You're Correct!

The Thomas Golf chipper can be a superb addition to any golfers bag, especially for those who struggle with their chipping. It is a fantastic tool for in an around the greens or for the slightly longer distances of 30-50 yard pitch shots.

For the shots in an around the greens, many players like to use a 7 or an 8 iron chip and run shot to keep the ball low, try to fly the ball approximately one quarter of the distance and let it roll the rest, however, due to the irons length, the technique and ball striking is made difficult.

When using the Thomas Golf chipper, it is important that the strike is solid every time so the ball reacts the same. The player can then determine what the ball will do and how much it will roll once it has landed.

The Thomas Golf chipper is made up of a hybrid sized head and is the length of a putter to make the stroke easier to maintain. The chipper comes in many different lofts and can be custom fitted to each individual.

The set up for a Thomas Golf chipper should be very similar to a putter in terms of having the same grip and pendulum motion with the same putting stance and ball positioned in the middle of the stance. This set up will encourage the club to sweep the ball off the ground with minimal or no back spin so the ball will roll all the way to the target similar to a putter.

An alternative method of using it would be to pitch with it so the ball carries further in the air and then rolls out to the target. The set up for this should resemble more of a chip shot with the feet narrowed and the grip the same as a normal golf shot (not a putter) and slightly ahead of the ball. The weight should favour the left side to give a descending blow into the ball to encourage some height.

For the stroke itself, the player should focus on maintaining the triangle created between the shoulders and hands. There may be a small hinge depending on the length of swing and the weight should be on the left side throughout the stroke. The tempo of the shot should be constant with the follow through being longer than the back swing to ensure no momentum is lost.

The Thomas Golf chipper should not be used as a hybrid replacement as the lofts do not suit the full shot too much but more importantly the length of the club is too short meaning even if the ball is struck well, the loss of distance will be vast due to the loss of swing speed due to its length.

If a player sets up as if they were hitting a driver, the ball striking would be thin because by the time the chipper reached the ball it would more than likely top it due to the forward ball position.

The Thomas Golf chipper has a hybrid look about it so when the club face is opened the face itself will be off the ground due to the back of the hybrid head, therefore making ball striking literally impossible. The chipper is not designed for the high lob shot. This requires a lob wedge.