The club that’s just chipper

By Neville Idour

Now I know many golfer’s pride will not allow them to even consider what I am writing about here. It will be beneath their dignity because this is a golf club probably the most shunned, ignoring the simplicity it can provide because of that pride.

But hang on, I know you will never see a scratch golfer or professional with this chipper in their bag, simply because they don’t need one, as they have the ability to play without one successfully.

But what about Joe Blow, say an average golfer or higher handicapper? Could this chipper help them play more successfully from rough around the green? Well, I may be no coach but I can say the answer is definitely yes, from my experience.

It is not designed for playing over a bunker to the green but from the first cut of rough or where the ball is easily struck. It allows you to play a simple chip using a putting stroke, thus avoiding complete chunking or sculling with, say, a lob or sand wedge. Some might watch someone using one with some amusement or derision, but when the ``putt'' ends up near the hole the laugh is on them.

It is very pertinent to note that two of golf’s biggest brand names Ping and Odyssey have added a chipper to their club ranges which has undoubtedly legitimised their use. The wide rounded sole and sufficient loft allows one to easily and effectively use your putting stroke from some way off the green without wrist break. It will cope far better than the putter negotiating the first cut of rough as the loft allows it to clear the rough nicely.

So if you can manage to putt without thinning or fatting then you should have no problem with this chipper — and we all know what happens when we flunk a wedge shot. The possibilities are not nice to contemplate.

So with most of the variables eliminated you can focus on line and pace as with a putt. Some might use a fairway wood or hybrid with some success, but these clubs are not designed for those situations because of their longer shafts, whereas the chipper is designed for exactly these situations with the right shaft length and lie angle.

How often have we done it ourselves or watched our partners or opponents grab a lob wedge to play a chip shot from the rough within a few metres of the green and chunk it, leaving it in the rough or sculling it to the other side of the green or worse? Particularly, for the mid-range and higher handicapper the KISS (keep it simple, stupid) method definitely has merit.

Maybe it is time to swallow one’s pride and give it a go. You might surprise yourself and have the last laugh on those who might consider you a laughing stock or to be sympathised with. The scorecard does not record which clubs you used to prove you are a gun golfer. It only has spaces to record your score and stableford scores on each hole.

So why not take the risk of lowering your scores instantly by popping a chipper in the bag instead of a third or fourth wedge? In fact I have done that with excellent results. But wait, there’s more. Have you ever been in a spot where you can not play a shot right handed or if you are a leftie, left handed?

The answer is waiting for you. I have a two sided PGM wedge in my bag. So I can play either a right or left handed shot as required from a tight spot. Maybe a tree or object is blocking your natural shot. This two sided chipper makes extrication possible in most situations. The good news is it doesn’t cost an arm and a leg.

So there you have it. To be chipper or not be chipper.