Please end an immature debate: Tiger's birdie on 16th

I have a friend who loves to correct me at every turn. Today it was regarding Tiger's birdie shot on 16th at the 2005 Masters.

I said he chipped it and he made a big deal about how it was a pitch. I argued that it was a chip since it had a low trajectory and it carried 1/3 and rolled 2/3 of the way. His argument was that most of the roll was due to the downslope so technically it's a pitch. It's an immature argument but can you guys tell us who's right?

Also, does anyone know which club Tiger used on that shot? We both didn't know :P

Chip - sand wedge

Yes...a chip.

If the major characteristic of a shot is "height", it's a pitch.

If the major characteristic of a shot is "roll", it's a chip.

Just my opinion and I'm sticking with it.

A pitch or a chip my opinion is,it was unbelievable.

was that a sandwedge? looked like a 8 or 9 iron could be wrong

He was very close to the green, and if not for the slope, it would have run on quite a way. So it was a chip.

The commentators keep referring to it as a pitch but I sit on the chip side.

Either way, still gives me goosebumps watching it.

It's a chip. Pitches travel further for starters - they are more abbreviated versions of a full swing with a short club, whereas a chip is a completely different action with a variety of clubs.

It's why it's called a pitching wedge, not a chipping wedge.

^^^ not bad for something I just made up!

If the major characteristic of a shot is "roll", it's a chip.

You are both right as there are no official definitions for those terms. That said, I would use chip in this case.

That was a chip shot all day long.

Punch your friend in the throat and move on .

You are both right as there are no official definitions for those terms. That said, I would use chip in this case.

That's the way I see it. Either could be used imo.

He pitched it to a point on the green and gravity did the rest.

That was a chip shot all day long.

Yep, I don't see how this could be disputed.

Iirc, Tiger said he used a 9 iron.

Just watched it again, for old times' sake. Interesting that Verne Lundqvist called out Davis Love's chip-in a few years back. Very prescient. Oh wait, I just said chip-in. I actually think it's a pitch-in, but people don't really say that, do they? My basis for thinking it's a pitch is the fact that he has to carry the ball over some "trouble," which in this case is some fringe and then stop the ball shortly thereafter, before it starts rolling back the other direction towards the hole. I really think the increased about of roll on the shot due to the backstop nature of the green is misleading - that increased roll was not a product of the initial forward momentum of the shot, but of the green's contours. As a result, I conclude that this is indeed a pitch. If he had directed the initial shot right at the flag, using all forward momentum, then I think there is a case to be made for a chip. But how boring would that be.

Club looks pretty straight-faced to me ...

http://www.instagram.com/p/BFOrob6yXkJ/

Glad to see that this, like most immature debates, got resolved. :D

Just watched it again, for old times' sake. Interesting that Verne Lundqvist called out Davis Love's chip-in a few years back. Very prescient. Oh wait, I just said chip-in. I actually think it's a pitch-in, but people don't really say that, do they? My basis for thinking it's a pitch is the fact that he has to carry the ball over some "trouble," which in this case is some fringe and then stop the ball shortly thereafter, before it starts rolling back the other direction towards the hole. I really think the increased about of roll on the shot due to the backstop nature of the green is misleading - that increased roll was not a product of the initial forward momentum of the shot, but of the green's contours. As a result, I conclude that this is indeed a pitch. If he had directed the initial shot right at the flag, using all forward momentum, then I think there is a case to be made for a chip. But how boring would that be.

But every chip (almost anyway) has to carry the fringe, so I don't think your argument holds true. And if he used a 9 iron from off the green, then it's 95% a chip.

Im glad my friends and I dont argue about stuff like this.

Just watched it again, for old times' sake. Interesting that Verne Lundqvist called out Davis Love's chip-in a few years back. Very prescient. Oh wait, I just said chip-in. I actually think it's a pitch-in, but people don't really say that, do they? My basis for thinking it's a pitch is the fact that he has to carry the ball over some "trouble," which in this case is some fringe and then stop the ball shortly thereafter, before it starts rolling back the other direction towards the hole. I really think the increased about of roll on the shot due to the backstop nature of the green is misleading - that increased roll was not a product of the initial forward momentum of the shot, but of the green's contours. As a result, I conclude that this is indeed a pitch. If he had directed the initial shot right at the flag, using all forward momentum, then I think there is a case to be made for a chip. But how boring would that be.

 

But every chip (almost anyway) has to carry the fringe, so I don't think your argument holds true. And if he used a 9 iron from off the green, then it's 95% a chip.

I agree to a point, but carry 3' with 8' of roll versus 8' with 3' of roll isn't the same. I suppose the expectation of what the ball will do upon contact is what separates the two for me.

To some the definition is if the clubhead passes the hands it's a pitch.

Oh, we must have the same friend. It doesn't matter, you will always be wrong.

If you called it a pitch, he would have said chip. If you called it a flop, he would have called it a punch.

LOL........there are worst things to argue about.

If you go back and read the accounts from S. Williams, DiMarco and his caddy, and Verne Lundquist; they all called it a "chip." I've heard the story directly from TW, he just called it a "shot."

The "shot" was hit with his 60^o, hooded to impart some hook spin to hold the ball against the slope to stay high, then slowing before the the slope/gravity did the rest.

Is one of you a lawyer, and the other an accountant?

Most people say they fix their 'pitch' marks, not their 'chip' marks, indicating a pitch contacts the green harder than a chip. Did Tiger hit that shot even remotely close to making a mark on that green? No.

it was a chiptch..

If the major characteristic of a shot is "roll", it's a chip.

Next time my friends laugh at me for topping my driver I'm gonna tell them to shut it because it was clearly a chip.

I've chipped my driver 200+ yards and have watched many others do it - it is a brilliant strategy to take "all" wind out of play :taunt:

Equally effective on approach shots too ...

You should find a new friend.