Why do so few courses have decent areas to practice chipping?

[Chas]

My game is at the point where if I don't increase my up-and-down percentage (from something very low), and reduce the no. of 3- putts by chipping reasonably close to the pin from difficult positions, I will never shoot under 80.

Why oh why do so few courses have practice areas where you can chip away to your heart's content, without interference from people practicing their putting - if you're even allowed to do it at all that is?  Torrey Pines is very poor in this regard - only putting is allowed on those famous practice greens in front of the clubhouse, and there's nothing near the driving range. Many courses don't allow chipping on their practice greens at all, at least in my experience.

There is precisely ONE public course in my area that has what I'm talking about, vis. Encinitas Ranch (North County San Diego), to my knowledge at least.

Why is that?  Chipping is so very important to scoring low and you have got to practice practice practice to get any good at all - at least I do.  I'm finally enjoying practicing my chipping, by treating it as a wholly separate and fascinating game-in-itself.

[Motown88]

Most of the courses I've played on either have two separate areas to practice (i.e. chipping green and putting green) or have one green that you can do both on.  I can count on one hand how many courses I know of that do not allow any form of chipping.  I do agree that it is aggravating to practice chipping while others are putting.

[RPMPIRE]

Biggest reason is cost. Most practice areas have greens you can practice putting on no extra charge. Why? Because maintenance costs are lower. Chipping greens need to be sanded, sodded, etc. just like a regular grass driving range because a club will come down and eventually tear up the grass. That's why you see a lot of "putting only" green have the no chipping signs all over them. Some practice facilities have an enclosed large area that they charge golfers. Others don't want to bother having to maintain a chipping green.

[ejimsmith]

cause they have to build a chipping green, and maintain the grass around it.   and especially cause they make no money off of doing it.   it essentially costs them money.   the course i practice my chipping at, the green is not near the quality of an actual green, which is a bummer cause you can't get a feel for how far your chip will roll.   there's a couple ranges around me where you can chip, but you have to pay them (around $5/hour), and still you get that low quality green and grass that's full of divots.

well, there's some reason for ya.  keep trying though you may find a place that you can chip at, and hopefully for free.  its helped me tremendously despite the low quality green they provide.   also, when i'm in a bind, i will chip on a grass range.  sure that wastes precious range money, but it helps.

finally, if you have a 3par course nearby, go play there.  usually they're cheap to play, and you can setup for all sorts of chipping scenarios.

[LuciusWooding]

Originally Posted by Chas

My game is at the point where if I don't increase my up-and-down percentage (from something very low), and reduce the no. of 3- putts by chipping reasonably close to the pin from difficult positions, I will never shoot under 80.

Why oh why do so few courses have practice areas where you can chip away to your heart's content, without interference from people practicing their putting - if you're even allowed to do it at all that is?  Torrey Pines is very poor in this regard - only putting is allowed on those famous practice greens in front of the clubhouse, and there's nothing near the driving range. Many courses don't allow chipping on their practice greens at all, at least in my experience.

There is precisely ONE public course in my area that has what I'm talking about, vis. Encinitas Ranch (North County San Diego), to my knowledge at least.

Why is that?  Chipping is so very important to scoring low and you have got to practice practice practice to get any good at all - at least I do.  I'm finally enjoying practicing my chipping, by treating it as a wholly separate and fascinating game-in-itself.

I don't think the technique for chipping and pitching is too hard, but you need practice to learn to read the lie and how to play different greens. It's very important to choose the right shot for the lie and situation. You can practice your technique on a carpet at home, but it won't make you a great short game player unless you can learn to be dynamic and creative. The only way to do that is to practice on the course itself, especially on a variety of conditions and layouts. Putting is a bit more technique driven, but you can't learn to read greens without experience.

Most practice areas are too simple and often poorly maintained. Luckily you can overcome the crowding by going during the afternoon and off peak times. And in many cases they're free, which makes them better than no practice at all.

[zeg]

When I was in the LA area, I shared some of your frustration, though I at least had some options. There was one course near me that had a very nice putting green, but like the others mentioned here, it was putting only. This course also has a decent chipping/pitching area, except that its "green" is some short-mown grass, almost as nice as a fairway at a so-so course. It's a pretty good place for pitching practice, where hitting the landing spot is enough to get a pretty good idea of where your shot ends up, but useless for learning to judge roll on a true chip.

