distances cold, every other chip becomes a percentage swing of one of them. No more guessing. Confidence skyrockets → contact gets cleaner → scores plummet.

Print it, laminate it, stick it in your yardage book.

Bottom line: In Bermuda you have to assess your lie. The grass wins the fight every time.

Respect the lie. Respect the grain. Adjust your shot accordingly.

Your playing partners will hate you when you start getting up-and-down from places that used to be automatic bogeys.

Now go save some strokes this weekend.