Does Anyone Else Here Use a Chipper?

[Petrocelli]

13 hours ago, iacas said:

And I’m consistent in saying that for most people that’s a waste of $90 and hampers them more than it helps.

Except those who are giving up.

I disagree that buying a chipper means you are giving up.

I recently bought all new clubs.  I researched various clubs.  I watched videos on youtube.  I focused on clubs for a mid-handicapper.  

I replaced my Cleveland blade sand wedge with the Cleveland Triple sole sand wedge, which is a cavity backed wedge.  I have always had trouble with sand shots.  With this club, you take a regular stance and swing the club.  That's it.  You don't have to open the face or adjust your stance.  Long story short:  In the two rounds I have played with it, I have been in 3 bunkers, and got out of all of them in one shot.  I no longer fear bunkers like I used to.

Did I give up on the sand wedge?  No.  I found a better club that suits my game.

As for the chipper, I have found it is useful for one type of shot: when you are just off the green in the rough.  I still use other clubs to chip and pitch, depending on a variety of factors.  However, if you are a "bogey golfer" who plays once a week, it's a very good club when you are just off the green in the rough.

Anecdotal story:  last week, I had to get up and down on the 18th hole to break 90.  I was about 20 feet from the pin.  I was in the rough.  I used the chipper, and got the ball within a foot.  Could I have done that with some other club?  Maybe.  But the fact is that I have confidence when I hit the chipper, and that's probably the most important thing of all.

 

[ChetlovesMer]

12 minutes ago, 3jacker said:

Sounds like my dad.  Something seems to happen in the 70s. He used to be a scratch player, very serious and very purist.  He's got about 30 clubs in his bag now. I dread hauling that thing out of the car. I don't even know where he got the oversized Callaway bag to hold them all.  Most of them are woods - he's got woods in numbers I've never imagined.  I hit his 15 wood not long ago and just remember the ball going up past my left shoulder and didn't ever see it again.

Oh man, I am laughing out loud. My dad's bag is a ginormous Callaway bag too. All red, white and blue, with a huge US flag on it. I have to totally think ahead when putting it in the trunk to make sure there's room for my normal sized carry bag and God forbid if we need to fit another one in there. If that happens we are pulling out drivers and fairway metals and getting creative to fit it all in there. 

5 minutes ago, Petrocelli said:

I disagree that buying a chipper means you are giving up.

I recently bought all new clubs.  I researched various clubs.  I watched videos on youtube.  I focused on clubs for a mid-handicapper.  

I replaced my Cleveland blade sand wedge with the Cleveland Triple sole sand wedge, which is a cavity backed wedge.  I have always had trouble with sand shots.  With this club, you take a regular stance and swing the club.  That's it.  You don't have to open the face or adjust your stance.  Long story short:  In the two rounds I have played with it, I have been in 3 bunkers, and got out of all of them in one shot.  I no longer fear bunkers like I used to.

Did I give up on the sand wedge?  No.  I found a better club that suits my game.

As for the chipper, I have found it is useful for one type of shot: when you are just off the green in the rough.  I still use other clubs to chip and pitch, depending on a variety of factors.  However, if you are a "bogey golfer" who plays once a week, it's a very good club when you are just off the green in the rough.

Anecdotal story:  last week, I had to get up and down on the 18th hole to break 90.  I was about 20 feet from the pin.  I was in the rough.  I used the chipper, and got the ball within a foot.  Could I have done that with some other club?  Maybe.  But the fact is that I have confidence when I hit the chipper, and that's probably the most important thing of all.

 

If it works for you, go for it. Golf is supposed to be fun. 

[iacas]

1 hour ago, Petrocelli said:

I replaced my Cleveland blade sand wedge with the Cleveland Triple sole sand wedge, which is a cavity backed wedge.  I have always had trouble with sand shots.  With this club, you take a regular stance and swing the club.  That's it.  You don't have to open the face or adjust your stance.  Long story short:  In the two rounds I have played with it, I have been in 3 bunkers, and got out of all of them in one shot.  I no longer fear bunkers like I used to.

