A Tough Decision Made Easier
The short game befuddles many golfers, in large part because it offers so many choices. While there are occasions where there’s only one option – in a bunker, for example – you typically have at least two options to pick from. In this lesson, I’m going to discuss one of the most common short game conundrums: should you putt or chip when the ball is on tightly mown grass around the green?
This Lesson Is For You If:
You’re not sure what approach to take around the green
You haphazardly choose between putting and chipping
You want to get up and down more often
Expectation Management
This wouldn’t be Plugged In Golf if I didn’t include some stats to get your expectations in line with reality. Let’s start with the Tour. For the 2025 season, Scottie Scheffler was the leader in scrambling, saving par after missing the green in regulation almost 69% of the time. That means the best player on the planet is making bogey over 30% of the time when he misses the green.
Let’s dive a little deeper and look at the Tour averages by distance to the hole. When players are less than 10 yards from the hole (not the green), they get that shot within 3’6″ and save par 86% of the time. Those are very impressive numbers, but they also show that even at the Tour level being near the cup is no guarantee of par. When we back out to 10-20 yards from the hole, the average leave is 6’11” and par save percentage dives to 65%. Finally, from 20-30 yards from the hole, those numbers are 9’3″ and 54%. From 60-90 feet from the cup, Tour pros are at nearly a coin flip to save par!
Now, let’s take a look at some stats for recreational players, courtesy of Shot Scope. From inside of 25 yards, scratch players get up and down 63% of the time. For 10 handicaps, that drops to 47%, and it’s just 35% for 25 handicaps.
The takeaway: when you miss the green, it’s hard to make par. Stop expecting to get every chip or pitch inside the leather. Making bogey after a missed green is totally normal.
The Case for Putting
Using the “Texas Wedge” is an example of what game theorists call Minimax – minimizing the maximum loss or worst case scenario. Said more plainly, your worst putt is going to be better than your worst chip. It’s lower risk; it’s more predictable.
If you dramatically misjudge the putt, you might leave it on the edge of the green or hit it several feet past the cup. When you chip, you open up the possibility of chunking the shot and leaving the ball at your feet or blading it across the green.
Another argument for putting is that it offers more control. Most players have better speed and line control with a putter versus a wedge. With this superior control, you might open up the possibility of holing more shots.
The Case for Chipping
A quick definition to start: a chip shot is one that flies a short distance and rolls out to the hole. The ratio of flight to roll will vary based on the club used, less loft creating more roll for a given carry distance.
The argument for chipping boils down to having more control over certain variables. While putting largely removes any concerns about contact or technique, chipping takes out the variable that is the fringe. Even if the grass around the green is cut very short, it’s not quite the same as the green. When you putt, you’re being forced to judge how the ball will roll on two different surfaces. Additionally, there are more likely to be large imperfections off the green – clumps of grass, bare patches, etc – that can dramatically alter the roll of the ball.
Expanding on that idea of removing the fringe, chipping allows you to control your landing point (if you’re skilled enough). This opens up interesting possibilities such as landing the ball a few inches short of the green to reduce its speed when you’re short sided. You might also look for a landing point further onto the green to remove large slopes or breaks.
Finally, if your chipping is well-calibrated, it can require less touch than putting. Imagine that your ball is two yards off the green, ten yards from the cup. To putt this, you need to accurately judge a thirty foot putt that covers two different surfaces. To chip this, however, you just need to hit a six foot chip with a club that rolls out four times as far as it carries.
What Should You Do – Putt or Chip?
The first factor you need to consider when deciding whether to putt or chip is your chipping ability. If chunking or blading the shot is a significant risk, you should probably putt. This will vary over the years and even within a season. As I discussed in “Confessions of a Recovering Lob Wedge Addict” [read HERE], when I’m practicing a lot, I rarely putt from off the green. However, when my game is rusty I putt almost everything.
Factor two is the ground between you and the hole. How thick is the grass? How much undulation is there before you reach the green? Is there anything between you and the hole that would interrupt your roll – sprinkler heads, bare spots, etc?
The final factor – and the one that might override the rest – is your personal situation for that hole or round. If your number one goal is to shoot the best score you can today, you should be guided purely by the first two factors. On the other end of the spectrum, if you’re playing to hit shots or to work on your game, throw out everything else and play the shot you want. Somewhere in the middle might be match play. If your opponent has par locked up, and you don’t feel like you can get up and down by putting, you need to chip. On the other hand, if you just need a bogey to win the hole, use your putter to eliminate the risk of a big number.
He founded Plugged In Golf in 2013 with the goal of helping all golfers play better and enjoy the game more.
Matt lives in the northwest suburbs of Chicago with his wife and two daughters.
- Putting vs. Chipping – The Definitive Guide - December 9, 2025
- Sun Mountain Eclipse E-4.5 VLO Golf Bag Review - December 8, 2025
- TRUE Linkswear Ascent Golf Shoe Review - December 5, 2025
