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Tom's Featured Tip: Wedge or Hybrid For Chipping? The Data Will Surprise You!
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Wedge or Hybrid For Chipping? The Data Will Surprise You!
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Wedge or Hybrid For Chipping? The Data Will Surprise You!
For simplicity, all advice on actual swings or drills is provided from a right handed perspective.
I saw an interesting study recently that may well convince you to rethink your short game chipping options. I know it did for me.
I've always been a proponent of less loft for chipping, but I think I'm going to gravitate from my PW or 9 iron to a hybrid this year after I've practiced to find out which loft hybrid works best. Being a senior golfer, I have a wide array of them in my bag 😄
Study: "Chipping Performance Comparison using a Wedge, a Hybrid, and the Arm-Lock Grip" by Chelsea Hoyle, Todd Nelson, Matheus Quon, Serena Skinner, Pawel Kudzia, and Joaquín Hoffer. Simon Fraser University. Presented at the 11th World Scientific Congress of Golf, Loughborough University, 2024.
Researchers ran the study with 40 golfers. Handicaps from scratch to 36. They had each golfer chip balls using three different methods:
- Their usual wedge
- A hybrid with a normal grip
- A hybrid with an arm-lock grip
So what happened? 35 out of 40 golfers chipped better with the hybrid.
_Here's Why
The wedge required higher swing speeds for every distance. More speed means more room for error. More variability.
The hybrid simplifies the motion. Lower loft, less wrist action, more like a long putt stroke.
The researchers measured R² values (basically how consistent your speed-to-distance relationship is) and they were tighter with the hybrid across almost every player they tested.
A wedge chip from 30 feet might need 15 mph of swing speed. A hybrid from the same distance might only need 8 mph. The concept is that with less speed, less can go wrong.
The arm-lock hybrid is the surprising one.
From 10 feet, the hybrid with an arm-lock grip produced the smallest average leaves and the most consistent shot patterns of any method they tested.
The grip is exactly what it sounds like. Lead hand low, grip braced along the lead forearm, trail hand placed higher to lock the club onto the forearm.
Basically a long putter grip on a hybrid.
For high handicaps from 10 feet: 4.0 feet average leave with a wedge. 2.1 feet with the arm-lock hybrid. That's cutting your miss in half.
None of these golfers had ever used the arm-lock grip for chipping before. They were shown the grip on the spot. Zero practice reps. Years of wedge chipping experience vs. literally their first time trying this... and they were still more accurate from close range.
The standard deviation from 10 feet for high handicaps was 1.3 feet with the arm-lock hybrid vs. 2.2 feet with the wedge. Almost half the variability. On their first try.
From distance (20-40 feet): The hybrid with a normal grip wins. For both low and high handicaps. Less swing speed required, tighter dispersion, smaller average leaves.
From close range (10 feet): The arm-lock hybrid was most consistent method tested, smallest misses, and it worked even for golfers who'd never tried it.
The worse your handicap, the bigger the benefit. From 40 feet, low handicaps gained 1.7 feet with a hybrid. High handicaps gained 3.7 feet.
The Takeaway
- Hybrids outperformed wedges from every distance in a 40-golfer study
- The advantage was biggest for 15+ handicaps (3.7 feet closer from 40 ft)
- Arm-lock hybrid grip was the most consistent method from 10 feet
- Less swing speed required means less room for error
Email Comments: to TomTuckerGolf@gmail.com
Mike Bennett and Andy Plummer, The Stack and Tilt Swing
Love your practice, own your swing, own your health, and remember that golf is a game of discovery. Don't be afraid to experiment when you practice, it's good for your golfing brain.
Tom
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All the best,
Tom Tucker
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