Is Ping ChipR worth it?

[JP1000]

I'm focused on honing my short game these days, and making some progress.  I stumbled on some positive reviews on the Ping ChipR.  For those who use it, or have tried it, does it really work?   Or is it a gimmick or a bandaid?  Just curious if its worth trying out.

[st1800e]

Just use your 7 or 8 iron , choked up, possibly with the grip you use when putting.   

[JP1000]

1 minute ago, st1800e said:

Just use your 7 or 8 iron , choked up, possibly with the grip you use when putting.   

Never used 7 or 8 iron for chipping, I will try this tomorrow at the range, thanks for the tip.

[eric61]

I tried it, but found it’s just too little loft. Even a few more degrees would help a ton.
 

It seems like they designed it for people who want to play a bump-and-run where you land it short of the green. That’s fine on a links course, but if you have thick rough around your greens, it just isn’t going to be predictable. 
 

There’s no check on it at all with the ChipR, so stopping the ball, especially when you’re short-sided, is hard. 
 

Cleveland’s approach, with 42 degrees instead of (I think) 38 degrees on the ChipR, makes a lot more sense to me.

 

Might not be a popular opinion, but I also think a 7 iron is terrible for chipping, unless you have a traditionally lofted set of irons or a TON of green to work with. 8 or 9 iron is much more useful in my experience, even when you have lots of room for the ball to roll out.

[pgheaja]

I bought the ping chipr because I struggled with that part of the game.  I practiced with it a few times and it is good for what it is, but it is too one dimensional.  I watched videos by the short game chef and Dan Grieve and practiced what they are teaching.  I put a lot of work in and my short game improved quite a bit this year.  I can see someone using the chipr, but I wanted more variety in my short game.  

[TonyRo]

The problem with the ChipR is that once you learn what it is and why it's designed the way it is, you can pretty much recreate it exactly with a club in your bag. Grab a pitching wedge or 9-iron (depending on the lofts in your set), choke up on it, stand closer to the ball (making the club more upright and putting the toe down - this improves turf interaction as the heel usually digs more), and make a putting stroke (no wrist hinge). Because of the putting stroke approach with no hinge and the toe-down set-up, it's really difficult to have problems with the arc depth, low point, turf interaction, etc. You can do this with most irons and wedges and with practice, you can base club selection on this shot based on what carry and roll-out you want. 

[kvikkenof]

To me, you’re asking two questions in one; 1) are chippers worth taking up a place in your bag? AND 2) is the Ping ChipR worth a premium?

 

1) for a weekend warrior with limiter time for practice: absolutely! For a skilled short game player: Perhaps less so. 
 

2) I use the ChipR because of an added level of forgiveness compared to clevelands smart sole - having played both. I agree that the loft on the smart sole is slightly better for many situations. But the High bounce on the smart sole sometimes makes it more dificult to use on challenging lies. 

[ApostateDrive]

Tangentially related; if anyone wants to try a chipper for cheap, the Wilson Harmonized Chipper is a great one to try. I got one for my wife since she's a 2-3 times a year player and she has far more success with it than trying to teach her how to chip an iron. 

[RCGA]

Only works on slow greens. 

 

There's no way you can use this on greens running north of 10 on the stimp. 

[JP1000]

Tried 7 and 8 iron, just couldn't get comfortable with it; however, 9 iron seems to be the sweet spot for chipping (for me). Thanks for all the informative posts above, very helpful.  I'm going to set up a simple backyard chipping area and just grind away this off season!

[psteiner]

I really like mine, got it just as it was released. Find it plays better on certain courses compared to others. Doesn't get played as much on courses with elevated greens. Otherwise I feel like I'm getting many more 1-putts and many fewer 3-putts using ChipR compared to life before it. I like the sole design, head weight, and upright lie angle. They all work together so that I never completely screw up a chip shot.

[erock9174]

So here is my take on it having owned the ChipR once and have another one coming next week 🤪

 

I bought one when it first came out.  I had the Cleveland Smart Sole 4.0 C in the bag at the time.  I did some bake offs betweens the two clubs from just off the green and the Smart Sole won out.  As many mentioned above, from just off the green, I found the ChipR to run out too much.  

The Smart Sole was better around the green as its more lofted (42*) than the ChipR 38.5 (which is 1* stronger than my 9i). 

