How would YOU play this common shot ??

[inthehole]

OK, here's the scenario & one that we face most every round.      Rough is a bit high around the green.     Approach shot funnels off fringe & winds up a couple feet into the rough.    Sits down low, so it isn't an easy shot out.    Pin is SHORT SIDED, which further complicates the shot.

It is one of my most frustrating shots - the ball is down in the high grass, so you can't just chip it - the rough is like velcro & the ball will barely make it out of the rough, no less onto the green.    If you give it too much juice, in my case it will more than likely end up 25 ft past the pin.

So, lets start with club selection.   I never know if I should use a lob wedge & play it wide open, which will allow me to swing harder & get it up & out, but the risk isn't worth the reward with my limited greenside skills.

I usually play a pitching or gap wedge, but the grass always grabs it & the result is very unpredictable due to how delicate the shot has to be played.

I imagine it's possible to get it out with a hybrid, but I've never tried it.

I always without fail drop at least one shot due to poor execution with this shot - need help.

Would really like to know how you guys play this finesse touch shot - what club & technique ... thanks !

[Spyder]

I will typically play the ball off of my front foot with an open-to-target stance and play my 56° opened up. Making sure to accelerate through the shot is the most important thing in my opinion. I will typically take a 3/4 swing or 1/2 depending on how far I need to fly it.

Decelerating into impact with this shot can cause huge issues though. The ball will either not move, duff forward a few feet, or you run the risk of catching it thin and skulling it to the other side of the green.

Staying under the ball with club acceleration is definitely important. I'm not sure if this is "standard" procedure on this lie, but this is how I approach it with decent success. All in all it's a terrible lie and this shot promotes the most confidence at address, for me, so I stick with it.

[inthehole]

Thanks - good advice on accelerating all the way through impact.    Another aspect that seems to make sense is with regard to opening the club face - would have to be far less resistance from the grass "grabbing" the club, rather than holding the club angle upright or standard.

[granitegolf]

I play this just like a bunker shot. Use the bounce and commit to the shot.

[dak4n6]

Yes this is a toughy. One of the shots IMO that seperates good players from mediocre ones.

I play this like a mini bunker shot (for me getting the 'bunker' swing imagery in my head helps in keeping the clubhead moving and keeps me from getting too timid). Open stance, open clubface, and slide the club under the ball. As you said, the open face helps in not letting the grass grab it, and yes deceleration is the shot killer here. Be confident and believe in your shot. If anything, err on the side of aggressiveness. Nothing saps the confidence meter like a stab or a stub that moves the ball only 6 inches.

[LuciusWooding]

If the ball is sitting up, I use my open SW to pitch or play a lower shot with a square face as if it's on the fringe. Sitting down, it depends on the turf conditions.

I'd pull my lob wedge and rest it near the ball, and if I like what I feel on the ground I'll hit a flop shot without using much more than dead weight to fly it like 8 feet. If the lie is fluffy with the ball off the ground, but I want the same type of shot, I hit my SW with more bounce but use the same face angle and technique. Of course I'll use the slope of the green to leave it near the hole, since there's little chance of holing it. At my local courses, the greens generally roll below 10, and we get plenty of rain, so the greens are usually nice and soft if you can get the trajectory high enough. I'd imagine faster and firmer greens would necessitate applying the breaks instead of crash landing, but it's a crap shoot from the rough.

If I feel the lie is hopeless, I'll try to hit it out with my sand wedge, similar to a typical pitch except a bit more of a dig. Just want to make contact with the leading edge below the equator and knock it forward without getting too dead a hit. I'm generally not too picky about the grass trapped against the ball, I usually don't try to play spinny shots inside of 20 yards. At this range, it's easier to try to focus on contact and/or trajectory.

[zeg]

I'm not going to describe my technique, because it's not good enough to be of use, but I am trying to stop worrying about being 25 feet past the pin on difficult shots like this one. Sure, I try my best to gauge it, but I don't dare come up way short---better a 25-foot putt (or, if you really blow it, another chip that's not short-sided) than a second try at this shot.

