The chipper is used around the green to replace wedges. The intent is to use it like a putter and the ball will pop up a few feet and start rolling towards the green. This is something that most of us try to accomplish with other clubs in our bag. The more I think about it, I wonder if there is magic in this club or is it all just hype for an inexperience golfer?

Two Way Chipper

Recently, I bought some old clubs and a chipper happened to be part of the lot. As soon as I picked it up, I started to laugh to myself because I had not seen one in many years. I immediately dismissed this club, but remembered shortly after that a friend of mine used one at the Ontario Regional military golf tournament one year. So I decided to take a second look.

The club I bought is a two-way chipper. It has a face for left and right-handed players. I can obviously see the utility to this design, but I rarely required the use of a left-handed club. I am not sure many people would, but since there is an opportunity to make this chipper more versatile, then why not.

Double-faced chipper.

You can see from the design of the club head that chippers are used around the green with fairly good lies. After researching chippers it is interesting that many manufacturers make such a club. I found the following website that offers more information about the chippers. If you want more information, check out The Golf Wedge.

If you are wondering, according to Golf Wedge, single face chippers are legal for all tournament play. There are a few more limitations to their use, but nothing that is prohibitive. Double faced chippers like mine are illegal.

I can see the value of a chipper for players who are struggling with their game. Personally, I would never use one of these clubs, but if a beginner wants to experiment then I say why not.

On a side note, my friend Tim mentioned above was struggling with his game. Normally a better player than I, he tried the chipper with surprisingly good results. It helped cure is issues and a year later the chipper was gone. I asked him about it and all he would tell me was that it helped him mentally see how to use his wedges again around the green. I left it at that. My point is that if he used on and it worked for a 3 handicapper, then there might be some value to a chipper.

I have never used a chipper and I do not intend to in the future. However, I can see others using them for sure. Have you ever used a chipper?

I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!