I took it to the chipping green at my local course and it was more of the same.  Just too hot for short chips.   I then told myself, you don't chip with a 7, 8 or 9i, why would you expect this to work?    So I sold it.

 

Since then, I have gamed the Smart Sole for the past 2-3 yrs.  I noticed though that I wasn't using it as much from just off the green because I have more touch and accuracy with my UW, 56* or 60* on those shorter chips.  Actually a pretty good chipper of the ball and make several chips per season with my wedges to where with the Smart Sole I have only made 1 chip with it and it was from like 40 yds out.    Where I did find the Smart Sole useful was if the hole was cut on the opposite side of the green it was nice to bump it and let it run back to the hole.  

I also used it alot to punch under tree limbs but found that sometimes with the 42* of loft it would come off higher than I expected and it would hit the limbs.  

 

Fast forward to now. Over the past 2 seasons I started playing with a guy I coach baseball with.  He uses his Ping G 8i to chip with alot.  Especially in that 20-40 yd range.  he will bump it and let it run on and sure as sh*t most times it nestles up within a couple feet of the hole.  I realized that type of shot was not really part of my short game.  I would always try and hit lofted wedge shots higher and try and carry it back to the hole which is dicey if you don't judge it right.  

Last couple of rounds I have tried the choke down on the shaft, toe down 8i or 9i (mentioned above) bump and run with some decent success.  

Only downside is I play graphite shafts in my irons so choking down really far on the shaft makes the club feel super light.  

 

So today I bought another ChipR to give it a whirl again for those 15-50 yd shots from off the green when i want to play a bump n run type shot vs hitting a wedge in high.  

 

I know when I first adopted the Smart Sole C I began to over use it.  So like any club I had to learn to pick my spots with it.  So when I get the ChipR I will need to watch not trying to over use it.    

 

[black bnr32]

21 hours ago, JP1000 said:

Never used 7 or 8 iron for chipping, I will try this tomorrow at the range, thanks for the tip.

Just hit it like a lag putt

[mantan]

I had considered a ChipR when they first came out. I was in short game funk. It was the weakest part of my game and I went down EVERY rabbit hole trying to fix it.  Every short game method.  ChipRs'.  Trying to bump and run everything.  

 

I got turned onto Dan Grieve's book '3 Releases:The Short Game System'.  It was a complete and utter game changer.  I can not recommend the book highly enough.  Use Release 1 and you can pretty much chip with anything you want to.  He's got some stuff on YT if you want a feel for what's in the book. Dude is a wizard.

Edited October 14, 2023 by mantan

[PearSorbet17]

No. Waste of a spot in your bag. 

[R5Two]

On 10/12/2023 at 11:29 PM, st1800e said:

Just use your 7 or 8 iron , choked up, possibly with the grip you use when putting.   

Basically it is the same loft, however it is shorter and more upright. A lot of people will say it is a waste but I would add it to the bag and track it against a 60° and see which one you use more (or which one saves you more shots). If you like it and your scores come down, go for it! 

[rooski]

23 hours ago, eric61 said:

Might not be a popular opinion, but I also think a 7 iron is terrible for chipping, unless you have a traditionally lofted set of irons or a TON of green to work with. 8 or 9 iron is much more useful in my experience, even when you have lots of room for the ball to roll out.

 

Well you have to consider that when this was more popular a generation or two back, the average 7 iron loft was closer to a modern 8 or 9 iron, so that would make sense in a lot of ways

[dekez]

It's a very YMMV thing.  I tried it and several other chippers and it just doesnt work for my game. I do not like to have the ball land short of the green on short shots.  And I had trouble with distance control.

 

But I have several buddies who use chippers on every shot inside 100 yards and from every lie.  They are pretty successful with them.

[RoryDawg27]

If you like it and it helps go for it! Plenty of guys in here saying it's a waste of a spot carrying a 3w and a 60° they can't hit 

Edited October 14, 2023 by RoryDawg27

[Sean124]

I bet that $180 would be better spent learning to chip with a local pro. 

[JP1000]

On 10/13/2023 at 9:05 PM, mantan said:

I got turned onto Dan Grieve's book '3 Releases:The Short Game System'.  It was a complete and utter game changer.  I can not recommend the book highly enough.  Use Release 1 and you can pretty much chip with anything you want to.  He's got some stuff on YT if you want a feel for what's in the book. Dude is a wizard.

