"I’ve tried Phil Mickelson’s stuff" – PGA Tour pro shares why he avoids 6x major champ’s chipping style

The PGA Tour's Michael Kim is very active on social media, engaging with his followers while sharing glimpses into his life as a professional golfer. In a recent post on X, he not only shared his chipping techniques but also stated that he is not a big fan of one of golf's best short game experts' styles.

Phil Mickelson is known as one of the sport's best chippers. Renowned for his hinge and hold, this method of chipping emphasises consistent contact with the ball and a good trajectory.

The LIV Golf star's technique relies on breaking the wrist in the backswing and then accelerating through the ball using the torso. However, Michael Kim says that Mickelson's maneuvering around the green is not the best.

The PGA Tour star wrote (via X @Mike_kim714):

"I’ve tried Phil’s stuff, the hinge and hold is good for the bump and run but I have found this style a bit better for me personally."

Michael Kim's favorite way of playing a chip shot is to bump and run with a 60-degree wedge. This is unorthodox, as many players prefer a less lofted club like a 56 or 52-degree wedge. He says that the key to a good outcome with this way of chipping lies in the setup.

Kim's key points are to have the ball slightly back in the stance, with the hands, head, and spine forward. After playing around with this, he feels that the best weight distribution for this shot is 60 percent on the lead foot and 40 percent on the trail foot.

Unlike a traditional setup, the 32-year-old prefers a shorter stance roughly two and a half clubheads away from the golf ball, which helps him get taller with the setup. With a slightly open clubface, Michael Kim makes sure not to take the clubface inside the plane with his takeaway.

When using this technique, he does not tend to feel much movement in his torso or lower body. The technique involves the arms with no involvement from the hands.

Michael Kim's 2025 PGA Tour stats

Michael Kim is a pretty well-rounded player on the PGA Tour, with all strokes gained values in the positive range. His adjusted scoring average is 70.404, while his actual scoring average is 70.20.

Here's a look at Kim's stats so far this season (via PGA Tour):

Strokes Gained - Total: +0.667
Strokes Gained - Tee to Green: 0.604
Strokes Gained - Off the Tee: 0.005
Strokes Gained - Approach the Green: 0.373
Strokes Gained - Around the Green: 0.226
Strokes Gained - Putting: 0.063
Driving Distance - 301.1 yards
Driving Accuracy - 58.42 percent
Greens in Regulation - 64.86 percent
Scrambling - 63.24 percent
Putting Average - 1.772 putts

About the author

Lathika is one of the newer additions to Sportskeeda’s budding golf journalism team and has brought plenty of in-game experience to the role. Having been a golfer for over 12 years now, some of her crowning achievements include winning titles on the Indian Golf Union Ladies tour and Junior Girls Amateur tour.

She currently competes in Division 1 golf in New York, and hopes to play in the U.S. Open and Chevron Championship one day. She is set to cover the 2025 Ryder Cup as well. She is currently pursuing a degree in Business Administration and Management, and holds a Sports Marketing certification from Northwestern University, which helped her learn to draft press releases and ultimately transition into journalism.

Lathika has thus developed a knowledge base that allows her to view golf from both player, spectator and media lenses, enabling her to bring statistics, insights and an understanding of fan emotion together in her copies. She only uses verified information from reliable sources like the PGA TOUR.

Her favorite golfers are Nelly Korda and Tiger Woods, both for their playing style as well as their mental strength. Much of her time away from work is spent playing golf, but she also enjoys spending time with her family and friends, and learning new hobbies or upskilling.

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Edited by Samya Majumdar