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Chip With One Club Or Many?

elleinsmith

Active Member
Mar 26, 2011
1
0
When you are just off the green, do you chip with one club or use a selection based
on the situation?
Recently, while going through a bunch of my old golf magazines, I noticed articles
with conflicting theories about whether to chip with hybrids, pitching wedge, sand
wedge, gap wedge, 8 or 9 iron... practically any club in the bag.
I've always chipped and pitched with a variety of clubs, but with preference for my
sand wedge.
What do you do and why does it work for you?
 

MercMan

Active Member
Dec 28, 2010
67
0
I usually just chip with one club, my pitching wedge. Recently though I have started using my 54 deg wedge when I need to carry the ball further but have less green to work with, it just results in a lot less roll, after it lands.
 

Hackin_Away

Well-Known Member
Feb 13, 2009
337
2
You know i tried to mix a lot of what i read. And what i found was my chipping sucks. My goal this season is to start with 1 club and use it no matter what until i have it dialed. It may hurt me sometimes but i dont care. So far this season I am using my gap wedge, with a very basic putting style stroke. I tried to do stuff where i incorporated my body and keeping hands real forward blah blah. And i personally sucked at it. So now im just going to keep it simple and basically 'putt' the ball with my gap wedge, aim short and let it release. In practice it has been a much higher percentage of makeable putts and tbh a few long chip ins more then usual. I think overall I need to stop complicating this game, and this is one step towards it.
 

eclark53520

DB Member Extraordinaire
Supporting Member
Dec 24, 2007
17,521
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South Central Wisconsin
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I have done both...

For newer players without the 'touch' needed for chipping, i say use 1 club and try to get really good with that club. You will make yourself more consistent and your scores should drop. However, that one club approach will eventually hold you up in scoring lower. Depending on how much green you have between yourself and the hole, along with the type of grass you are in and many other factors, you could chip with anything in your bag.

I think once you have one club solid when chipping you will start to realize what situations that club isn't perfect for and you can start to try other clubs that will allow you to get closer to the hole.
 

limpalong

Mental Ward Escapee
Supporting Member
Oct 18, 2006
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Our course has small, 'postage stamp' greens. That can make for some tight pin placements without much green to work with. We also have some greenside bunkers that require short lobs and quick stops. On 80+% of my chips I use a 58 degree lob wedge. That's the only way you can get the ball close to the hole. If I have a little more green to work with, I may move to the 54 degree sand wedge. Or, if I have plenty of green and the pin is uphill, I'll go to my 50 degree pitching wedge. I've played the same set of wedges for many years and am quite comfortable with any of the 3 in my hands.
One of my regular playing partners always chips with his 9 iron. Another, most generally uses his 7 iron. Both have fairly well mastered chipping... but.... with decent lies, both of these fellows will putt from quite a ways off the green rather than chance a skulled chip.
We had a newbie join us last Friday for a round. He had a decent game until he got close to the green. He insisted on using a lofted wedge to chip with. 2 out of 3 chips were either skulls over the green or chunks left short. He would have been so much better to have uses a putter or a much less lofted club from off the green.
Chipping can be just as specific to the individual as is putting. It's what YOU are confident with.
 

spartyon8

Cubbie Fever
Feb 23, 2008
381
0
I use my 60, 54, 48, 8, 7, hybrid and occasionaly my driver when off the green. Depends on grass length, slope, lie, etc.
 

VtDivot

SLIGHTERED
Supporting Member
Apr 16, 2005
7,154
32
depends on the situation...

If I need to carry any distance at all even a 5-10 feet, I'll use a 56 degree wedge, 60 if the situation calls for it.
If I am bumping and running I hood a 9 iron. I choose to deloft a higher lofted club in this scenario, instead of using say a 7 iron, since I prefer the shorter length club, plus I like a little more loft and less jump.
 

phatheadaf

Well-Known Member
Jul 20, 2008
110
0
@ OP...

I think the consensus here is that we all use more than one club to chip. I typically use my gap wedge (50*) more often than most as I can do the most with it and seem to be able to control it the most. But personally I think it's better to let the club do the work, in most cases not just chipping, then try to do more with one club. Thus the posters that say they use more than one club...


;)


A.
 

floggerrushmd

Well-Known Member
Supporting Member
Jul 11, 2008
589
2
I am noticing a pattern that most of us myself included have a go to club (mine is my56* wedge), but will use other clubs if the situation dictates. I feel that the most important thing to getting good around the greens for me was picking a single club which allowed me to hit a variety of different shots, and working with it until I got confident. I don't think that picking a 7 iron as your first club is the best option because you limit severely the number of different shot types you can hit. A pitching gap or sand wedge would be my recommendation. You can play anything from a bump and run to a semi flop shot with these. Pick one and stay with it.
 

sssmokin

Retired and loving it
Supporting Member
Jul 2, 2006
3,213
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Central Wisconsin
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When I started getting serious about golf (mid-80's), I bought a tape "The Short Game" by John Jacobs (not the John Jacobs presently on the Champions Tour). He showed alot of the shots using just the PW, and that's all I've ever used. On TV I see the Pros using a SW or 60º Wedge for a flop shot, and alot of the time, they slide right under the ball and hit it short. I use my PW for all the shots, and my short game is the only part of my game that stays pretty good.
 

zaphod

Well-Known Member
Jan 30, 2007
2,160
0
I use all three of my wedges (52*,56*,60*) depending on the trajectory and roll out desired. Within each club choice I will either play the ball forward, neutral or back in my stance depending on the situation. My wedges have either a dual or quad bounce (read pro grind) to allow loft changes.

My favorite chip occurs just off the green with 5 to 10 yards to the hole. I play the ball off the outside of my back foot (lots of shaft forward lean. This is with a 56* wedge. I then strike the ball crisply. The ball will be launched with a significant amount of back spin. After landing the ball will skid forward and then stop. This shot allows me to aim directly at the hole taking out the majority of the break. An aggressive swing for a hole out.
 

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