Thank you.  I will definitely check it out.

[JP1000]

[deleted]

Edited October 15, 2023 by JP1000

[gvogel]

For the right person, it can save strokes.

 

Instead of that, I use a 9-iron, stand closer to the ball, put the toe down, and use a putting stroke.  Taking the wrists out of the action removes one variable.  I find that to be the most efficient way for me.  Sometimes I use a PW, sometimes an 8-iron.  Same effect.

[Louis_Posture]

On 10/13/2023 at 5:56 PM, psteiner said:

I feel like I'm getting many more 1-putts and many fewer 3-putts using ChipR compared to life before it. I like the sole design, head weight, and upright lie angle. They all work together so that I never completely screw up a chip shot.

Yes, a Chipper club is not the same as a 7,9, or 8-iron. As you wrote .....the sole design, head weight, lie angle (and also the shaft length) make it a club specific for greenside chipping.

From beginner to Tour pro players leave themselves between 18 and 5 chip shots per round. I believe any player with a scoring average above 72

should at least try a chipper club for a few rounds od golf and learn if it lowers their scoring average.

Sadly,  chipper shaming is a real thing and most guys will never even try one.

[animalgolfs]

My G425 6 hybrid is just as good and I can use the 6h throughout the round on other shots. With a CHIPR - it's really a one type shot pony

 

That being said - My wife and lots of seniors benefit from the CHIPR. She can't hit a PW consistently- but she can hit the CHIPR on a consistent line 

[erock9174]

When I had the ChipR the first time around it was a pretty cool full shot club too. With the heft it was pretty easy to hit about the same yardage as my PW. 

[karstens_ghost]

On 10/13/2023 at 7:02 PM, eric61 said:

I tried it, but found it’s just too little loft. Even a few more degrees would help a ton.
 

It seems like they designed it for people who want to play a bump-and-run where you land it short of the green. That’s fine on a links course, but if you have thick rough around your greens, it just isn’t going to be predictable. 
 

There’s no check on it at all with the ChipR, so stopping the ball, especially when you’re short-sided, is hard. 
 

Cleveland’s approach, with 42 degrees instead of (I think) 38 degrees on the ChipR, makes a lot more sense to me.

 

Might not be a popular opinion, but I also think a 7 iron is terrible for chipping, unless you have a traditionally lofted set of irons or a TON of green to work with. 8 or 9 iron is much more useful in my experience, even when you have lots of room for the ball to roll out.

 

Same here. I'd like to see a 51º-ish model. And if you're going to toe-down, for me I'm usually using a 54º to do that. More distance control, and that's what you must have to be a good chipper. It's not how close it rolls by the pin; it's how easy the putt is.

[Klubster]

I went from chipping with a 6 iron to a 7 and now an 8 as I bought new clubs.  Of course, all of them were about a 35 degree loft.  Use whatever works for you.

[me05501]

Total gimmick IMO. Most likely wielded by the same guys who use special tees that supposedly enhance driver distance. 

[erock9174]

6 hours ago, me05501 said:

Total gimmick IMO. 

One could say the same thing about your Mini Driver.

"only guys that use those, are guys who can't figure out how to hit a driver in the fairway".  I have read that time and time again on forums.

 

Way I see it, if it helps a golfer use it.  

I could use my 8 or 9i toe down but my iron shafts are graphite and when I choke down on them to play a chip they feel super light and I lose the head.  With the ChipR, the weight/heft is there.

I am not a great golfer by any means..play to around a 7-9 cap depending on the day, and have used some form of a chipper for about 2-3 seasons now. 

 

I have no need for a 3w as it would just burn strokes for me.  I took out my 64* wedge for the same reason.  Had a 14th slot so I choose to make it a chipper.  Do I need it?  not really but sometimes I get in a spot on the course where the lie is really tight and I just don't like what I see with the high bounce wedges I game.  I can just bump the chipper and it works out. 

 

Other times i will get into that no mans land around 20-50 yds and something just doesn't feel right with hitting a wedge so I just play a chipper like a long lag putt.  most of the time it works out and gets me pretty tight.