Don't Hate the Texas Wedge

 

Chipping is hard. I’d venture to say it’s the number one thing that gives people the yips (even Tiger couldn’t chip for a few years), but it’s a shot that you’re inevitably going to have to play every single time around the course. So how do you get over those chipping yips and keep from ruining your day when you’re so close to the green? Well, you grab your “Texas wedge” and putt it.

Mockery, eye rolls, and upturned noses aside, putting instead of chipping around the greens can be a much more consistent way of getting the ball close to the hole and keeping yourself from making a big number. For whatever reason, though, putting around the greens has always carried a stigma. Most people have always seen it as something that only beginners or poor golfers use. There seems to be this consensus among golfers that “real” players grab a wedge or an iron and chip it, “like a man.” 

Here’s the problem with that mindset. Chipping is such a delicate and difficult thing to get just right that it is really easy to make a mess of a shot that is only 5-10 yards long. Not only do you need to make a great stroke and good contact, but you also have to get your trajectory and landing zone just right with just the right amount of spin so that it runs out just enough to give yourself a tap-in. I don’t know about you, but that seems to me like a lot of things that could go wrong. Add to that the fact that you probably aren’t very confident chipping (who is, right?), and you’ve got a recipe for disaster and the potential to ruin a perfectly good day of golf by throwing a wedge into a pond somewhere nearby. 

Let me give you some advice that will not only potentially save your round, but also save that shiny, expensive wedge you bought without your wife’s permission. Grab your putter instead. If you’re looking at a chip shot that isn’t too far off the green, why wouldn’t you just putt it instead of chipping? Putting is much more predictable and chances are you are more confident with a putter than a wedge, so it’s really the sensible play. Not only are you almost guaranteed to make better contact, but you don’t have to worry about carry distance, landing zone, or spin when you putt. All you have to worry about is pace and read, so you are already eliminating a lot of factors that could lead to a poor shot. Couple that with the fact that you’ll also get a great read of the greens as the ball is heading toward the hole, and it’s a pretty simple decision if you ask me. 

Keep in mind that this really only applies to when the ball is just off or relatively close to the green. I wouldn’t recommend putting the ball from 50 yards obviously, but whenever you’re up close and personal with the green, swallow your pride and try using your “Texas wedge.” Forget about the stigma and just think about the score. You just might find yourself enjoying the round a little more and even shooting better scores.