Another had a practice green that allowed both putting and chipping, but it was on a nasty slope with only a few feet of grass around where you could chip from. It was pretty good in terms of practicing the true chips, except there wasn't a level putt on the whole green, so you really couldn't practice hitting a line. There was just too much uncertainty from the slope. It also had a couple of the faux-green pitching targets, so it was decent.

Now that I'm in Indiana, I find that more courses allow at least chipping on their practice greens. The Purdue University golf course has a very nice short game area, including a large swath of fairway to pitch from. That's something that's been missing at a lot of courses: I get plenty of practice chipping/pitching out of the rough, and then find I'm lost on a chip from the fairway because I never practice. No more. And this one is good for up to 30 or 40 yard approaches. There's no charge for using this one, though I think you're only supposed to use it if you are going to also hit some balls at the range. The city course here also has a practice green that allows chipping, also with some fairway, though not nearly as much.

So I feel pretty fortunate now. If only I had the time to practice more often......

[jshots]

I don't really feel your pain, both courses I play a lot have a chipping area. One of them is retarded though, you either have to risk getting nailed by an errant shot from the driving range or practice a chip with a severe downhill and left to right break in the landing area. Let me tell you, I am a ****in pro at the left to right down hiller.

[inthehole]

I completely share your frustration.     I have close to a dozen courses in my area & not a one of them has a chipping area.      I have a good sized backyard & can practice chipping, but it's not the same as practicing near a green trying to judge runout.      Also agree with not being able to break 80 if we leave our chips 10-12 away rather than 4 ft like the better players do ...

[Chas]

Thanks all for some very interesting and thoughtful comments.  I guess I'm not alone, but it seems that some areas are better served than others in this respect.

Yes, there must be some extra cost associated with having a chipping area but I wonder just how much.  I believe that the benefits to the business are real but perhaps difficult to quantify.  If the putting green is large enough, how much extra would it cost to assign a portion of it to chipping only (as is done at the course I mentioned earlier)?  I drive 30 min to practice at said course with separate chipping area partly because of their excellent facilities, which include also hitting off of GRASS on the range - so much more valuable than plastic as we all know.  This all tells me that they care about the quality of their product more than some other places, simple as that.  I spend money while I'm there even if I'm just putting or chipping, e.g. at the bar where I might buy a sandwich or drink, and  I consider this to be my "home course" because I go there more often than anywhere else, including courses somewhat nearer.  Usually I'm chipping and putting and hitting on the range these days - I'm not going to do only 2 of these 3 in future, not if I seriously want to improve.

I have been chipping sets of 8 balls (blue or yellow for ease of identification) and keep track of the ratio of balls that end up within 8 shoe-lengths vs those that don't.  For a given club, that ratio typically moves from about 2:6 at the start to something like 5:3 or 6:2 after 20 minutes.  Obviously I have a pretty serious problem but I'm optimistic that I can make a dramatic improvement if I persist.

There is simply no substitute for chipping practice at a well-designed setup.  Chipping into a little net thingy (I own a few of them) at the local park doesn't cut it.  You have to observe what happens after contact with a real green - the effects of angle-of-incidence, green slope, ball speed and spin rate - to benefit from it in a way that has any chance of translating to the course.

I should mentioned that there is also a good driving range in my area (not associated with a golf course) that does have a decent chipping green, separate from the putting area.  It tends to be well used, almost as much as the putting geeen.  I get the impression that people on the chipping green tend to be better players (just my impression ....), so a quick way to improve your game might be to just to hang out there with the chippers ... .

[only kidding, but you can learn a thing or two watching others of course]

p.s. I forgot to include the need to practice different lies and types of grass, which may represent the most critical variable.  Try chipping onto the greens at Torrey Pines from a patch of gnarly fringe grass, it's a nightmare if you're short-sided and deeply challenging if you aren't.  Mind you, I'm not sure that any amount of practice can solve that particular problem ....

