Hitting a wedge of hard ground

[Hyper X Crusher]

This weekend I was playing a par 5, and was within 30 yards of the green in 2, but my ball stopped on top of this mound that was hard clay with NO grass on it. I have run into this several times with about the same finish. I grabbed my 60-07 lob wedge, set up (ball a little back in my stance, open stance, half swing), and told myself to get under the ball.

I skulled the you know what out of it!!!! I am not sure if I hit the ground and it bounced up to skull the ball, or I just skulled it before I hit the ground.

Should I use another club? Change my stance? What would you do?

[DaSportsGuy]

I have the same problem. If I'm on hard ground and use a wedge I can't get under it. I've gotten so sick of it I just use the Bump-and-Run technique with my 7. If I hit a wedge, I do the same thing. I don't get under it at all and hit a ground ball accross the green.

[Lean, Mean, Hitting Machine]

If you had to hit the ball over water/sand, or up a hill then you played the right club...if you didn't have to hit the ball up a hill or over a hazard then you should have used a 3 or 4 iron to bump the ball to the green. I use it all the time to get under trees on approach shots that have a chance of clipping limbs. Learn how to roll the ball onto the green and it will save you some strokes.

[Hyper X Crusher]

I did forget to mention that there was a greenside bunker that I needed to clear, thus the lob wedge.

[McGolf-Doggie]

I did forget to mention that there was a greenside bunker that I needed to clear, thus the lob wedge.

I'm guessing if the chances are high you'll skull it, then it might be safer to chip out to the side to a better lie or back to the fairway. But I've been there with that hardpan lie and done the same skulling the heck out of it. One day I'll learn.

I'm thinking someone here must have a shot in their back pocket here for that situation where you must clear a vertical obstacle though.

[2bGood]

When I have been stuck with this lie/shot I tend to play a "trap" with a lofted wedge. I come down steep on the ball and pinch the ball between the ground and the club - the club bottoms out just behind the ball. The ball does not pop up too high, but it does carry and lands with crazy spin to make it check up.

[TempoIsKey]

First thing, I'm guilty of this sometimes too. With that being said, you DO NOT need to try to really get under it. With a 60*, I would play it about the middle of my stance and address it square. You have to make a 100% mental effort to hit down on the ball. The 60 will get it up just fine. I think an open stance flop is way too risky from the lie you described. If you keep your lower body quiet and your head still, that shot is doable. Just my .02

[thebignasty]

This weekend I was playing a par 5, and was within 30 yards of the green in 2, but my ball stopped on top of this mound that was hard clay with NO grass on it. I have run into this several times with about the same finish. I grabbed my 60-07 lob wedge, set up (ball a little back in my stance, open stance, half swing), and told myself to get under the ball.

hit down on it, take a divot. unless this was legit clay and would be like impossible to take a divot.

[pittpanther]

This weekend I was playing a par 5, and was within 30 yards of the green in 2, but my ball stopped on top of this mound that was hard clay with NO grass on it. I have run into this several times with about the same finish. I grabbed my 60-07 lob wedge, set up (ball a little back in my stance, open stance, half swing), and told myself to get under the ball.

In another posting, you said there was a bunker you needed to clear. With that info, the bump-n-run is not appropriate. You took the right club and the right shot. The only thing you forgot to do was to practice that shot about 1,000 times before you ran into it on the course!

I would think trying to pick a lob clean off of a bare lie is one of the hardest shots in golf. Both because it's difficult, and because no one ever practices off of hard pan.

[aca247]

I'm guessing if the chances are high you'll skull it, then it might be safer to chip out to the side to a better lie or back to the fairway. But I've been there with that hardpan lie and done the same skulling the heck out of it. One day I'll learn.

I use a sand wedge and just hit it up and it will land on the green and sit

[iacas]

You can play a proper wedge shot off of concrete. The ground's not as hard as you're making it out to be in your mind. You're psyching yourself out.

