How do I loft on approach?

[wedgehammer40k]

So here is my problem,

I typically miss the green and end up about 15ft facing an elevated green, sometimes very steep almost 3-5 ft straight up.

I know what I want to do. I want to use my Pitching wedge or Approach wedge and loft the ball up there with some back spin.

Without fail I strike the ball and it stays down!

Questions:

1. Am I supposed to hit down on the ball, or through the ball?

2. Where is my weight supposed to be front or back foot? Do I lean Back???

3. Where am I taking aim? Am I trying to lift it upwards??.

Any tips here would me very appreciated If I can solve this problem  I'm shaving off at least 2 strokes per hole!.

[LovinItAll]

So here is my problem, I typically miss the green and end up about 15ft facing an elevated green, sometimes very steep almost 3-5 ft straight up. I know what I want to do. I want to use my Pitching wedge or Approach wedge and loft the ball up there with some back spin. Without fail I strike the ball and it stays down! Questions: 1. Am I supposed to hit down on the ball, or through the ball? 2. Where is my weight supposed to be front or back foot? Do I lean Back??? 3. Where am I taking aim? Am I trying to lift it upwards??.  Any tips here would me very appreciated If I can solve this problem  I'm shaving off at least 2 strokes per hole!.

Hmm....one of the first things I'd do is try to manage the course so that I didn't have many 5' vertical shots, but when you do: - You're always going to hit down on the ball. 'Hit down to go up' and to create spin. - There are different schools of thought re: weight distribution on short chips/pitches. Some say place more weight on your leading foot (left foot for a righty), some say balance your weight evenly. Try both on the range and see what works for you. - 'Lifting upwards', if I'm taking it as you mean it, is never a good idea. Maybe you mean something different. If you're trying to hit a little lob with an AW or a SW, you may want to open the face and use the bounce of the clubhead to slide the club under the ball. Typically, you'd open your stance some for this shot and aim a little left of your target. The shot will create right sidespin (ball will hit and tend to spin to a righty's right). Maybe someone else can do better than my explanation. Good luck.

[wedgehammer40k]

Thanks for the tips. It's already made me think about a few things. Are there any tips for "hitting downwards"? The mind wants to hit up over obstacles, but as you say you have to hit down to get loft. I think I'm scooping the ball because hitting down is counter intuitive.

[Jon Robert]

Try aligning the ball in your stance off of your torso. Left arm pit, center right ear etc. Then it don't matter where your feet are on any kind of slope etc.  Your weight will take care of itself if you position the ball on a torso location.

Hitting down is probably a function of the mysterious "lag" or better stated - timing.

To hit down ie hit with proper timing STOP STOP STOP trying to hit the ball with your hands.

Rather allow the motion of the torso to pull the arms

which in turn pulls than hands

which in turn pulls the club

which in turn causes the brain to freak out!!!!

When the brain freaks out from the sudden realization that the arms hands club have been pulled into "THE LAG POSITION" then it suddenly throws the club from the lagging position around to hit the ball before it is too late. This magically produces a "down" hit (whether it is really down or not it is a good hit)  The opposite of this is that the brain says if I am going to hit that ball I had better start getting this club turned around right away  to get there on time.  This also can work quite fine but tends to result in shorter distances, more directional error and stuff like hitting fat and other yucky things.

If you really need to go very high over very short distance then either learn to open the face of your indicated  PW or AW to effectively  increase loft or buy a 60 or 64 wedge.

[atb5079]

I've always learned that on short, uphill chips to lean put the ball in the inside of my lead foot and dip my back shoulder down. Hands slightly forward, stance slightly open. Should help for you a bit. On contact make sure you get the ball first then the grass. Too many people wanna dig through earth cause they are afraid of skulling it on short chips. If you get the ball then grass you should be ok.

