Chip Trainer

The Chip Trainer

9.5 Reviewer

SET-UP

EASE OF USE

EFFECTIVENESS

LONGEVITY

Pros:

-Great beginners tool
-Saves time / Efficient practice (ball comes back to you after every shot)
-Easy to set up and simple to use
-Surprisingly Portable
-Can be used in conjunction with other training aids
-The mat has lines to aid in alignment and setup
-Best solution for someone who wants to practice chipping all year round
-Chipping efficiently will decrease your chips and putts (probably will shave minimum 6 strokes off a player’s score that shoots in the 90’s)
-Comes with a bag that holds all the pieces

Cons:

-The Chip Trainer might be too expensive for some at 99$
-The red and white stand was not durable (The PVC pipe stand provided was durable and that’s the one we would go with)

What is it?

The Chip Trainer is basically two carpets that attach together to a stand to make a ramp. The ramp slope returns the ball automatically when chipping. The below video shows the mat you hit off and the visual feedback it provides for setup and alignment.

Effectiveness:

Golfers don’t realize but chipping is one of the most important aspects in golf. Did you know?

Based on the USGA the average handicap for a weekend golfer is about 90. That translates to around 5 greens hit, 13 chip shots, and 35 putts for 18 holes or 1.94 putts per hole on average. According to Game Golf, we use the putter 41.3 percent of the time (including from the fringe). As for the rest of the short game, from 100 yards and in, that number balloons to 60 percent. So what is the most important part of your game when it comes to scoring? Putting right? Wrong!

Remember 60% of shots on the golf course are taken within 100 yards of the hole and out of those, 41.3 % are putts. This is why putting is so important and why everyone says that putting is the most important part to scoring well. While it is true putting is essential to good scoring, a good chipper will consistently hit the ball within 10-20 feet of the hole from inside 100 yards.

The below chart shows the percentage of putts the pros make from specific distances. This is great because it brings people back to reality and gives them realistic goals to strive for in their putting. As you might of noticed the closer you are when putting the higher the percentage for success. You will make more one-putts and significantly lower your average scoring. Even though you may not have truly improved your putting, because you are starting from so close, you and everyone else will think your putting has dramatically improved.

Simple right? The problem is finding time to practice chipping on top of all the other aspects in life and golf. I’m going to place a large bet that a lot of you reading this have very little to almost no time to practice or play. You work a full time job, or you might be married with kids. As much as you would like for golf to be a focal point of your life, it’s just not. It probably won’t be until you retire. If you can’t play or practice much, you won’t have much to build on every time you go out to the golf course. Playing a round in April, and then your next one in late July without picking up a club much in between means that literally anything is possible when you get out on the course (good or bad). This is where the Chip Trainer comes into play! We tested this aid and fell in love with it! Forget about all the other visual feedback features it provides (alignment, setup etc.), the best part is so simple and genius. I’m unsure why nobody came up with it before. The indoor chipping carpet slope returns the ball automatically, no more retrieving. This is a game changer in practicing chipping indoors, it makes it so much more enjoyable and its also a huge time saver. No more annoying pop up chipping nets with a required bucket of balls. I love watching some television and hitting a few chips and then going on with my day.

Testing:

We put the Chip Trainer to the test by performing seven case studies. We had each golfer first watch the below videos. After using the device for 15-30 min they filled out our questionnaire covering setup, effectiveness, longevity, etc..
The Chip Trainer DWQuailGolf
Chip Trainer Lesson 1 – DWQuailGolf
Chip Trainer Lesson 2 – DWQuailGolf
Chip Trainer Lesson 3 – DWQuailGolf
Chip Trainer Lesson 4 – DWQuailGolf
Chip Trainer Lesson 5 – DWQuailGolf
Chip Trainer Lesson 6 – DWQuailGolf

Results:

Pros:
-“instant feedback”
-“makes you use proper set up”
-“ball returns to you if using properly”
-“easy to use, setup and effective”
-“clear instructions”
-“quick demo videos, nice production value”
-“great off season tool”
-“videos helpful”
-“simple ingenuis way to practice chipping even in small area/space”
-“makes it easy to practice chipping, great product”
-“nice design on carpet (vibrant colors)”
-“portable, doesn’t take up too much space”
-“easy assemble/dis-assemble”

