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In the 2012 US Open final hole, Justin Rose has just over run his approach shot and ended up in the semi rough. He elects to use his fairway wood to play a chip shot. Justin plays his fairway wood chip, the ball bounces and rolls out towards the hole, coming to rest inches from the cup.

The tap in putt results in his first major victory. Justin isnt the first player to use the fairway wood chip successfully to win, with the likes of Tiger Woods, Todd Hamilton and Jason Dufner all using this shot down the stretch in Major Championships to seal the deal.

You will see the pros use the fairway wood chip when they are faced with a tricky lie where there is grass behind the ball or where the chip shot requires a slight lift on the ball then a roll like a putt. The wider sole of the fairway wood makes chipping a touch more forgiving. The shot is a little more fool proof than playing a standard chip shot from a tricky lie. It is more difficult to fat or thin a chip shot when using a fairway wood.

To play the fairway wood chip, grip down on the club and stand close to the ball similar to a putting set up. Make a putting style stroke and watch the ball pop up a touch and get rolling.

Before trying this shot out on the course, make sure you give this type of chip shot some practice to gauge and feel how the ball reacts and rolls from various lies.

When you see pros playing a chip with a fairway wood it will be highly unlikely they suffer from any kind of yipping with their chipping. They are playing the shot because the lie and situation have made them think that playing the fairway chip is the best approach to get the ball close to the hole.

When it comes to chipping, it is advised to try and get the ball landing on the green as soon as possible to allow the ball to roll out like a putt. Running the ball is not always the best option and sometimes impossible when there are bunkers and deep rough between you and the hole.

Most pros playing on golf tours around the world have great short games and a vast array of chipping skills. If they didnt they wouldnt be competing week in and week out against the best in the world. The fairway wood chip shot can be seen as an anti duff chip, but when the pros play this shot it is because the lie and situation have dictated the shot selection to provide the best opportunity to get the ball close to the hole.