Golf is such a frustrating game, the more you play the more the complexcities of the game start to take over your life and you ponder every shot and mistake. I tend to find that as the ball gets near the hole the game gets harder and harder so a booming a drive or a tee shot to a green I can usually manage but a tricky little chip from an hollow near the green and you can bet I'll fluff the shot and take three to get onto the green.

So as with most aspects of golf there are supposed aids to making you a more complete golfer, chipping is ultimately a sense of place and touch taking in the variables of wind, green and shape of the hole. Chipping is a part of the game which tends to become easier the more a player practices, and because of this a tool like the chipping net sounds like an ideal piece of equipment to improve your game.

The chipping net is as it says a net for catching golf balls, it has a target in the middle and is simply constructed by pulling up the outer circle and keeping it up by use of a piece of plastic. This gives a face for the chipping net and several targets, one the outer circle, an inner circle and finally the target which is the red lined circle. If the ball enters the circle then the net behind keeps the ball and the ball is easily retrieved.

The net costs around £10 and takes up little space when not in use as it folds down to a meter square circle.

But is it worth having? Well in my opinion it's a bit of a toy which gets used once or twice but tends to accumulate dust in the garage. Chipping is about touch and feel and to have a target is a useful one but in truth it has little help when on the course and trying to chip onto a green. The best aspect of the net is to get used to the flight and angle of the ball when it lands in the net, this gives a sense of the shot a player should be using when playing for real.

I have had one for a year or so but I must admit I was given an old one from a local golf course as mine has a hole in the outer plastic net and to be honest I doubt I'd ever consider buying one because I've only played with it a few times at home. However, I have used the ones at the course many times as they give a player a chance to chip a few balls before the tee off time.

So it has limited uses but it's not overly expensive and I guess extended use will improve your game.