Want to be a better chipper? A new philosophy

[mrodock]

Conventional wisdom is it is best to land the ball near the edge of the green and let it run the rest of the way to the hole. I completely disagree with this approach. If you are 24 yards from the hole and have a lot of green to work with and use a 6 iron with a 1:6 (carry:roll ratio) and land the ball 1 foot beyond the correct landing spot you will be 7 feet long. Now if you have a 1:1 carry to roll ratio with a SW and you land it 3 feet beyond the correct landing spot you will be 6 feet beyond the hole. I don't know about everyone else, but if I chip with a 3 iron it is extremely easy to miss a spot 2 or 3 yards in front of me by a couple of feet, with a 1:10 carry to roll ratio this becomes a serious issue.

I don't believe the solution is to chip with the highest lofted club in the bag, but rather to figure out if you are good at carrying the ball short distances and letting it roll out, or if you are better at carrying the ball further and rolling it less. If you take out 3 or 4 clubs, say a SW, 8 iron, and a 5 iron and pick 3 targets, 10 yards, 20 yards, 30 yards and alternate the order you try each club you can start to get an idea of whether you are better with the longer irons or the shorter irons. Once you do the test, you might be surprised to find that you have been chipping with the wrong clubs. For me, a 9 iron with a 1:3 is ideal and a 6 iron is horrible when I spot chip, but it is quite good once I just look at the target and pretend I am putting rather than spot chipping.

I personally think it is nearly impossible to be good at chipping with 4 or more clubs without a lot of practice. It is easy when you are chipping to not have a feel for precisely how hard to hit a 7 iron to carry it 4 yards for example, particularly when your last 3 chips called for a SW. I think for most players mastering two clubs like a SW and a 9 iron for most chips will yield an excellent gain. Tiger chips almost exclusively with his LW and Annika went from chipping with 3 clubs to only 1! Maybe the shortcut is mastering 1 or 2 clubs rather than 6 or 7. Only through testing can you get an objective answer for yourself.

Matt

[glcoach]

Right on Matt, that is exactly what I chip with; a SW or a 9 iron. Cool.

[Martee]

I use a PW or 8i depending upon the shot (uphill, downhill, etc) including the landing area. It is easier to practice with 2 clubs as noted than practicing with the entire bag. Am going to add the hybrid this year.

[Bigwill]

I've found that the same thing works for me. As much as the talking heads advise multiple chipping clubs, that approach seems much harder to me. Also, I find that more spin on a chip is more forgiving if the gun goes off in my hands.

[MBCpro]

Educated hands and controlled clubhead lag pressure and you can chip, pitch, lob with any club you want.
Remember the beauty of The Golfing Machine is its flexibility!!!

Todd

[jimmydean]

matt,
my own philosophy has always been to chip with a sw, pw, or 9 iron. i vary the position depending on how much roll i want. i agree with not having to practice with too many clubs.

regards,
jim

[BerntR]

Educated hands and controlled clubhead lag pressure and you can chip, pitch, lob with any club you want.
Remember the beauty of The Golfing Machine is its flexibility!!!

Todd

I pretty much agree. But in addition to lag pressure, it IMO is very important to control the (amount of) lag itself - and the more so the more lofted the club is. Hitting soft landing 10 - 30 yarders with a 60* can produce very reliable carry distances and roll distances. On my home course - which doesn't have PGA sized greens. I use PW until I need more loft. Then I move to GW, SW and eventually LW. On large green on a links course - and a lot of roll between me and the hole I may be down to a 6 iron - and out of my comfort zone I must admit.

[ChangeMySwing]

I chip with my 7 iron and will attempt to use my putter as much as possible (even from rough and long distances.)

[SECGolf]

Educated hands and controlled clubhead lag pressure and you can chip, pitch, lob with any club you want.
Remember the beauty of The Golfing Machine is its flexibility!!!

Todd

The more I play, the more I buy into the fact that the above is the attitude I must have to produce consistency and precision. Conditions of greens and surroundings can change greatly, and I must have the flexibility to adapt. For example, damp, and therefore slower greens might present the opportunity to roll the ball with less loft to a tucked hole location (where you wouldn't want to take a chance of "flying" the ball over the hole).

[rogerdodger]

Since learning lag and aiming point, I chip most of the time with a lob wedge, unless I need a significant amount of run. My chipping has never been better. I agree that with the proper technique, you can chip better with one club. If you are using a chip-putt, then it makes sense to vary the club selection.