Can You Chip On The Green? (Everything To Know)

If putting is not a strong point in your game, you may have thought about other golf clubs you could use to get your ball closer to the hole.

Many players think that if their putt is long enough, it makes just as much sense to chip the ball.

Depending on where you are playing and the type of situation you may have been in, this thought could have crossed your mind as well.

If you are curious as to what clubs are permitted on the putting green, we have all the answers to help you succeed.

Can You Chip On The Green?

It is legal within the rules of golf to chip on the green.

The USGA says that you can use any club in your bag from any location on the golf course.

This means that if you want to hit your chip from one side of the green to the other, you can do so.

In fact, if you want to hit your driver from one side of the green to the other, you could even use your driver.

If you wanted to tee off with your putter, you could do so.

Chipping on the greens is entirely possible, but you will have to check with the local rules of your golf club.

Some golf courses have a strict rule against using anything other than a putter on a green.

If you think about this, you can probably understand why this rule was put into place.

With all the money and the time that the golf course invests in their greens, it doesn’t make all that much sense to let players take large chunks out of it.

Most players are not going to chip quite as the pros do, and they probably won’t be able to pick the shot cleanly.

Essentially, the player ends up leaving a large divot in the green which then needs to be repaired and replaced.

Divots on the fairway are one thing, but divots that you need to putt over will make things even more difficult.

If you are really serious about chipping on the green, you have to check the local rules at your golf club.

If they say that it is not allowed, you may find yourself with a penalty, or even worse, getting kicked off the golf course.

It is so important to respect the rules and guidelines set forth by the golf course that you are playing.

Why Would A Player Want To Chip On The Green?

Now that you understand the rules as they relate to chipping on the green, you may be wondering why a player would want to chip from the green.

There are two situations where we have seen this scenario come up.

The first is that the hole is very far, and the second is that the hole is unreachable from the current location of the ball.

1. Hole Is A Long Distance Away

There are a few shots in golf that are very difficult.

They are most commonly thought of as the very long putt and the mid-length bunker shot.

Of course, there are instances with sidehill lies and other blind golf shots that get difficult, but overall, the long putt is considered to be really hard to control.

You have to think that the ball is going to travel along the ground for the entire length of the putt.

Ask yourself which will create less resistance and room for error: the air or the grass of the putting green?

A golf hole that is a long way from a player will have lots of bumps, bends, and imperfections in the putting surface.

If players are not paying attention to this, they are likely going to see some shots that miss the target.

It is very easy to come up short or hit the ball long when you have a putter in your hand, and there is a long way to the hole.

Practicing long putts like this can be hard because you almost need to have the putting green to yourself.

If you find that these putts are a bit too difficult to hit and you want to eliminate all of this rolling on the turf, then the chip could be a better decision.

Of course, with a golf chip, there is still a certain amount of risk for error.

If you are not very good at your chipping, then you may find that this shot could lead to you hitting off the green entirely.

We only recommend this shot for those who are very good with their chipping abilities and can properly manage a shot like this.

Although the green seems like a perfectly clean lie, most greens are a bit hard, and you can easily skull this shot over the green and past the hole.

It is a much better idea to work on learning to hit great long putts than it is to figure out how to chip from one side of the green to another.

2. Hole Is Unreachable

Do you play a golf course where there are some funky golf greens?

Have you ever seen a horseshoe-shaped golf green?

There are some courses where you can’t get from your ball’s location to the pin without having to putt the ball off the green.

This is an odd situation, but it does come up.

Courses that have large greens can have pin placements that are unreachable if you are in a certain part of the green.

This can feel a bit like playing a miniature golf course.

You will be on one side of the green and have to putt it to a location entirely different from the hole, just to get the ball to end up close to the hole.

Overall, this is something that you are going to want to avoid.

Therefore, the best thing to do is to chip to the pin so you can avoid having the three or even four-putt that could end up on your card.

In these situations, it’s also a good idea to pay attention to your approach shot to the green.

If you are not adequately planning where these shots are going, you may find yourself in this situation more often than you will like.

Instead, start planning for your shots a bit better.

Of course, even when we plan, there are still instances when we will miss our shots, yet it is good to be aware of these types of greens at golf courses.

Can I Putt with A Hybrid?

If you watch professional golf on television, every once in a while, there is a situation where a golfer breaks their putter and must use a different club to complete their round.

The truth is you can really putt with any club you would like.

Most of the time, the putter has the lowest loft and will get the truest and accurate roll.

However, there are clubs that can come pretty close and fill in as a good replacement should they be needed.

The best clubs to putt with are sometimes the woods and the hybrids.

These clubs will need to have a very low loft and a large sweet spot to be able to putt the ball.

The problem with these clubs, of course, is that they are quite long and can be awkward when setting up.

Some golfers will try to use the wedges and hit just the blade or sole of the wedge to the middle of the golf ball.

This is another decent strategy, but it can be quite difficult on the longer putts.

You will sometimes see golfers who are just on the fringe of the green hit a shot with a hybrid or fairway that helps them roll the ball up right next to the pin.

These types of shots are also a great way to avoid the riskier chip and keep the ball closer to the hole.

The bottom line is that you can putt with whatever golf club you would like.

You won’t be able to guarantee that any of these clubs will perform as consistently as the putter does for both long and short putts.

Is Chipping Or Putting Easier?

Both chipping and putting can be challenging.

It doesn’t matter if you are a high or low handicap golfer; there are shots that you will find cause you quite a bit of trouble.

For some people, these shots are the long chips while, for others, they are the long putts.

Essentially, you will need to learn how to perfect all of these types of shots to become a great player.

Most golfers will agree that, to get a basic level of understanding and playability, putting is easier.

Most people can learn how to make a putt after just a few tries.

However, putting has more of a swing involved, and therefore, it becomes more technical.

In turn, this makes it difficult for golfers to master.

The exciting thing is that, long term, if you want to become a really great putter like those who play on the PGA Tour, it is very difficult.

Most players can get to a point that they can two or three-putt every green.

However, it takes an entirely different level of understanding to be able to one and two-putt all greens.

Golfers who play well on the PGA Tour go to every green expecting to one-putt.

If they make the putt, they are going to likely make a birdie or save par.

These players can’t afford to three-putt, or they won’t win the tournament.

Since so much pressure is put on the putter, the overall concept becomes quite a bit more difficult.

The great players will tell you that putting is the hardest part of the game.

They will tell you that there is so much mental work involved in putting and that only the truly great players can get good at putting.

When you are a mediocre player, it’s hard to see the importance and value of being a great putter.

When things change and you get better, you will see just how hard putting really is.

Conclusion

Hopefully, you now see that it is perfectly within the rules of golf to hit a chip while on the green.

The problem, of course, becomes a question of what you should do when the golf course you are playing does not allow chipping on the greens.

Most local rules are posted on the scorecard.

The rules will detail precisely what you can and can’t do when on the premises of the golf course.

Follow these rules closely if you want your round to continue on the course.

Again, although chipping from the green is allowed, it is likely not the best choice for most of your approach shots to the pin.

Keep the greens in great shape for the next player to play the course.