[Paradox]

no matter what shot you're hitting..align your shoulders to the slope.  If you've got an uphill/downhill chip/pitch..align your shoulders with the slope.  On an uphill chip/pitch you are naturally going to hit the ball higher so it will not roll out as much since it'll come in more vertical.  On a downslope, you're gonna get a lot of roll since the ball comes in flatter.

as for hitting down or "through the ball" as you put it....people use both methods(hinge and hold/putting stroke) depending on the shot.

[wedgehammer40k]

Hey Paradox could you elaborate on those two methods?

Thanks for the tips I played 18 today and once again found myself in some tricky spots facing elevated greens. I attacked the ball with a downward stroke and hey presto I got lift, I used a quarter backwswing - knee height. I also got some good chips on level turf, but rather than hit over (downward) I swept through the ball in a putting motion and followed through getting good contact on the club face with good results.

I think it's Tiger that said it - if all else fails try and good contact with the club face at impact.

On stance, I found getting low, sinking into  my stance bending the knees slighthly improved my feel, I think I was standing to stiff and rigid over the ball.

Thanks for all the insights.

[rustyredcab]

Originally Posted by wedgehammer40k

So here is my problem,

I typically miss the green and end up about 15ft facing an elevated green, sometimes very steep almost 3-5 ft straight up.

I know what I want to do. I want to use my Pitching wedge or Approach wedge and loft the ball up there with some back spin.

Without fail I strike the ball and it stays down!

Questions:

1. Am I supposed to hit down on the ball, or through the ball?

2. Where is my weight supposed to be front or back foot? Do I lean Back???

3. Where am I taking aim? Am I trying to lift it upwards??.

Any tips here would me very appreciated If I can solve this problem  I'm shaving off at least 2 strokes per hole!.

Are you asking about being at the bottom of a steep hill or somewhere on the hill? Rough of closely mown grass?

The setup differs for me depending on the answers to the above questions.

The thing that does not change is the key to the shot: excellent contact. There is little room for error on these short high shots. Bad results from less than perfect contact are magnified on closely mown area shots from the bottom of a hill and you are trying to hit a short. straight up shot.

[wedgehammer40k]

Well since you asked,

This is exactly what I'm talking about. I took this picture on the weekend, as per usual I've missed the green. Notice how the green elevates even more to the right of my ball, I'm usually chipping from that section which is a lot steeper.  This is a pretty bad lie, just so you know I've experienced  the same issues  on a good lie.

[rustyredcab]

So, the good news is the lie is on the hill so the hill will add loft and you should be able to hit it high. Open up the club face, aline your shoulders more with the slope of the hill than simply true level, I play the ball a bit more forward in my stance but not too much as I have a tendency to hit behind my target when going uphill. If you can get the club under the ball, aim at the front spot of the ball and play it almost like a sand shot. For me this would be a classic fop shot. Keeping my weight on my forward foot and my lead arm straight. I try and make perfect contact and don't look up until well after the ball is gone. When I do this well, I need to ask a fellow player where my ball landed because I never saw it. All I want to think about as I swing is contact and visualizing my target landing spot.

I am not going to get any real backspin on the ball from that lie and that short of a distance. Any stopping the ball does will be because it fell from a great height. If that pin is as close as it looks, I'm stuck just making sure I land on the green and take my medicine and give myself a chance to make a 30 foot putt. I'd try and land the ball at least three feet on the green giving me some margin of error if I land short of my intended spot. The worse the lie, the more my spot is on the green.

Take comfort in the fact that this is a really hard shot and anything on the green would be a good result. I try not to get "too greedy."

[wedgehammer40k]

Great post. There is a lot going on in this shot, which is why I feel a bit lost when figuring out what to do. You broke down some of the considerations well, especially on aiming I tend to try and look up too quick rather than mentally visualising the pin.

