I recently suffered a very narrow last-green match play loss to a man one shot lower than me. Nothing surprising in that. These things happen. I didn’t have my best and he was just a fraction better.
What was surprising, though, was one of the clubs he was using – a chipper – and to great effect, too. I did a slight doubletake when I first half-clocked it on one of his early greenside attempts, for I rarely see anyone using a chipper (even those who most definitely should), and don’t remember ever seeing one in the hands of a 5-handicapper.
But this chap wasn’t worried about that. He had simply chosen to play the club that would help him get up and down most often on the majority of greenside shots.
The chipper is, of course, the most derided of golf clubs, with many golfers undoubtedly spurning its simplicity out of pride, at potentially great cost to their scores. They simply can’t be seen to be using (or needing) such a club.
Yes, learning how to chip with wedges and other clubs is very wise and, yes, there will be certain greenside shots where the chipper is about as much use as a chocolate teapot. Lobbing it over a steep-lipped bunker to a tight pin is clearly not the chipper’s forte... but allowing you to play simple chips using essentially your putting stroke most definitely is!
But the club that many golfers see as merely an object of amusement that warrants their sympathy if they see anyone using one has been further legitimised of late by one or two of golf’s biggest brands adding them to their club ranges – clubs such as the Ping ChipR and Odyssey Chipper feature high on any list of the best chippers in golf.
Far less that can go wrong
Back in my day, it was pretty much just the Bronty Chipmaster and a selection of offerings from cheap non-brands, in keeping with the club’s dubious reputation.
But wide rounded soles and a decent amount of loft mean that you can effectively use pretty much your putting stroke from some way off the green and, with no wrist break, there’s simply far less that can go wrong.
That little bit of loft also helps the chipper cope better than a putter when you have to traverse grasses of varying lengths as it just gets the ball sufficiently airborne to carry the thickest stuff.
If you never strike your putts fat or badly thin, there’s little reason why you should do so with a chipper. Those would rank among the most common causes of wasted shots around the green, especially the latter which can lead to all sorts of problems.
Hands up who’s ever thinned a chip into a bunker or pond? With the chipper’s wide sole taking the ball/turf interaction largely out of the equation, you can focus almost solely on the judgment of line and pace.
Yes, you could play a similar shot with a lofted hybrid or fairway wood, but three things complicate the hybrid chip shot just enough for you to really need to practise it a lot before going live with it.
First, it comes off the face of the hollow-headed club much faster than you’re probably expecting; second, the length of the shaft means you’re probably going to be gripping down at least halfway on to the graphite; and finally, because you’re now getting this club closer to your body than its lie angle has been designed for, it’s going to be a little heel up at address, something you need to factor in.
The chipper is designed with the correct shaft length and lie angle, thus avoiding such complications.
Stick to your game
What this chap did so well was to stick to one shot for 80% of the chips he faced and he had clearly been doing it long enough to be entirely comfortable with it, knowing that, effectively, one-size-fits-all when it comes to the movement required.
I would say that I’ve watched golfers waste more shots through overcomplicating things unnecessarily around the green than anything else over my 45 years of playing. Indeed, the higher the handicap, the more likely it is that the lob wedge will be selected in my experience.
Whenever I’m playing a match against a higher-handicapper, I take great heart from seeing my opponent reach for his most lofted club when a few feet off the green with nothing to go over as, for most golfers not blessed with Shane Lowry’s short-game skills, there is so much more that can go wrong then.
Of course, use a chipper and you risk being a bit of a laughing stock. But this chap had the last laugh in our match, and the last time I looked there was no place on the scorecard to note down your club line-up and prove your worth as a golfer – just boxes to put down your scores.
I’m convinced that many club golfers could lower their scores instantly by popping a chipper in the bag instead of a third or fourth wedge. I consider myself a decent chipper using a variety of clubs around the green, but I still wonder sometimes. Maybe I’ll give it a go one day and see what happens...
