How many clubs do you use to chip with?

[MPforthewin]

All the books say to get the ball rolling as quickly as possible. It is usually the case but not always. For me, in the above situation, if I have 10 feet after the ridge and I wasn't going directly up it, I will pitch it to the top with spin. (I actually had this exact shot last saturday). The angle was wierd and it was so hard to judge so I thought I had a better chance opening the 64 land it up on top and spin it close. Pulled it off, had 5 feet for par and made it.

And Im not trying to tell you what you did was wrong, but if you have the 8 iron bump shot in your bag I would bet you a large sum of money that you will put that shot closer to the hole much more often than the 64 flop with spin. If possible I never try to count on spin, its much too unpredictable.

Obviously do what is comfortable to you, but im saying get comfortable with alternate shots because there are much better ways to score than just chipping with your 52 all the time.

[Leftygolfer]

And Im not trying to tell you what you did was wrong, but if you have the 8 iron bump shot in your bag I would bet you a large sum of money that you will put that shot closer to the hole much more often than the 64 flop with spin. If possible I never try to count on spin, its much too unpredictable.

I would take that bet.

I couldn't agree more about learning more which I am doing. I am very comfortable hitting flop shots. I think they are easier to judge to me than running the ball up a ridge. I do trust the spin on that wedge. If the greens are dry, it is spinning. This is more trust worthy than my touch. I am working on different shots. If I was going straight up the ridge I might have used a different technique. But if I was like most who are not comfortable hitting the kind of shot I did hit, anyone would have had a heck of a time judging it going up a steep (2 foot) ridge diagonally, flirt with the fringe, and get the speed perfect. It would have been so hard to play this shot on the green. The greens there are crazy.

[Smw]

I use 56* down to an 8, and I've tryed the hybrid a few times with decent results. An 8 iron with a putting stroke works best for me, but only if I am not too far off the green.

[Fourputt]

ive heard everyhting from just 1 club for all distances to 7 clubs, each for different dstances. so, how many clubs do you use to chip with?

It depends totally on the type of shot needed. I'll use anything from an 8I to my 58° wedge, but most often it's my PW or my 52° wedge. On some occasions I'll use a hybrid, and a few rounds back I even used my driver successfully to "chip" from under a low hanging branch.

This part of the game can require more imagination than almost any aspect, and although I use a couple of clubs as standard, I try to be fairly comfortable with several clubs so that I'm prepared for anything.

[Zeph]

I think you would find that if you practiced the shots we speak of, you would feel differently. Alot of golf is choosing your highest percentage shot and to a pin on the upper tier with 60 feet of green in front of you the highest percentage shot to get it close to the hole is a bump 8 iron or something of the likes.

I have practiced them, I used them for quite some time. That was until I bought the book of Stan Utley, where he advice using one club for every shot. My short game has improved very much after using his methods. I feel a lot more confident with that one club than I did with using an 8 iron bump shot.

Utley played on the PGA tour for a long time and survived simply because of his excellent short game. So no, I don't agree that a bumping 8 iron is the "highest percentage shot to get it close to the hole". I don't see how you can make that call either. It's all about feel, confidence and practice. With my chipping club I know exactly how hard to hit it, and you need that feel to reach different distances. I don't see how it should be easier to have 5 different clubs you have to have this feel with rather than one. The "keep the ball on the ground as long as possible" thing is something I don't agree with. I'd much rather have a long chip than a long putt. That's not saying I flop and pitch my ball all the time. As often as possible I use my chip shot which is a bump and run. The ball hops 3-4 times then roll to the target.

[MPforthewin]

Well, as I said I am not telling you you are doing anything wrong, but the fact remains you are taking the book of one guy who played on tour and quoting it as gospel because you like it. Thats great if it fits your game,

BUT

There are countless pros and all-time-greats that made their living on tour that teach the same thing I am talking about. Tom Watson is my first example, as I have his book "Getting Up And Down From 40 Yards And In"
Im pretty sure he made a great living with his short game as well.

What Im trying to say is because one guy on tour wrote a book doesnt make it the best way.

If Jim Furyk wrote a book on swing plane would you follow it because he is successful on tour?

You do what is comfortable to you, but that doesnt mean it is the BEST way to score.

I gurantee you if you asked the top 50 or so short game players on tour if they use the same club for all short game shots, you would receive a resounding NO.

[heiss30]

I use a 56 degree cleveland cg12 black pearl. That is the #1 most important club in my bag by far.

[DriverTees]

I try to do everything with my 56 if it's less than 10 metres, otherwise my 60. Sometimes you gotta be creative though.

[mirv]

if i'm inside of 15 yards from the hole, i'll flop the ball up with my 60 degree. if i'm 15-30 yards out, i'll use the 56. if i'm right off the edge of the green, 3 yards (approximately) or less, i'll bump with a 5, 6, 7 or 8 iron, depending on slope and how far away the pin is from me.

[Zeph]

Well, as I said I am not telling you you are doing anything wrong, but the fact remains you are taking the book of one guy who played on tour and quoting it as gospel because you like it. Thats great if it fits your game,

I never said it was the best way to score, it was you who said that using many clubs gave you the highest percentage for succession. As I wrote earlier, I have tried using different clubs, but found that using only one club give me the best results.

[JetFan1983]

I really want to expand my chipping game so that I feel confident with every club in my bag around the greens, but aside from the fact that I've been injured for a while, when I do get to practice, it's mostly on the full swing, putting or pitch shots with my 56 degree.

However, when I do get back to playing again (whenever that is), I'd love to spend sometime improving my chipping. My touch with my irons around the green isn't so good; everything seems to come out really hot, but that's to be expected since I don't really spend time practicing it.

My go-to chipping club is my 56 degree and I'll use that exclusively because I am most comfortable with it. I also practice with it the most, so go figure that it's my best chipping club I deloft it to get the ball rolling quicker if I need it to, and I just like how the ball comes off the face.

All that said though, I realize it is absolutely imperative that I get comfortable using my 8-iron or some other short iron to chip with. If I can get another club like my 56 that I feel really strongly about around the greens, then my game will improve greatly.

Note to self: Practice chipping with my 8-iron.