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Gary Player, the self-proclaimed third-best player of all time, has some chipping advice for amateur golfers.

Gary Player is always eager to share his wealth of golfing knowledge with amateur golfers. Player has shared tips he learned from Ben Hogan and other golfing greats on driving, iron play, and putting for golfers to lower their handicap.

The nine-time major winner was one of the best short-game players of his era, known for his creativity and versatility around the greens.

And he recognized a mistake that most amateur golfers make around the greens with their club selection.

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Gary Player tells golfers to throw out their wedges when chipping

The natural thing to do when around the green is to grab a high-lofted club and try to chip the ball in the air and land it softly around the pin.

But instead, Player said that amateurs should rarely reach for their wedge when chipping, and instead opt for a mid-iron to roll it up to the flag.

When asked how amateurs can best improve their chipping, Player explained, “They’ve got to learn when they’re chipping, what club to select. So the first thing most weekend golfers do they bring out the sand wedge or the wedge.

“Throw them away. Throw them away. They should never be chipping with a sand wedge and a wedge unless they’re going over a trap, over a tree or over a mound. Other than that, keep it low because it’s too hard. Low for the dough, high makes you cry.

“Now give me a 7-iron. The lower you keep the ball, the easier it is. So once you start high chip shots, you’re gone. This is the 7-iron, and it’s just a little punch.”

With Player’s advice, you can become adept at rolling the ball up to the flag, almost like a putt. This reduces the chance of thinning the ball across the green, and even gives you a better chance of holing chips!

Gary Player says what upsets him when he sees amateurs chip

Player went on to say that golfers can take a leaf out of Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson’s book when hitting chips.

He said that he sees too much stiffness in golfers’ wrists when they’re chipping around the green, and the great chippers in the world hinge theirs instead.

Player said, “What I see, and I get so upset when I see this, I’ll see these members playing these chip shots with their wrists too stiff.

“Watch the great chippers of the world at Tiger Woods, the Phil Mickelsons. The great chippers, they all set the wrist a little bit, because it helps you to release. And under pressure, you decelerate.”

Perhaps the greatest chipper of all time, Seve Ballesteros, said the key to chipping was soft hands. In pressure situations, golfers tense up, but that’s a one-way street to a poor chip onto the green.