Green side fluff...

[rmgators]

I get up and down at a high percentage from tight lies but I really struggle when my ball ends up sitting in the short fluffy rough that is outside the "fairway cut". I've tried two different approaches:

1 - Use my 60* wedge and play it like a chip shot. This almost never works as I either get a big clump of grass b/t club and ball, or I nearly go right under it. Either way the ball ends up just a few feet ahead of me.

2 - Use my pitching wedge and play it like a chip shot. I have had a bit more success with this but it is hard to judge distance, esp. since I can't put any spin on from this lie. Seems like anytime I try this the ball flies well past my target.

Should I try playing this like a bunker shot and just blast out of there? What works for you guys?

[cdriver]

I chose the 3rd option if the ball is sitting reasonably well. You really need it up enough to get the clubhead under the ball. I actually had one of those this morning from about 5 yds off the green on a down hill lie. The bunker shot worked well and I left it close to a very short-sided pin. It takes a little practice and if your facility is like most, it is hard to find a lie on the practice area to duplicate the conditions. We are lucky and have some areas like this around our practice green.

Give it a try.

[rmgators]

I chose the 3rd option if the ball is sitting reasonably well. You really need it up enough to get the clubhead under the ball. I actually had one of those this morning from about 5 yds off the green on a down hill lie. The bunker shot worked well and I left it close to a very short-sided pin. It takes a little practice and if your facility is like most, it is hard to find a lie on the practice area to duplicate the conditions. We are lucky and have some areas like this around our practice green.

Thanks I'll work on that -- we have an area where I can practice these shots at a local driving range.

[LarryK]

So much of this shot depends on the lie (as you've discovered). The more buried the ball is in the grass, the more you have to play it as an explosion shot, opening the face and swinging under the ball. The more the ball is setting up, the more you can play it as a normal chip.

It also depends a lot on how close you are to the hole and how much rough you need to carry to the green.

Here is a third option I sometimes use on downhill lies where the ball is sitting down and I don't have a lot of rough to fly over.

Play the ball well back in the stance and using nothing more than a wrist cock, raise the club (typically lob or sand wedge) straight up and come straight down on the back of the ball. Ball will squirt forward rather smartly. No back spin on this one. Distance is controlled primarily by how high you lift the club.

Not a shot you will use often, but really helpful if you are not excited about trying that explosion shot to a short-sided pin.