Should You Always Chip with a Wedge?

Tour players generally fall into one of two distinct lines of thought when it comes to chipping.

Some, like Phil Mickelson, prefer to use a sand wedge for almost all of their chipping. These players practice with one club until they can make the ball do almost anything with it.

Others prefer to use a different club for each chip, depending on how far they have to “throw” the ball to the green and how far it will have to roll after it lands on it. This too requires a lot of practice, because you need to have some idea how far the ball rolls with each club.

Both techniques have advantages and disadvantages. Most weekend players instinctively reach for the wedge, figuring the best way to get the ball close is to pitch it all the way to the hole and stop it. And sometimes the wedge is obviously the correct club to use; but while watching the LPGA players chip from the thick rough at Torrey Pines Thursday, I was reminded of a reason you might want to choose a different club… especially if you have some green to work with.

When the rough is really thick, the ball doesn’t always nestle down into the rough; sometimes it “floats” above the ground, suspended in the grass. Unless you swing the club through the grass at the correct height, using a wedge can result in going completely under the ball. This is a good place to use a short or even a medium iron. Why?

The longer iron has a taller face so it’s less likely to go under the ball and leave it in the rough. If the ball hits the upper part of the iron’s face, it will come out more softly… but it will come out and your next shot should be a putt.

You should try this shot a few times before using it, just to get a feel for how the ball behaves. But it doesn’t take a lot of practice, and it’s a percentage shot that’s useful if you're having trouble with your chipping.