Chipping and pitching can be one of the the hardest parts of golf to master. Fluffing your chip onto the green after hitting a beautiful drive along the fairway has to be one of the most frustrating mistakes you can make in golf. Likewise, playing a good chip shot can be the the difference between a birdie and a par, which is why your wedges are often referred to as your scoring clubs. But traditional wedges can sometimes be very difficult to use – particularly for less experienced players.
And if you’re someone who’s all too familiar with the scenarios above, perhaps adding a chipper to your bag, could be a great way to build your confidence up. Designed to help golfers hit shots around the green by essentially using their putting stroke, chippers are far more player friendly than even the most forgiving wedges. They aren’t the most versatile clubs out there, so you will need to keep a couple of wedges in your bag to hit longer approach shots. But from 10-15 yards out, they’re highly effective at eliminating some of the most debilitating short game chunks.
Chippers are also becoming more popular, highlighted by Ping’s recent release of a new chipper. You can probably expect to catch some grief from your buddies if you put a chipper in the bag, but at the end of the day if it helps you play better, who cares? After all, it wasn’t that long ago that hybrids were often mocked and now everyone uses them. If you think a chipper could help your game, here’s our list of the best options on the market today.
The Quick List
If you struggle with your chipping then help is genuinely at hand here courtesy of the new Ping ChipR – a cross between a wedge and a putter that will give your chipping confidence an enormous boost.
If you struggle with your short game this club (along with a putting technique) could be the answer. You will have to figure out whether the benefits of added consistency are worth removing a traditional wedge for.
If you are someone who struggles with your chipping, this club will encourage a much more simple technique, one that not much can go wrong with. The premium looks and extra fat grip really elevate the design too.
Best Golf Chippers
Why you can trust Golf Monthly
Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.
Top pick
(Image credit: Future)
The ChipR is an exciting new club from Ping, designed to help golfers who struggle around the greens with standard wedges. Offering a reliable and consistent alternative, the ChipR is a lot easier to use from close range, delivering excellent accuracy and range when you’re looking to tap a short bump and run onto the dance floor. In our testing sessions, it proved to be highly effective, delivering what it promises – smooth chips from a variety of lies from around the course.
The Ping ChipR is offered in a standard loft of 38.5 degrees, which is a similar loft to what you’ll find on an eight or a nine iron. The difference here is its length of 35 inches and its 70º lie angle – numbers you’d normally see in a putter. Loft and lie, however, are customizable and the ChipR was designed to help players use a putting stroke to play shots effectively around the greens, meaning it very flexible as a club, offering key wedge technologies to optimize performance, including a cambered sole that makes it easier to play from the rough and MicroMax grooves to deliver greater spin.
Best forgiveness
(Image credit: Golf Monthly)
When it comes to chippers, Mazel offers more loft options than anyone, with four choices ranging from 35 all the way to 60 degrees. And while the brand offer this chipper in such a high loft, we must acknowledge that this is not a wedge you’ll be hitting flop shots from out of high-rise bunkers. Akin to the other offerings on this list, it is designed to be swung like some of the best putters on the market, to help you get the ball rolling forward quickly, removing any of the contact issues that a traditional wedge might provide.
In our testing, we found the Mazel chipper performed pretty well around the greens. In fact, it exceeded our expectations in terms of spin, and was more forgiving on mis-hits than we anticipated. What you will give up, however, as is the case with most chippers, is the versatility that some of the best golf wedges on the market offer, to play a wide array of shots. But that trade off might be worth it, depending on your experience level and your confidence around the greens.
Best value
(Image credit: Future)
First things first, the Inesis Chipper has 37 degrees of loft, a satin/silver finish that looks really premium and, although it features lots of alignment assistance and thin black markings, we wouldn’t say this makes the club look cheap or not very aspirational.
At address, it has a slightly offset shaft hosel design, which we thought does look a little bit odd when you pick it up and look at it from the bottom. However, when we put the club down behind the ball, there wasn’t anything odd about it, as we thought it looked really good!