So… you've given up on learning how to hit bunker shots the proper way.

Look, that's not a judgment. And I imagine it helps your score and your game. But you're conning yourself a bit, IMO, if you think you haven't given up. You have - at least for now - on actually becoming a better golfer. You might shoot better scores but you've given up on being a better golfer.

Now, if you're legitimately not giving anything up - I taught a woman years ago who carried four clubs, because all of her irons or fairway woods went about the same distance (she carried a high lofted driver, six-iron, wedge, and a putter) - that's another thing entirely. I've joked that I'm going to give my daughter a left-handed 7-iron because she legitimately has only 13 clubs. Entirely different thing.

But if you're replacing a club with a limited use club… you're giving up at least temporarily.

1 hour ago, Petrocelli said:

Did I give up on the sand wedge?  No.  I found a better club that suits my game.

Yes. You're using a much less versatile club because you can't figure out how to hit a bunker shot, or don't want to.

1 hour ago, Petrocelli said:

As for the chipper, I have found it is useful for one type of shot: when you are just off the green in the rough.

Exactly: one type of shot.

So, with your Cleveland Alien-Like Wedge, and your chipper, you now have two clubs for roughly two shots around the green, rather than being able to each of your other clubs for multiple (10+) types of shots.

---

Ultimately, please remember I don't really care what anyone does for their own game. If you like using a chipper, and you feel it helps, good for you. I'm glad you are able to enjoy the game. It's not a judgment of any kind, it's just an opinion that I think, if a chipper is replacing some other club in your bag, you're limiting yourself needlessly. You're doing yourself a disservice.

[TRUCKER]

Finally you said it correctly or maybe a better word would be more accurately. That's the key here. We WILL shoot better scores with these "helpful/forgiving" clubs than we would with a traditional club that takes hours of practice to master. But doesn't shooting lower scores lower our handicap, and isn't a players ability (are they becoming a better golfer) based on the handicap they have? 

[iacas]

4 minutes ago, TRUCKER said:

But doesn't shooting lower scores lower our handicap, and isn't a players ability (are they becoming a better golfer) based on the handicap they have? 

No.

A "better golfer" has a wider variety of skills and a better ability to utilize those skills. If I made the hole 15" wide, people would not be "better" golfers just because they shot lower scores, nor are golfers better if they move up two sets of tees.

That's not really the topic, though… So, back to chippers.

[TRUCKER]

So if I get down to say an 8 hc with what you consider to be cheat clubs (meaning I'm cheating myself to becoming a better golfer) then you wouldn't consider me to be a better golfer than a 15 handicap that uses "real" golf clubs. It really is on topic because you guys are saying if someone plays with these clubs they've "given up" on becoming a better "golfer". The lower the hc the better golfer you are, no matter how or what you used to get there. You're almost saying that someone that's an 18 hc that has what looks like a nice smooth swing is a better golfer than a 2 hc that's 280 lbs. cant rotate so he sways but somehow he gets pars and birdies. We have a few of these guys at the cc.

[iacas]

8 minutes ago, TRUCKER said:

The lower the hc the better golfer you are, no matter how or what you used to get there.

I was pretty clear, IMO, about the difference between "better scores" and "better golfer".

At the extreme end, suppose someone cheats to shoot "better scores" and get a lower handicap… are they a better golfer? No.

[TRUCKER]

Not the same thing and you know it. 

[iacas]

24 minutes ago, TRUCKER said:

Not the same thing and you know it. 

Lower scores don't necessarily = better golfer.

[TRUCKER]

Why? (and I'm not being condescending) I would think "consistent" lower scores=lower hc=better golfer.

[boogielicious]

5 minutes ago, TRUCKER said:

Why? (and I'm not being condescending) I would think "consistent" lower scores=lower hc=better golfer.

Wouldn't you feel that it could become limiting? If it is only good for one style shot, I would start to feel like it limits me. I know we go whole rounds without using some clubs, but I like to have options.