[RC]

Don't "move it back in your stance," just play a normal shot. You might practice hitting a few of these kinds of shot off hard pan to gain confidence. Moving it back changes your normal swing and increases your chance of a mis-hit, in my opinion. Even with a 60 degree, you still want to hit the ball and then contact the ground in front of the ball, so a normal shot will be off and gone no matter the hard pan -- if you don't do something differently. If you go ahead and move it back and hit down more, you run the risk of bouncing into the shot and getting almost no spin, or blading it.

I realize the margin of error is very small, but practicing these shots is what will help you the most. The worst thought is to think, oh no, it's a tight lie and I have to hit some kind of special shot. When those thoughts get in your head, your chances go down. Just play a normal, firm shot.

If you have no confidence in hitting the shot... well, then take a low lofted club and hit it to an area around or on the green where you don't have to carry the trap. Protect the bogy and avoid the double or higher. I sometimes do this if the lie is not sitting flat (you might be in a depression or divot) with the club more upright (so it is a toe down chip) with a putter grip. You can hit a fairly high chip with a gap wedge with the shaft straight up and down and just the toe of the club soled, or you can run it with a something like a 4 to 6 iron, still using the toe down stroke.

[$2 Nassau]

This weekend I was playing a par 5, and was within 30 yards of the green in 2, but my ball stopped on top of this mound that was hard clay with NO grass on it. I have run into this several times with about the same finish. I grabbed my 60-07 lob wedge, set up (ball a little back in my stance, open stance, half swing), and told myself to get under the ball.

Tough shot to pull off with a 60. Almost impossible to get under it because of the hard pan lie. I would avoid the 60 there and maybe use a lower lofted wedge (PW, GW), hit DOWN of the ball with it positioned slightly back in your stance. This helps to ensure you hit the ball first, and just run it up to the green.

No need to get fancy with the 60.

[Where's the Cart Girl?]

The 60 will get it up just fine. I think an open stance flop is way too risky from the lie you described.

I agree. One thing you know you have going for you is that the back of the ball is completely exposed so you can generate enough spin to stop it quick without having to open the face or do anything out of the ordinary. Practice makes perfect, but committing 100% to the shot is the most crucial element here I think.

[sethro5hc]

It's all about ball striking, not necesarrily stance or anything else. I have the same exact problem. I legitimately hit the ball better out of a medium or light rough than I do off the fairway.

I seem to VERY frequently hit the ground right behind the ball rather than in front of it, if I'm in rough and do this I'm just scraping through some grass.. on a trimmed up fairway I'm hitting dirt first which drastically decellerates my club and can open or close the face depending on the swing. I've gotta improve my ball striking, but from my understanding, if you're ball striking is good, you could hit a ball off solid concrete without blading it.

[Zeph]

It is possible, but a 60 degree wedge is very difficult to pull it off with. Have you tried a less lofted wedge and putting some spin on the ball? Enough distance to fly the bunker, but with spin enough to keep it from rolling off the green.

If I'm in a situation where I have to use my 58º and the ball is sitting on hard pan lie, I focus on making contact with the ball first. It won't go as high as it would if it was sitting up and I could flop it, but the loft will give it height all the same.

[Leftygolfer]

I have had the same issues before. It is a tougher shot than normal but I don't agree that the 60 is anyless harder to hit than a PW. You need very little bounce.

You have to be agressive through the ball and don't quit. If it has to come out soft you have to hit it a touch fat but be agressive so the club doesn't bounce up into the ball. It feels like I am hitting the ball and ground at the exact same time. I also play almost all my shots around the green with an open face.

[CalBoomer]

With this shot, I always want to hit the ball before the ground, so I play it almost like a fairway sand shot. I move the ball back in my stance, open the face a little and aim to accommodate that. With the club being effectively de-lofted, the ball will be a bit lower and you have to practice to learn how hard to hit it.