What do I do with this shot.

[James_Black]

Picture this.

You've just hit off the back of the green and the ball has trickled down a hill.
There's 15 yards to the hole and the green is at shoulder level.
the green slopes away from the hole so if you hit it too far it'll be at the other end of the green.
If you try bump it and it comes up short there's a good chance it'll come back to your feet.

What do you do?

Do you try flop it or bump and run it?
I tried flopping it yesterday because I knew there was a good chance I'd mess up the bump and run. I ended up at the other side of the green.

[saevel25]

Oooh fun shot.. Sounds like your on the fringe..

flop shot, tough from the tight lie, worse is you might thin it. Very hard to get yourself to stay down on that shot
Bump and run, very tricky as well, i like this shot more than the flop..

If there is alot of fringe, then PUTT it.

[Paradox]

set my body with the slope, take my 60, and let the loft do its thing. Make a nice little quarter swing(or whatever I felt like the distance warranted) and be done with it. I like simple golf. The slope of the hill will allow me to play my wedge normally and give it enough loft to land like a flop shot.

[allin]

I would flop it, unless lie was very cuppy or in heavy rough. I practice these kind of shots a lot. Don't be afraid to experiment and be a little creative. A willingness to look a little silly while practicing often pays real dividends. ( One time an observer made loud snide comments about my lack of skill. I offered to go five bucks a shot closest to the hole. I won five out of six, twenty bucks net before he gave up, complaining how lucky I was as he stomped off.

[Tifosinumerouno]

I don't see at all how you could bump and run this shot unless you use the top of the hill to pop the ball up in the air. But that is a very uncertain way to do it, as you have very little idea what will happen after that, ie. Bounce left or right, get caught in rough, miss the top of the hill and roll off the front of the green. The flop is a bit easier to handle, but it depends on the lie. I think the safest shot of all is a regular pitch shot. Find a target distance to hit to, then read the green from there to determine your landing spot. Add a bit more power than a normal pitch for that distance if that part of the green is still elevated above the ball.

[Zeph]

Impossible to tell without seeing the length of the grass and state of the slope. Why don't you go out, throw 10 balls on there and try different approaches? There is no rule to golf, what works best is individual.

[James_Black]

Impossible to tell without seeing the length of the grass and state of the slope. Why don't you go out, throw 10 balls on there and try different approaches? There is no rule to golf, what works best is individual.

I was in a competition at the time.

I only play there during competitions and the practice greens don't have anything near as severe as the real greens.

[mad max]

I don't see at all how you could bump and run this shot unless you use the top of the hill to pop the ball up in the air. But that is a very uncertain way to do it, as you have very little idea what will happen after that, ie. Bounce left or right, get caught in rough, miss the top of the hill and roll off the front of the green. The flop is a bit easier to handle, but it depends on the lie. I think the safest shot of all is a regular pitch shot. Find a target distance to hit to, then read the green from there to determine your landing spot. Add a bit more power than a normal pitch for that distance if that part of the green is still elevated above the ball.

I agree, take your medicine and if your ball rolls of the front it should be a reasonable chip and a putt from there. What you don't want is to have to try this shot twice in a row.

[MMouse]

Flop it on with my 64, works everytime I am close to the green and need to put it in the air quick and drop it close.

[TheGeekGolfer]

Impossible to tell without seeing the length of the grass and state of the slope. Why don't you go out, throw 10 balls on there and try different approaches? There is no rule to golf, what works best is individual.

+1 - need to know the lie (tight, fluffy, sitting up just slightly), type of slope (gentle, steep hill, etc), condition of grass (wet, dry), speed of greens, grain of grass. There is ALOT more information needed to decide on the choice of shot.

[James_Black]

+1 - need to know the lie (tight, fluffy, sitting up just slightly), type of slope (gentle, steep hill, etc), condition of grass (wet, dry), speed of greens, grain of grass. There is ALOT more information needed to decide on the choice of shot.

it was sitting down in light rough.

There is a steep drop off the green and the it's gentle. fast greens. Dry day.

[jamo]

I would flop it or hit a low spinner. Either way you need to get the ball to stop fast.

[$2 Nassau]

set my body with the slope, take my 60, and let the loft do its thing. Make a nice little quarter swing(or whatever I felt like the distance warranted) and be done with it. I like simple golf. The slope of the hill will allow me to play my wedge normally and give it enough loft to land like a flop shot.

This is what I would do. I wouldn't say I would hit a "flop" but i would hit a high chip and try to land it soft.

[saevel25]

Set in light rough.. If its severe slop were if you hit it into the slop its more likel to just end up back at your feat. Then you can try to flop it.

What i like to do is try to keep the clubhead low in the follow through and swing with the slop as possible. Just try to get that little fluff shot that lands soft, might not go very high, but it wont have much on it after it hits the ground.

[TheGeekGolfer]

it was sitting down in light rough.

If it was sitting down, I would probably play a little bump and run, w/ a sand wedge given the slope in front of me. I would aim to try and get it to about 3 feet past the hole, so it's on the green and I have an uphill putt to save par. This would also hopefully give me room to lessen the chance of it rolling back to my feet. If it rolled out to 5 or 6 feet past the hole, then I'd still consider it a good shot and have my putter save me.

[James_Black]

If it was sitting down, I would probably play a little bump and run, w/ a sand wedge given the slope in front of me. I would aim to try and get it to about 3 feet past the hole, so it's on the green and I have an uphill putt to save par. This would also hopefully give me room to lessen the chance of it rolling back to my feet. If it rolled out to 5 or 6 feet past the hole, then I'd still consider it a good shot and have my putter save me.

the problem is, 5 or 6 feet past the hole probably means other side of the green.

There was a big competition on and the pin positions were super-tough.

[Gerald]

Hit a low lofted club like a 5 iron, and drive it into the hill, it will normally reach the top and stumble downwards to the hole (like it was in "Getting Up and Down" by Tom Watson......).

[sean_miller]

I'd have to see the lie, but I'm leaning toward a short pitch with the SW based on the descriptions. I might also consider playing it out to the left since my short pitches sometimes spin to the right.