Matt Fitzpatrick is known for his meticulous attention to detail, from his habit of tracking every shot he plays to his preference for leaving the pin in when he putts, believing that if the ball hits the flagstick, it offers a higher chance of finding the hole.
Another quirk of the Englishman's game is found in his work around the greens, where he opts to chip cross-handed. That's been a factor in his game for several years, having first adopted the unconventional technique in 2020.
Along the way, it has helped him to huge success, including spells in the world's top 10, his maiden Major title at the 2022 US Open and Ryder Cup appearances.
Fitzpatrick suffered a slump in form throughout much of 2024 and 2025, but there are signs the 30-year-old is returning to his best, with a T8 at the PGA Championship particularly encouraging before reaching the halfway stage of The Open at Royal Portrush just one behind leader Scottie Scheffler.
One again, Fitzpatrick reached that position of strength while employing his now-familiar cross-handed chipping technique, which sees the right-hander place his left hand lower on the club. A look at the stats showed that Fitzpatrick's game around the greens had been pivotal to that success, too. Per Data Golf, after 36 holes, he topped the Strokes Gained: Around the Greens stats, gaining 2.02 shots.
So, what led to him adopting the technique in the first place? Another impressive Major performance came at the 2022 PGA Championship, where he placed T5, and ahead of the final round, he offered an explanation, saying it comes down to greater consistency, with the dominant hand helping propel the club without interfering with the clubface.
He said: “I had a tendency to sort of drive the handle and then the ball would fall off the face, whereas with this, if I did that, I would just shank it. I feel like it's just much more consistent in strike, flight and spin.”
A month later, Fitzpatrick was preparing for the US Open at the Country Club of Brookline, where he would go on to claim his maiden Major title. Ahead of the tournament, he spoke to PGATour.com, where he explained the cross-handed method, which can look alarming to the uninitiated, had led to some interesting crowd reactions - not that they bothered him.
He said: “I find it hilarious. I’ll hear in the crowd: ‘Oh, my God! What’s he doing?’ Really, it’s hilarious. But it’s worked really well for me. My chipping stats are 100 percent better from this year compared to last. It’s a good start.”
He also offered further insight into why the technique is beneficial to his game, adding: "I just found it more consistent. The ball comes off the face much more consistently. It’s the same every time. You know what’s coming. When I was chipping normally, it’s not like I had the yips. I was just getting a lot of inconsistency in the strike, and the release.
"I started doing it a couple of years ago in the rough, because I felt the technique really got the clubhead out. To me, I can’t drag my hands across, because I’ll shank it if I go cross-handed. It helps me throw the head in, and I feel I have way more control over it. I just got so comfortable with it, and now I really like doing it.”
Which Other Pros Chip Cross-Handed?
Despite Fitzpatrick's success, the cross-handed chipping technique is far from common, although there have been some other notable players who have used it.
Another current player who uses it is Matthieu Pavon, who began chipping cross-handed to cure his severe chipping yips, which developed soon after he turned pro. Since then, he has collected his first PGA Tour win and finished T5 at the 2024 US Open.
Long before Fitzpatrick and Pavon began chipping cross-handed, three-time Major winner Vijay Singh also used the method, along with the likes of Kevin Stadler, Chris Couch, Stewart Cink and Chris DiMarco.
