Have I seen a difference?
First of all it’s important to note why the Acer XK Flipper Chipper is in my bag in the first place. I am a strong believer in high percentage golf. What I mean by that is hitting the shots that you are most likely to succeed in executing. These are not necessarily the shots that could lead to you shooting the lowest score. They are the shots that will prevent you from having massive numbers on your scorecard though. In simpler terms I would rather hit the shot that guarantees me a Par or Bogey, than the shot that could get me Birdie but makes Triple Bogey a possibility.
You got it? I hope so. Now lets move on.
Last season I hit a lot of low percentage shots with my 60 degree Lob Wedge. Quite often what should have been an easy Par turned into a Double Bogey because of a bladed or duffed 60 Degree Wedge. One of my last Rounds of the year had an additional 6 strokes due to poorly struck Lob wedges. That was enough for me. If I’m going to successfully break 90 on a regular basis I would need to take that club out of the bag. So I did and the opportunity to test a Chipper style club arose. Why I chose the Acer XK Flipper is simple. It had the most loft and with the 60 degree gone I would need a club that I could pop over hazards short distances.
To answer my original question, YES I have seen a difference!
Overall utility
Lets begin with the number of poor shots. I’ve easily used the Chipper around 50 times on the course at this point and I’ve hit four poor shots. I’m not talking about shots that sent the ball into a hazard or skipping across the green to no man’s land. This is just poor contact where it didn’t travel nearly as far as I had hoped, or I clipped it and it went left instead of straight. Four out of fifty, so 8%. My poor contact rate with the 60 degree Lob Wedge was greater than 30%. Keep in mind that a bladed Lob Wedge usually meant serious trouble. Poor contact with the Acer XK just means you will have to hit it again. To be fair at least two of those poor shots with the Acer XK Flipper happened because I was testing to see what’s possible with the club.
Which brings me to how versatile the club has proven to be thus far. I’ve used it successfully from up to 35 yards out, and stuck it to within 8 feet of the Pin. I’ve used it to not only clear greenside bunkers, but to get out of them as well. One area the Acer XK Chipper has really excelled that I hadn’t considered before is punching out of the woods. A sliced or hooked Tee shot into the woods can leave you with some really awkward lies. The tight putting stroke you use with a Chipper makes dealing with some of those lies much easier. The heavy head goes right through the assorted rough you will find in the woods. Distance control is also far easier in those situations. Something I did expect the Acer XK to be great at is chipping from just off the green no matter the lie. I haven’t sunk one yet but I’ve come within inches of doing so multiple times. Instead of trying to land it close with a Wedge. Now I’m trying to sink it with the Chipper.
Control and Feel
I wish everything I had to say about the Acer XK Flipper Chipper was positive but alas it isn’t. When it comes to control and feel there are some negatives. It’s not all negative mind you but there is one particular area that’s lacking. SPIN. If you were wondering if you can generate spin with a Chipper. Well the answer is yes you can. You just can’t generate much of it. I have been able to generate enough spin to make a couple of the shots I’ve made with the Acer XK Chipper check up a bit. Would I rely on its ability to do so? No way! This brings up my first real concern. If you are chipping to a Pin that’s downhill than don’t expect to slow down the ball with backspin. Hopefully you hole it, or be prepared to watch it roll on by. Now fortunately controlling the height of your chip, or the speed of your chip is very easy. If you can lag putt than you can control distance with a Chipper. I control the height of my chip by simply changing the position of the ball in my stance. It took me one hour at the practice area at Centennial Park Golf Club to get a feel for it.
So sure there are some shots that you definitely can’t manufacture with a Chipper, but do yourself a favour and don’t try to hit them. Focus on what the Chipper can do, and you’ll probably shave strokes off your Round if you are a Beginner.