When to Select Alternative Clubs for Chipping

Golf chips are those shots made from around the green, or even to lay the ball up onto a better lie. They are flexible enough not to be limited to the selection of just one or two clubs.

The 7-iron is a golf club that is often used for chipping. This is perhaps unsurprising, for it strikes a good balance of possessing a reasonable amount of loft, while also giving reasonable ball roll. As such, for a standard chip shot onto the green from 20-30 yards it might be ideal.

At any rate however, the seven iron will not always be ideal to use. Let us suppose you find yourself more like 10-15 yards within the flag, or even less, without being on the green itself. Here you might find yourself parked up close to the collar of the green, but not quite on it. As such, a 7-iron would not be a suitable club to chip with here.

Wedge clubs, such as the sand wedge, would probably be best to use under such circumstances. They have greater loft, and minimal roll, to ensure the ball will not be chipped so far and stop on the green fairly swiftly. At any rate, you could even just try putting the ball onto the green if the fairway is reasonably smooth. Consider that a long putt from 10 - 15 yards out will roll along the ground, and could be just as effective.

To chip the ball onto a green from slightly longer distance, consider using a longer iron. Let us suppose you are about 30-35 yards from the flag. A 6-iron will provide a good deal more role towards the flag stick than a pitching wedge, but the chip will have a less loft. The roll of the ball is what will give the distance.

Chipping out of longer grass will require shorter club selection. This is because you will need their loft to be able to chip through the longer grass. As such, the wedges can make the best clubs to use under these circumstances. A 9-iron might also give you enough loft to make a chip out of the rough.

A wet or dry golf course might also require different use of clubs. On a wet course the ball will not roll so far, so you might want to pick a slightly lower iron than usual. For dryer conditions it will roll further so moving up to a higher iron will reduce that.

Overall, there is some flexibility for club selection with the chip shot. Try not to limit yourself to just one or two clubs for chip shots, and take distance and conditions into account when on the course.