Cons:
-“no idea on distance for the chip”
-“tubing a little flimsy”
-2 testers commented “expensive”
-“cheap stand” (r&w stand)
-“stand can fall over easily” (r&w stand)
-“no exact distance indicator”

What does it do/purpose of the aid?
-“helps you with posture, grip, feet placement and swing”
-“practice chipping”
-“practice proper chipping setup”
-“portable aid allows for instant feedback and helps with feel and motion as well as setup, foot position, hand and club/ball position”
-“helps golfers learn to align for chipping”
-“visual and tactile aid to learn to chip”
-“grid on mat tells golfer height of chip (higher on grid=softer and shorter chip)
-“help practice chipping”

Set-up (1-10/ 10 being the easiest):
-“7/10”
-“9/10”
-5 testers commented “10/10”

Ease of use: (1-10/ 10 being the easiest):
-“very easy to use”
-5 testers commented “10/10 easy”
-“8/10”

Would an instruction manual help?
-“not really”
-“videos are fine”
-“yes to explain ball positioning effect”
-“Yes but the videos where great, short and easy to follow”

What feedback does the aid provide?
-“proper shot alignment, shot angle”
-“alignment”
-“aim”
-“height of chip and chipping direction”

What drills did you like the best?
-“just following the videos, keeping it simple”
-“changing ball position to see chipping results”

Did the aid improve your swing?
-5 testers commented “yes”
-“yes it helped with my hip alignment”
-” yes, wrist position and weight distribution”

Longevity (1-10/ 10 being the most durable)
-“9/10”
-“8/10”
-“6/10 the device is durable if your not being aggressive with shots”
-“haven’t had it long enough”
-“plastic stand is cheap” (r&w stand)
-“carpet yes, no to stand” (r&w stand)
-“base needs to be heavier, maybe add sand in the tubing for weight?”(r&w stand)

Would you keep using the device and incorporate into your regular practice?
-5 testers commented “yes”
-“its great for small spaces, good for practicing in the off season”
-“yes, indoors”

Quality of the golf aid (1-10/ 10 being highest quality)
-3 testers commented “10/10”
-“7/10”
-“8/10”
-“pole/stick could be more sturdy”
-“8/10 stands needs improvement” (r&w stand)

Based on your opinion is the price reasonable (too expensive/ cheap just right?)
-“just right $99 is a bargain”
-“its on the more expensive side, but its a good product, worth the money”
-“too expensive”

Would you recommend this device to others?
-7 testers commented “yes”

Did you enjoy using it?
-7 testers commented “yes”

Did you get benefit from it?
-7 testers commented “yes”

Set-up/Ease of use:

Setting up the Chip Trainer is quick and easy. First assemble the stand by connected the pipes and joints. Use the Velcro to attach the the two mats together, then attach the target mat to the top bar.

Customer reviews:

This is a new product so we did not find any reviews.

Longevity:

We received two versions of the stand, a red and white one (r&w stand) and a DIY PVC pipe version. The r&w stand looked nice but was flimsy and we prefer the more sturdy and durable PVC stand. The matt’s are durable and will last a long time.

My concluding thoughts…

We really enjoyed using the Chip Trainer. This chipping aid has a lot to offer including its portability, ease of use, and allowing golfers the leisure to practice chipping anywhere, anytime. Chipping is such an important aspect in golf, therefore practicing with the Chip Trainer will allow golfers to decrease their score! Another great feature worth noting about the Chip Trainer is the ball retriever. The design of the Chip Trainer creates a ramp with the carpet which allows the ball to roll back to the golfer after each chip. This feature makes practice easy and much more enjoyable, especially for golfers that suffer from back pain. As far as improvements that can be made with this golf aid, we feel the stand (r&w stand) needs to be more durable, and the price of this product runs on the higher end of average. Overall, the Chip Trainer is a keeper and a must try for all golfers. We will definitely be using this aid on a regular basis during practice!!!