[Chas]

Originally Posted by LuciusWooding

I don't think the technique for chipping and pitching is too hard, but you need practice to learn to read the lie and how to play different greens. It's very important to choose the right shot for the lie and situation. You can practice your technique on a carpet at home, but it won't make you a great short game player unless you can learn to be dynamic and creative. The only way to do that is to practice on the course itself, especially on a variety of conditions and layouts. Putting is a bit more technique driven, but you can't learn to read greens without experience.

Nice post.  The technique may not be so "hard" but extreme precision is required, even if you know clearly the sort of shot you are trying to make - something I rarely do.  So it's much more like putting that it is like pitching, I have finally come to realize after all these years.

Practicing on a course when possible is a good idea.  There are times at a nearby 27-hole Executive course when I could spend time practicing chipping on each green after I hole out, playing alone of course, without slowing anyone else down in the least.   When the Chargers are playing would be one example; when there's a 0.01% chance of rain that day would be another example (we're talking San Diego and San Diegans here you understand).  I just love that about Sun Diego

[Paradox]

The only courses around here that have dedicated short game practice areas are the private courses.  Otherwise they have a green near the clubhouse that you can do some chipping onto but thats about it.  My local course does have a green near the driving range that you can also practice on, though.  Even has a greenside bunker.  I don't know if many people use it, though.  Been a while since I've been up to that green but its definitely designed with pitches in mind..has full size flag sticks on one side of it.

[Paradox]

Originally Posted by Chas

Nice post.  The technique may not be so "hard" but extreme precision is required, even if you know clearly the sort of shot you are trying to make - something I rarely do.  So it's much more like putting that it is like pitching, I have finally come to realize after all these years.

Practicing on a course when possible is a good idea.  There are times at a nearby 27-hole Executive course when I could spend time practicing chipping on each green after I hole out, playing alone of course, without slowing anyone else down in the least.   When the Chargers are playing would be one example; when there's a 0.01% chance of rain that day would be another example (we're talking San Diego and San Diegans here you understand).  I just love that about Sun Diego

Dude, just do like I do and miss greens all the time.  You will eventually get enough practice that you'll get good at it!

[Jimdangles]

My "home" course or the one I live closest to has a free chipping area that I love. Its like 50 yards long too so its more than I could ask for. When I have my best scores my practice there really shows but it doesnt always show up :(

[Chas]

Originally Posted by Paradox

Dude, just do like I do and miss greens all the time.  You will eventually get enough practice that you'll get good at it!

LOL

If you saw my GIR stats you would suppose that I was a world-class chipper.  Yet I am not, trust me.

When I'm actually playing a round I seem to semi-panic in a tight spot near the green, go with the first idea that comes to mind rather than calmly reviewing options, and then usually end up >15 ft long and well below the hole or still in the fringe ....

[sean_miller]

Seems like every course around here either has a chipping green and putting green or allows chipping to their putting green. Pretty sure taking tons of divots there is frowned upon though. One thing I've learned is there's no money in having people practice chipping. Good chippers don't need to buy new wedges every 6 months.

[zeg]

Originally Posted by sean_miller

Seems like every course around here either has a chipping green and putting green or allows chipping to their putting green. Pretty sure taking tons of divots there is frowned upon though. One thing I've learned is there's no money in having people practice chipping. Good chippers don't need to buy new wedges every 6 months.

One of the things I like about the university short game area here is that they actually have sand buckets for filling in divots. Most places I've seen that actually allow chipping instead have big signs admonishing against leaving ball marks. So while they're good for chips, it still leaves the 10-50 yard range all but impossible to practice.

[Chas]

While I'm in such a whining mode, why did Torrey Pines get rid of their practice bunker?  I know that it must have involved a fair bit of maintenance but still, really, we're talking the mecca of golf around here.

TP management: may all your short putts lip out ......

I live in a development designed around a private course having very good practice facilities, including excellent putting, chipping and bunker practice areas.  It's a decent course as well but no, I'm not going to pay $>1000 a month for the privilege.

[ApocG10]

All the courses I played had a chipping and putting green. But chipping is something you can practice anywhere. You need minimal room, and you can't really hurt anything. I practice chipping at home every day. Thouygh i'll soon have my own green.