Would many club golfers fare better with a chipper than an extra wedge?

The chipper is the most derided of golf clubs, but many golfers undoubtedly spurn its simplicity out of pride at great cost to their scores. Yes, learning how to chip with wedges and other clubs is very wise, and yes, there will be certain greenside shots where the chipper is about as much use as a chocolate teapot.

Lobbing it over a steep bunker to a tight pin is not the chipper’s forte, but allowing you to play simple chips using your putting stroke most definitely is! Wide, rounded soles and a little bit of loft mean you can effectively use your putting stroke from some way off the green, and with no wrist break, there’s simply far less to go wrong.

If you never strike your putts fat or badly thin, there’s no reason why you should do so with a chipper. Those would rank among the most common causes of wasted shots around the green, especially the latter, which can lead to all sorts of problems. Hands up who’s thinned a chip into a bunker or pond? With the chipper taking ball/turf interaction largely out of the equation, you can focus almost solely on the judgment of line and pace.

I’d say that I’ve watched golfers waste more shots through overcomplicating things unnecessarily around the green than anything else. Indeed, in my experience, the higher the handicap, the more likely the lob wedge is to be selected.

Of course, use a chipper and you risk being a bit of a laughing stock. But the last time I looked there was no box on the scorecard to note down your club line-up and prove your worth as a golfer – just places to put down your scores. I’m convinced many club golfers would lower their scores instantly by popping a chipper in the bag instead of a third or fourth wedge.

I could go down the route of mocking the chipper as a gimmicky nonsense club that a real golfer wouldn’t touch with a barge pole. But it would trivialise this debate to do so. I’d rather focus on the golfing benefits most golfers could enjoy by adding an extra wedge to their equipment arsenal.

Many amateur golfers neglect the short end of their bag. They’re custom fitted for drivers and woods and they shell out a four-figure sum for game-improving irons. But with wedges, they just stick with the PW and SW that come with their set. They probably don’t even know the lofts of those clubs, and there may well be as much as 10° between them.

That leaves a huge gap in those crucial approach shots. If the PW is 46° and SW is 56°, the yardage difference between full shots could be 20 yards or more. Putting in a gap wedge with 52° of loft will hugely improve distance control on approach play and could save multiple shots per round.

Alternatively, if a player has reasonable gapping in their current wedge set-up, the addition of a lob wedge could be a game changer. A 60° club allowing them to swing aggressively and send the ball skywards could solve all sorts of golfing puzzles.

To play the sort of little shots a chipper is designed for – bump-and-runs, basically – you’re far better to learn a firm-wristed shot with a 7- or 8-iron. Perhaps even learn the bunt with the hybrid or fairway wood. You can basically make the same ‘putting stroke’ with those clubs as with a chipper and produce the same shot. The chipper is a wasted club in the bag.

Master the bump-and-run and add an extra wedge to cut your handicap. They’re called the ‘scoring clubs’ for a reason.