[TRUCKER]

I use the Square Strike for multiple different shots from 90 yards and in. Bump and runs, normal 1/2-3/4 swings, short finesse type chips, and many more. My question is this. I'm a 14.4 trending to a 14 hc. If I were to play an 18 hc and beat him 20 rounds in a row, are you telling me that he is a "better golfer" than me because he uses "traditional" clubs and I use a club like the Square Strike Wedge? 

[Petrocelli]

My scores are wildly inconsistent.  My best score last year was an 81.   My two worst scores were 108 and 112 (but they were both at Riviera Country Club, which is a very difficult course for a guy like me.)  I am always looking for a way to have more consistent scores.

In the end, I look at is this way:  golf should be a fun game.  I walk around with three friends every Sunday and hit a ball.  In the worst situation, I still walk about 15,000 steps.  

As for the chipper...  All I can say is that I chip more consistently with that club than with any wedge.  That makes the game more fun.  For some of us, that's all this game is about.  

 

 

[iacas]

1 hour ago, TRUCKER said:

I use the Square Strike for multiple different shots from 90 yards and in. Bump and runs, normal 1/2-3/4 swings, short finesse type chips, and many more. My question is this. I'm a 14.4 trending to a 14 hc. If I were to play an 18 hc and beat him 20 rounds in a row, are you telling me that he is a "better golfer" than me because he uses "traditional" clubs and I use a club like the Square Strike Wedge? 

Once again, I believe I was pretty clear earlier. Lower scores don't necessarily mean "a better golfer."

3 minutes ago, Petrocelli said:

In the end, I look at is this way:  golf should be a fun game.

Again, no judgment. Just my opinion, from the perspective of (and I'm borrowing this from someone else): a chipper may raise the floor, but it lowers the ceiling simultaneously.

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Also:

The best argument against chippers might be that for the cost of a chipper you can learn a skill instead of buying a single use Band-Aid piece of equipment.

Take a chipping lesson.

You’ll probably spend less time in the lesson then you would researching chippers also.

[Beastie]

5 hours ago, 3jacker said:

I think that's a far stretch to say that since I don't understand chippers (not because they are ugly or considered "giving up" but because I don't see their advantage but do see many disadvantages due to their limited utility), that I would be a stubborn purist of some sort. I do have blades though, but modern ones that are quite forgiving. So you got me there.

I don't get the hostility for asking honest questions.

Sorry , no hostility intended.. shoulda put a 😉 in there!!

[billchao]

2 hours ago, TRUCKER said:

Why? (and I'm not being condescending) I would think "consistent" lower scores=lower hc=better golfer.

It's OT, but I can shoot lower scores simply by teeing off with my irons on every hole (my driver is my biggest issue). I'll eventually get a slightly lower handicap as a result. Lower scores, same golfer, same skillset. I'd be conning myself into thinking I've improved based on scoring when I haven't.

The problem with doing that is it limits my ability to play the game at my highest level because I'm taking away a club with many benefits to my game if I learned to use it correctly. I'd be at a disadvantage on long holes, anything with a forced carry off the tee, and just from giving up the extra distance potential in general.

Now that I think about it, it's an apt analogy to the chipper discussion. A chipper allows you to do one shot well at the cost of an alternate club that can be used for many different shots.

[3jacker]

Well, depending on how strong the hosel is it might also do double duty as a punch-out club. 

[TRUCKER]

2 hours ago, iacas said:

Once again, I believe I was pretty clear earlier. Lower scores don't necessarily mean "a better golfer."

Again, no judgment. Just my opinion, from the perspective of (and I'm borrowing this from someone else): a chipper may raise the floor, but it lowers the ceiling simultaneously.

---

Also:

The best argument against chippers might be that for the cost of a chipper you can learn a skill instead of buying a single use Band-Aid piece of equipment.

Take a chipping lesson.

You’ll probably spend less time in the lesson then you would researching chippers also.

You never explained why.