Someone once said that the bunker shot was the easiest shot in golf because you did not even have to hit the ball. Think about that for a minute. The bunker shot is essentially a fat shot with a shallow divot. Most amateurs are frustratingly familiar with the fat shot, they just need to shallow out the divot and viola! You have a bunker shot.
The most powerful part of this idea is forgetting about the ball and just concentrating on the divot you make. This allows the ball to just get in the way of the stroke.
The ball is never the intended target in golf. Just like in the bunker the ball is not the target of the club, the ground is. Being able to control the length depth and direction of the clubs interaction with the ground is all that matters unless the ball is on a tee and then it is only the tee that matters.
Although most of us have a problem controlling these variables, it only takes a little work in the bunker to get this skill mastered. Find a practice bunker and start practicing making shallow long divots. Don’t worry about where they start in your stance until you can make a consistent divot at least the length of a dollar bill. Then draw a line in the sand that is in the middle of your stance. Once you can consistently make a shallow divot after the line we can move out the bunker and back to the chipping green.
The chipping swing is just a smaller bunker swing. Instead of making sure that you are close enough to the ground to take a small about of sand/grass you are going to move your vertical center up so that you will only brush the grass. The next big thing you have to adjust is the ball position. With a bunker shot the ball is forward of the entry point in every other iron shot the ball is slightly behind or resting on the line of entry.
Just like with a bunker shot, the proximity of the entry point to the ball will have a great deal of influence on the trajectory and spin of the shot. contact the ground toward the back of the ball and you will get a lower spinning higher flight. Contact the ground further forward and you will get a high spin low flight shot, assuming the same loft.
This concept works for the full swing too. Work your ground contact into a larger swing radius and the ball will magically move in the direction of your divot The direction of the divot is determined by the path of your swing. In the smaller swings of the short game this is not as big a deal, but when the swings get bigger and the clubs get longer it is of paramount importance.
Play around with this idea of forgetting about the ball and just contact the ground where and how you want to and the ball will go along for the ride.