Chippers and Putting Wedges

[iacas]

Also important to note: a lot of the old-school "two-way" chippers are now illegal. Only putters can have two faces intended to strike the golf ball (like the Bullseye). The determinant is loft, and putters are under the limit.

[ks8829]

Save the money and learn to chip will all your wedges and irons in the long run it will only help your game.

[kafka01]

A couple of weeks ago i played with a guy - maybe 24, hcp 5. At the 4th hole he was behind the green and had to chip on - and no he doesnt pull a wedge, but a chipper. After we finished the hole i ask him on why he is using "that thing" and he said he started with it as a kid and felt really comfortable with it so he never got rid of it.

I never used one and never will - i love chipping and practicing it but couldnt imagine doing it with a chipper - just way to uncreative and boring for the wide variety of chips you are able to play with the clubs you already have in your bag. Practice chipping and as soon as you have figured it out you wont regret to not buy one of these things...

[naws-golfer]

Seriously, who uses a chipper? I would love to hear a good reason, considering they have the same loft as 6-8 irons.

Maybe its just me, but I don't get it.

[obsessedgolfer]

I dont use a chipper, but it is a great club. You stated that chippers have the same loft as 6-8 irons which is true, but chippers have a shorter shaft and a wide sole so you wont chunk or blade your shots of the green.

[Doctorfro]

The sole is a little heavy on some of those things and I guess that's to keep it moving. But yeah, I don't get it either.

[firstcut]

At the risk of getting totally flamed, I will admit to not only owning a chipper, but being dumb enough to buy the expensive Odyssey one.

Why?

With kids and work I get to play golf 5 hours a week (If I get to play that week). That's one round on Saturday. My chipping sucks and is not likely to get better without practice. When chipping I stub the club or top it with short irons and crush it with my hybrids. In short, my UBER shot game sucks. It got to the point where I was using the putter even when I had 10' of apron to putt through.

The chipper solves all those problems. It swings easy, takes little practice to be "decent" with and takes dumb frustrating strokes off my score. EVERY game that I've played it I've gotten multiple "nice shot" comments from around the green. Something that NEVER happened before. My first week with it, I chipped one in from 15'.

IMHO, it's a crutch, but it helps me enjoy the game more.

Oh.. As a side note, apparently one of the guys at my local GolfSmith uses his out to 100 Yards... It's kind of a running joke that everyone is waiting for him to snap the head off it. But, supposedly he's pretty deadly with it...

[walfice]

If you saw my dads short game you would know why they are useful to some people. He is the worst person in the world around the green, sand iron in every situation which usually ends up thin and 20 yards through the green. The chipper is used like a putter so is much easier to hit correctly. I personally wouldn't use one but they do have their uses for some people

[iacas]

Someone should buy one of these: http://www.eclubgolf.com/ . Made by Michael Bamberger, the SI guy.

[Waku]

If somebody get better results whith a chipper, should use one.
Or two drivers, or no driver, or hybrids or belly putters... and so on
I agree it´s a rare club, and you can get the same result with another similar lofted iron, but at the end it´s about how many strokes, so...

[Zeph]

My club collection has exceeded 14, so I can't bring everything. A chipper is a very useful club, but since I can use an iron to do the exact same job I don't need one just for those shots.

For those troubling with chips, trying this club can certainly be helpful. I would still suggest you practice a bit with the irons first. It's really a pretty easy shot once you get it down. I've used it a lot and feel pretty confident with it. I use anything from 7i to 60º around the green, depending on distance, flag position, undulation, distance I need to carry over fring/rough etc.

[immts007]

I've got an old cougar chipper that I found in my parents garage. It belonged to my grandfather, who died in 1982 and hadn't played golf in 10 years when he died, so it's pretty old.

I love it! and it's actually pretty versatile. I've used very successfully for everything from 80 yard pitch shots to picking the ball out of a bunker for a long roll on the green.

[mev]

I played with my brother and sister in law once, and she brought two clubs; a chipper and a putter. She had a lot of fun with it, and never saw the junk that I saw (sand, trees, deep rough), and beat me and my brother on a few holes. Every shot for her was right in the middle of the fairway. She's not a golfer by any means, but she is athletic. She had fun and that's all that matters.

[deronsizemore]

Seriously, who uses a chipper? I would love to hear a good reason, considering they have the same loft as 6-8 irons.

I agree. I feel that they for all intents and purposes, worthless.

[mev]

I agree. I feel that they for all intents and purposes, worthless.

For your game, or any decent golfer, yes it is useless. For the guy that only plays once a month, it will help his game, and speed up their round.

[EquipmentJunkie]

For your game, or any decent golfer, yes it is useless. For the guy that only plays once a month, it will help his game, and speed up their round.

I agree, though I may not use one I can see the benefit for many. My father for example, is getting older, arthritis, ect....prevent him from choking down on an 8 iron and chipping it with accuracy. A chipper was a great way for him to stay motivated.

[deronsizemore]

For your game, or any decent golfer, yes it is useless. For the guy that only plays once a month, it will help his game, and speed up their round.

I think it may be more of a matter of confidence? I mean, when you're swinging an 8 iron or a chipper (which have roughly the same loft), assuming you swing each club about the same way, you should see about the same result. If it makes someone's short game better, by all means, go for it, but I just feel that if you make a short chipping motion with your 8 iron, you'll see the same results as the chipper?

[meenman]

I dont own one - my wife loves hers.

I am a bit tempted with the Cleveland Niblick (supposedly more than a chipper) that is coming out but I am not sure there is a club I would pull out of my bag for it.