The 20 yard chip shot
From 20 yards the tour average needs 2.400 strokes to hole out from the fairway, 2.590 from the rough and 2.530 from the sand. A chip from the rough that finishes 3 feet from the hole is worth +0.54 against the tour average and one that finishes 10 feet away -0.04; the leave, not the swing, decides the up and down.
From every lie
Twenty yards is where the published lie tables begin, so this is the shortest shot the tables price; everything inside it reads the 20 yard value. The benchmark columns add the short game gap the benchmark model gives each handicap, labeled Modeled.
Expected strokes to hole out from 20 yards
| Lie | Tour | Scratch | 10 handicap | 20 handicap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairway | 2.400 | 2.429 | 2.714 | 3.000 |
| Rough | 2.590 | 2.619 | 2.904 | 3.190 |
| Sand | 2.530 | 2.559 | 2.844 | 3.130 |
By the leave
A chip is scored by the putt it leaves, and the putt by whether it drops, separately. The table prices a 20 yard chip from each lie by where it finishes; the last column is the share of putts the tour table holes from that distance, which is the up and down chance the leave gives you.
A 20 yard chip, by its leave
| Leave | Expected putts | From the fairway | From the rough | From the sand | One putt rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 feet | 1.053 | +0.35 | +0.54 | +0.48 | 95% |
| 6 feet | 1.357 | +0.04 | +0.23 | +0.17 | 64% |
| 10 feet | 1.626 | -0.23 | -0.04 | -0.10 | 37% |
| 15 feet | 1.784 | -0.38 | -0.19 | -0.25 | 22% |
| 20 feet | 1.878 | -0.48 | -0.29 | -0.35 | 12% |
A chip from the sand to 6 feet (+0.17) outscores a chip from the fairway to 10 feet (-0.23): it started from a harder average and beat it by more.
Against a full shot
From 100 yards in the fairway the tour average needs 2.800 strokes, so a 20 yard chip from the fairway is 0.40 of a stroke easier than a full wedge, and from the rough it is 0.21 easier. The table rises quickly inside 60 yards, which is where a good wedge player takes strokes from the field.
What the up and down needs
An up and down is the chip plus one putt. From 6 feet the tour table holes 64% of putts, from 10 feet 37% and from 15 feet 22%, so a chip that finishes inside 6 feet converts more than twice as often as one outside 15. Tour players get up and down about six times in ten; the leave is where that number is made.
In PinFlag
PinFlag prices a 20 yard chip from the lie it starts in, read from the course map, and from the leave you place in feet, so a chip and the putt it leaves are two numbers rather than one. Insights shows short-game proximity by lie, up and downs and sand saves that require a real hole-out, two-chips under Score Killers and a heat map of where your short-game shots finish around the hole.
Frequently asked questions
How many strokes does a 20 yard chip take?
What is a good leave from 20 yards?
Is a 20 yard bunker shot harder than a chip from the rough?
Is a 20 yard chip easier than a full wedge?
Which golf app does this on the course?
Related
Sources
- PGA TOUR statistics
- Mark Broadie, Columbia Business School (Wikidata entity)
- How PinFlag calculates strokes gained
Every figure on this page is computed from the published baselines, the same ones PinFlag prices your shots with. The scope of the figures: Lie values are the published tour baseline at 20 yards, which begins at 20 yards; one putt rates are read from the published putting table.
Get PinFlag for iPhone
PinFlag shows you this number on the course, for the shot in front of you, before you swing: any target priced with your own dispersion and the lie read from the course map, your real shots drawn on the hole, and two taps to log. Golfer is $14.99 a month or $99.99 a year, with a 14-day trial on the annual plan through the App Store.