Your greenside game can make or break your scores. Try as you might, chances are you aren’t going to hit all your greens in regulation. The ability to get up and down is often essential to keeping a good round going. Sadly, if there’s an area of the game where the yips are the most prevalent, it’s probably chipping. If Tiger once had the yips, it could truly happen to anyone. Enter the Arias Golf TB-30 Chipper.
The Testing Opportunity
Founded in 2015 by JR Robert, the defining feature of Arias Golf Canada clubs is zero offset (and sometimes even some onset). Offset is the distance between the leading edge of the club face and the hosel and Arias isn’t shy in saying “offset is a useless, annoying feature that should never be there.” In the case of the TB-30 Chipper, the unique no-offset build offers to enhance alignment and shot-making around the green. It could be the answer to those golfers struggling with chunking chips and tight lies around the greens. Arias says “the TB-30 is a must-have if you struggle to get up and down around the green with conventional wedges or prefer using your putter from the back of the fringe.”
From the Testers: First Impressions
We selected three testers for the opportunity to test, review and keep the Arias Golf Canada TB-30 Chipper, zero offset and all. Right away, each tester noticed the chipper was decidedly different from a typical golf club. For instance, tester Bulldog wrote, “Upon handling the club, there were a few surprises. It has a low profile head. It’s definitely a smaller looking head than any club I’ve used, but the shape is pleasing to my eye. The second surprise is the weight. With a head weight of 324 grams, this chipper comes in close to putter weight territory. The third surprise is the lie angle which is at 70 degrees. My current putter is 69 degrees. There’s definitely a putter setup feeling over the ball.”
From the Testers: On Course Performance
The rest of the testers agreed with GolfSpy SAM when they got the TB-30 on the course. Tester BigMacQue admitted to taking a bit of time to get used to the club but eventually began seeing great results, stating, “Once I mastered the club in play it was very effective…90% of the time, I could put the ball where I wanted it. I hit this club from distances out to about 65 yards, I hit it over bunkers, I hit it out of rough, and even hit it off the cart path.”
Bulldog also observed the chipper was “…easy to aim at the target. It can produce really satisfying results under the right circumstances.”
Our testers did notice some limitations. Bulldog shared that “short greenside chips, and chips from the rough didn’t work out for me. It’s a niche club that can work well when you have some room for the ball to roll out on the green. Stopping power on the green is not its strong point.”
GolfSpy SAM had a slightly different experience on the course: “I could never get a feel for this club. I would either leave it 15 feet short or run it 20 feet by the hole. One hole, a tough par-3 where I just missed the green to the right and had a tricky lie, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity. I hit the first shot and it landed 5 feet short of the hole and just kept running, leaving me 15 feet back for par. Out of curiosity, I dropped another ball, and this one spun HARD (unexpectedly) the minute it hit the green and left me 12 feet uphill.”
Game It or Trade It?
Owing to the niche nature of the TB-30, each of our testers recognized the choice in front of them: If they chose to keep the chipper in the bag, something else had to come out. Here’s how our testers wrestled with that decision:
GolfSpy SAM: I really wanted to love this club. I can see the potential, and with enough time and effort, I could absolutely get this to perform for me. Something like this is a one-trick pony, and for me, that pony kept trying to bite my fingers while I was handling it….the truth is, it’s such a specialty club, and I’m so proficient around the green with my set of wedges, there’s not really a reason I should learn a whole new club right now.
BigMacQue: I have a full bag, 14 clubs, and this one to beat a 43-degree (Titleist) T400. The T400 is just a lot more versatile and I can chip with it as well as I can chip with the Arias Chipper. So for me, this won’t be in the bag. That is no knock on the club, it’s just a personal decision based on the clubs I have.
Bulldog: Surprising myself, I plan on leaving it in the bag, at least for a while. I want to see if my skills with it can improve so that it will be more useful in a variety of situations. Then I really want to improve distance control. I also want to try unique shots like bump and run shots from under a tree to the fairway, short approach shots to the green, and using it on the green for impossibly long shots.
Final Grades and Quotes
Owing largely to the very specialized nature of the club, our testers gave the TB-30 grades of 80, 82, and 90 out of 100. One consistent theme emerged from each tester: the TB-30 chipper is a very high-quality club that plays a very specialized role.
BigMacQue: “This is a very nice club, very well built, well designed, and it does exactly what it’s designed for and sold as. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this club to someone that needed help with their chipping.”
Bulldog: “It didn’t take long for me to appreciate the looks, sound, and feel of the Arias TB-30 Chipper. It has the look of a miniature wedge, if there is such a thing. The zero offset seems to make alignment easier. The sound is a satisfying ‘click.’ But the best thing is the feel. It’s solid and satisfying.”
GolfSpy SAM “…this thing is a tank, and is clearly very well built… If you’re the kind of golfer that can make room for a chipper, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better-looking option.
The Arias Golf Canada TB-30 Chipper is not for every golfer but it proved to be a well-crafted club that could be the perfect solution for anyone with greenside struggles. To dive deeper into our testers’ full reviews, click here: Arias Golf Canada TB-30 Chipper 2024 Forum Member Review
RC
6 days ago
People sniffed at hybrids when they first came out, telling people to learn how to hit their long irons…now everybody has one. People probably told Byron Nelson to learn how to hit his spoon out of the sand, but now, everybody has a sand wedge.
If it’s legal, and it makes the game easier (like “game improvement” clubs), go for it.