[Jakester23]

I started looking at my target from behind the ball and taking practice swings while looking at the target not the ball so I can kinda get the feel for the distance of how far I want the ball to go. I kinda get the feel of the distance and walk up to the ball and commit to hitting the shot I just visualized. If I miss hit this shot its mostly because I don't commit to the shot its the same for me on missing shorter putts.

[zeg]

In situations like that, if you're not comfortable with distance control, forget the pin. Aim for the deepest part of the green and focus on making good, downward contact (as has been covered above), and on accelerating through the ball. Until you get a good feel for it, this may end up giving you more distance than is ideal, hence aiming for the deep part of the green. However, you're usually better off far away from the pin but on the green than you are two feet farther up the slope with the same lie on your next shot after dinking one with a babied, decelerating shot.

[Jimdangles]

Everybody is giving good advice about how to chip. with that particular chip I would open up my club and almost hit it like a bunker. make sure you get under the ball and with an open club face that ball is going to pop up and land softly. For weight and all that refer up top.

I am here today to preach about minimizing losses. Looks like if you wanted to miss the green on this shot left looks much better. We all have hopes of hitting the green but If im in between clubs I tend to pick the shorter club because back is usually trouble. Is your miss a draw or a fade. aim more left maybe.

[Fore Left]

From looking at that picture,  it looks like you have VERY LITTLE green to work with.

I would actually open up my 60* wedge,  take a healthy swing,  and hit a flop-shot....  unfortunately this isn't a high percentage shot for most,  and could have terrible consequences if you hit it thin, short, fat, etc.

For a newer golfer,  my advice would be this  (noting that it's really not the best way to do it,  but something that is manageable while you practice)   I would place the ball further back in my stance,  choke down on the club,  hands forward,  and hit into the ball as if you were trapping it into the ground....  to "pop it up"   even doing this,  I wouldn't go directly at the pin in this case,  because with that little green,  you're going to go long anyways if you don't leave it short of the green.

That's just a tough shot really.

[wedgehammer40k]

More great info.

I never even considered not aiming at the pin, now that I think about it I would feel less pressure just concentrating on making the green. It's also a relief to hear that it's considered a tough shot, because it looks like it should be easy yet I seem to destroy it every time - generally topping the ball or imparting it with an extreme slice which I only seem to achieve with my wedge.

Appreciate the advice.

[Jimdangles]

Originally Posted by wedgehammer40k

More great info.

I never even considered not aiming at the pin, now that I think about it I would feel less pressure just concentrating on making the green. It's also a relief to hear that it's considered a tough shot, because it looks like it should be easy yet I seem to destroy it every time - generally topping the ball or imparting it with an extreme slice which I only seem to achieve with my wedge.

Appreciate the advice.

Ya its always a hard thought to process and I have to say I dont even do it myself as often as but usually I can save myself with some decent short game(not lately)  but once your on the green you can just 2 putt most of the time, occasionally make the longer putt for birdie. putting is alot easier than chipping though. its just a hard thought to process to not go for the pin.

[dak4n6]

This is a classic 'feel' shot, where you get to exercise some creativity. I love this part of the game. Your lie will dictate most of how you hit this one. As others have indicated, since you have an uphill lie, that will add a bunch of loft. I don't know that I would go for a full flop, but probably a semi-flop where I open my 56* wedge maybe like 30* (as defined by the leading edge from square). This will still pop the ball up in the air, but is not as exacting as a wide open flop. Remember to keep your spine perpendicular to the slope (don't lean against the slope), and aim a little left of your intended landing spot (always always always always pick a landing spot for any pitch/chip).

Another possibility I might consider is not opening the face, but putting the ball a little more forward in your stance and using a kind of 'dead-handed' shallow swing where the club slides under the ball (but you don't lift up on the ball). This makes the ball come out real soft and high, but you can only hit this off of a clean lie.

If you have access to a chipping green, practice all kinds of these shots. As I said, this is the part of the game where you can really show some creativity. I could never understand when I see people hit the same wedge chip over and over from all kinds of situations.