chipping aids help

hiya I am wondering if a chipper is a worth while buy or not I am not the best at chipping around the green I always end up hitting the ball with to much gas and gives me a longer putt then I would have hoped for any help in wondering if i get a chipper it would help me get closer to the cup or not i always thought the chipper was for a high handicap but i would be willing to get one if it helps my game my national handicap is 9 at the moment and would love to get down even more hope to here back thanks brad.

Hi Bradley, I dont think you need a chipper, not when you are a 9 hnc. My short game is really good, but I do practice every day. I would like to help you with a few suggestions if I may. I would think your forearms are too tight, so make grip and arms " soft ". Make sure you pick a spot where you want to land the ball and then run out, DONT take your eyes of the ball contact point until the ball has gone, make sure the back of your lead hand " left if you are lefthanded, is flat and in line with your intended target spot, this helps to stop that " flipping" action that we all do some times. I visualise the top of the club blade getting to ball before the bottom, also try the pencil drill, ie put a pecil or straw inside your watch strap next to wrist, so that the wrist stays flat. I play off 17 so am not an expert by any means, but I hope this helps. The chipping and pitching part of golf when done well is great fun, and great to get the scores down. Good luck and best wishes, Mike Newman.

Don't buy a chipper, not off 9, your far too good for that! also a lot of people buy those stupid double faced ones then kick off when you tell them they cant use it in competition (obviously there are legal versions) Good comments by Mike I feel, my two suggestions would be practice and lesson Take some time before a round and practice, it is very easy to develop a stock chip and get quite good at if for general situations. Best stock chip to have in my opinion is ball back in stance, weight forward, hands in front of left thigh, using a low and shallow stroke land the ball half way to the hole. standard procedure really. Lesson - I think ive had about 20 lessons and by far the best one I had was on chipping. don't underestimate how important it can be, although you can learn the basic setup and practice on your own, it may be that every 1 in 10 you may blade it and the pro can tell you why.

As has been said already I wouldn't buy one. I think chipping is a really repetative skill that once you get consistent will really pay off. It is something I have worked on a lot recently, developing my 'stock' chip as mentioned by Alun. For me all I try and do when practicing is focusing on a couple of key points. I keep my head down, weight slightly forward and use a smooth stroke. If your set up is ok then that will help you chip the ball nicely. Buy a couple of air balls for £1.50 and chip around the house. Also if you are playing off of 9 but can't chip the rest of your game must be very tasty!

looks like I wont be getting one then by the advice here I play mainly links golf so it can be quite hard to get pitching as close as you would like I would say my long game is 80% there its just the 20% I need to work on and around the green once I get that 20% sorted my handicap will come down a lot more (it would be nice to here of anyone who has a chipper though and what there thoughts are on them if they are any good not the half chipper iron one a proper just around the green one)

looks like I wont be getting one then by the advice here I play mainly links golf so it can be quite hard to get pitching as close as you would like I would say my long game is 80% there its just the 20% I need to work on and around the green once I get that 20% sorted my handicap will come down a lot more (it would be nice to here of anyone who has a chipper though and what there thoughts are on them if they are any good not the half chipper iron one a proper just around the green one)

Bradley, My brother in law plays with a chipper and I can assure you that he is equally effective with his wedges as he is with his chipper, sometimes great, sometimes bad. I too had picked it up to try it but it's not for me. I can understand why you would explore the possibility if you are not comfortable with with the wedges but as some of the gents have touched on I had a chipping lesson as it was costing me lots of strokes and my pro broke it down really simply to me, it's like putting but with an iron. This has helped me a lot and one part I've found though practice drills is by looking just in front of the ball rather than directly at it helps me hit down and ensures more consistency. I hope this helps and good luck

The problem with a chipper as far as I can see is that it limits your shots to, err, a chip. If you heed my brothers old adage of 'why go over something that isn't there' and work on a range of shots with this in mind you won't go far wrong. Imagine being 10 ft off the green and visualise lots of different shots - from a full blown parachute chip to using a 4 iron to bump and run - and try them. And for shorter shots trying using your putter but forward press and hit it on the downswing (almost like trying to take a divot) and the ball will pop up and over short fringes (saw that in a Daily Express cartoon golf series in about 1965, and it works!)

I play a chipper. Just joined a club and manage to get down there every day.I've taken 10 shots off my average round bypassing improvements and general tinkering of my swing.I've broken 100 for the first time last 2 times I played. Thing is, I wonder how to break 90 now, people in the club house suggest my Chipping around the greens, at which point my playing partner jumps in and says no, his Chipping around the greens is excellent, cos of the chipper.thing is, I have to lose my chipper as according to the rules it has to be same length shaft as equivalent loft iron, shaft has to be same length as irons and you can't have any aiming lines on it. Breaks rules on 3 counts