Aesthetically then it does well and, with a slightly more upright feel and significantly shorter shaft, it helped us get into a putting posture, which is perfect for when you use these clubs. It also has a slightly heavier head and, during our testing, there were two areas in particular where the Inesis chipper came into its own – from bare and muddy lies.
How We Test
When it comes to chippers, we take the testing process very seriously. Whether we are sent a product or buy it ourselves, we put everything through its paces to ensure we can provide thorough and reliable advice. Every member of the Golf Monthly team is an avid golfer and as such, knows what does and doesn’t make for a good chipper for each category of player.
As far as our methodology goes, we review chippers properly, which means we endeavour to use them across across multiple rounds and in practice to assess every aspect of performance in all conditions. For example, if a chipper claims to be the best for thicker lies, we will put that to the test and use it from the third cut.
How to choose a chipper
As with any golf club, there are a lot of things to take into account when making your buying decision. And as manufacturers are constantly innovating, putting more and more technology into the clubs they are producing, golfers are having to think more about what they want from their clubs and what that technology can offer them. For that reason, we’ve put together a list of key considerations you should keep in mind if you’re thinking about purchasing a new chipper.
1. Forgiveness
Chippers are designed to offer more forgiveness than a standard wedge. But depending on your experience level and how much you struggle with playing around the greens, you’re going to want to think about the level of forgiveness on offer in each chipper. Some come with a little more and a little less playability than others. For example, chippers with larger clubheads, cavity-backed designs and larger club faces will offer more usability, so look out for those features if you’re in the market for more forgiveness.
2. Spin
While you’re not going to be playing big flop shots as you might with some of the best lob wedges on the market, spin is still an important thing to consider when picking out a new chipper. The amount of traction a club can deliver when playing from thicker lies can help deliver more control on shots into the hole – and that is vital to have if you’re wanting to save shots off your round.
3. Loft
Gapping is something we talk about a lot when it comes to your wedges and getting the ideal set up for you is critical to helping you score lower rounds. It’s wise to keep a few wedges in your bag to help you play into the greens from further out, but it is worth thinking about which kind of wedge you’d consider swapping out for a chipper. And there is no right or wrong answer to that question – it ultimately comes down to personal preference.
4. Budget
While chippers aren’t the most expensive clubs out there, it is always worth considering your budget when buying any golf club and how much you intend to use it. If you’re a beginner player and are building a bag of clubs, sometimes it can be a good idea to purchase second-hand equipment to get yourself up and running. If you’re toying with the idea of investing in pre-loved golf equipment, check out our advice on whether you should buy second-hand gear!
It’s also important to ensure you have some good wedges in your bag too, so why not take a look at our guides to the best sand wedges, best pitching wedges and best wedges for chipping.
FAQs
Are chippers legal in golf?
Chippers are completely legal and fall under the same rules as any other club in your bag. The one exception, however, is that even though chippers were designed to be used like putters, USGA rules do not allow a putter grip to be used on a chipper, just as would be the case with any of the other irons, woods, or wedges in your bag. More specifically, all grips other than a putter grip must be rounded in shape.
Are golf chippers worth it?
The value of a chipper is really dependent on the individual golfer, but for some a chipper might mean the difference between having fun on the course and giving up the game. Certainly you’re not going to see chippers in play on the PGA Tour, as those players are incredibly proficient with traditional wedges. But for golfers, even some good golfers, who struggle with basic chip and pitch shots around the greens, a chipper can make a huge difference in at least making those shots manageable.
Can I use a fairway wood around the greens?
Yes! Fairway woods or hybrids can be excellent tools to play a bump and run if you don’t have a chipper to use. Simply address the ball and play your shot as you would with a chipper. It is worth noting that you should be careful not to swing to heavily or take a divot with your longer club when closer to the greens for the sake of etiquette.
