If you’re wrestling with inconsistent chip shots, blading wedges across the green, or digging the club into the ground behind the ball, the chipper might be the most valuable club you’re not currently using. This specialty club is designed to take the most complicated parts of chipping out of the equation. This guide will show you precisely what a chipper is, when to pull it from your bag, and provide a simple, step-by-step process for using it to save strokes and boost your confidence around the greens.
Think of a golf chipper as the ultimate hybrid club for your short game. It masterfully blends the user-friendly design of a putter with the loft of a short iron, typically an 8-iron (around 35-37 degrees of loft). Its appearance supports this blend: it has the length and lie angle of a putter, encouraging you to stand closer to the ball and use a simple putting-style stroke. However, the club face has enough loft to easily pop the ball over the trouble of the fringe or short rough, something a putter can't do consistently.
The primary purpose of a chipper is foolproof simplicity. Traditional chipping with a wedge requires a very precise swing. You have to control the arc of your swing, hinge your wrists correctly, rotate your body, and deliver the club head to the ball at the perfect spot to make clean contact. If any of those elements are slightly off, you end up with a dreaded mishit - the chunk that goes two feet or the thin blade that screams across the green into a bunker.
The chipper removes these variables. By promoting a stable, pendulum-like putting motion, it virtually eliminates the possibility of complex swing errors. There’s no wrist hinge to worry about and no big body-turn to time. You simply rock your shoulders back and through, and the club does the work. This is why it sometimes gets the nickname "the cheat club," an unfair title because it is completely legal for tournament play according to the rules of golf. It’s not cheating, it's just smart game management.
Knowing when to use a chipper is just as important as knowing how to use it. It's a specialist club, not a one-size-fits-all solution. Here are the core situations where a chipper is your best friend:
Understanding what makes a chipper unique from its neighbors in the bag helps clarify its role. It occupies a very specific performance gap.
This is the most important comparison. A wedge (like a Pitching Wedge or a 56-degree Sand Wedge) requires a miniature golf swing. This involves some body rotation and wrist hinge to generate speed and height. The goal is often to carry the ball over a portion of the green or an obstacle like a bunker, land it softly with spin, and have it stop relatively quickly.
A chipper, conversely, uses a putting stroke. There is no intentional wrist hinge, and body movement is kept to an absolute minimum. The goal is to produce a low "bump-and-run" shot that gets airborne for only a short distance to clear the fairway-cut grass before it lands on the green and rolls out like a long putt. The risk is lower, the motion is simpler, but you get less spin and height.
A standard putter has only 3-4 degrees of loft. It's designed to get the ball rolling forward on a smooth surface immediately. If there is any shaggy grass, fringe, or uneven ground between you and the putting surface, a putter will often get caught, bounce, or jump off-line, killing its speed and accuracy. The chipper, with its 35-plus degrees of loft, effortlessly lifts the ball over this initial turf, ensuring it lands predictably on the green before it starts its roll.
The beauty of the chipper is in a method that feels familiar and easy. Follow these steps, and you’ll master it in no time. The golden rule is: think putting, not chipping.
Your setup should mirror how you stand for a putt, with a few small adjustments.
This is where simplicity shines. There are really only two things to remember.
Like putting, distance control is determined by the length of your stroke. A longer chip requires a larger rock of the shoulders, creating a longer backswing and follow-through. A short chip requires a much smaller motion.
Practice different distances on the putting green to get a feel for how the ball reacts off the face. Try hitting shots from 5 yards off the green to targets 15 feet, 30 feet, and 45 feet away. You'll quickly calibrate how the length of your backswing translates to total distance.
The chipper is an incredibly effective and completely legal club designed to make one of the most frustrating parts of golf significantly easier. By replacing a complex wedge swing with a simple, low-risk putting stroke, it helps eliminate catastrophic mishits and lowers scores for players of all skill levels.
When you're standing over the ball just off the green, weighing the risky play of a wedge against a safer ground shot, indecision can be your worst enemy. While the chipper is an amazing option, tools like Caddie AI can give you that extra layer of trust in your shot selection. You can snap a photo of your lie, and I'll analyze the situation to provide a smart, simple recommendation on whether the chipper is the right call or if another club is better suited, giving you the clarity to step up and hit any shot with more confidence.
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