The truth is that I rarely overshoot as much as I think I will.

[colin007]

If it's nestled all the way down in deep rough, i come down steep, sometimes stopping the club in the ground, and try to pop it out

[David in FL]

If it's nestled all the way down in deep rough, i come down steep, sometimes stopping the club in the ground, and try to pop it out

Yep. Ball will pop up and out with no spin. 20 feet past the pin is a hundred times better than not getting it out of the rough. Better yet, don't short side yourself in the first place! ;-)

[mad max]

Originally Posted by zeg

I'm not going to describe my technique, because it's not good enough to be of use, but I am trying to stop worrying about being 25 feet past the pin on difficult shots like this one. Sure, I try my best to gauge it, but I don't dare come up way short---better a 25-foot putt (or, if you really blow it, another chip that's not short-sided) than a second try at this shot.

The truth is that I rarely overshoot as much as I think I will.

I agree I call it "taking your medicine" it might not taste good but you will be beater off in the long run.  For me the difference between a 25' putt and a 10' putt is only about .30 of a stroke.  Leaving the ball in heavy rough costs me a full stroke.  I see people of my skill leavel trying to hit a fancy flop shot that lands on the fringe and trickles down to the cup and 30% of the time they don't clear the rough another 20% of the time they scull it over the green, another 35% of the time the ball doesn't end up at a make able distance that only leaves, 15% where everything works out and they have a good chance to get up and down.  So in my opinion if you are a bogey golfer and you land in thick rough around the green you should just concentrate on getting in the hole in 3 shots not trying to make the great up and down.

[inthehole]

Thanks everybody - appreciate the tips !    Now at least I have a plan for how to attack this shot confidently ...

[uttexas]

Short sided like you mentioned, I'd play this with my 60 degree, using the bounce--like a bunker shot. I try to slap or thump the bounce of the club under the ball. If there's lots of green to work with, I'd use my 56, striking down hands well ahead of ball at impact. Accelerating through the ball (striking the match as Gary Player likes to say) is key for both shots.

[evan01]

Take a look at the way tiger and jack Nicklaus play it. They have  small take away  with a high lofted club and  stuff the club at the base of the ball. I have tried it and it works great. Ball jumps up and dies with little roll. No scoop no follow thru. The club stops at the base of the ball. Give it a try. If I could post a utube shot I would. No techno skills with the computer.

[WVUgolf21]

Sometimes in that situation I will take my 8 iron and putt it out takes a little practice but has saved me many strokes when using a wedge doesnt seem safe

[Valleygolfer]

Chunk it into the turf with a 60. Phil Mickelson shows this in his video. The other is to use a putting stroke with a hybrid. First one works very well.

[inthehole]

Originally Posted by evan01

stuff the club at the base of the ball. I have tried it and it works great.

do you mean intentionally jab the wedge into the ground & stop all forward motion of the club on contact ?    I've actually done this (not intentionally), and as I recall it works - now I need to practice doing it on purpose.

[Spyder]

Originally Posted by inthehole

do you mean intentionally jab the wedge into the ground & stop all forward motion of the club on contact ?    I've actually done this (not intentionally), and as I recall it works - now I need to practice doing it on purpose.

In my opinion, this shot can be much more difficult to pull off than a flop shot. When you're accelerating through the ball, you will at least make some sort of contact with the ball and if anything, have a better second shot whether you're putting or you only flop out to the fringe; the end result is a clean, doable shot.

When you stop the club, you run a very high percent chance for unintended results. Skulling the ball becomes much easier. Touch, feel and control are nearly out of the window because it is not natural to "slap" at the ball and stop forward motion. For me, personally, this is a last resort shot.

One big misconception with the flop is that a lot of golfers will actually stand almost facing the ball with a stance that is far too open. With this stance, you're practically swiping the ball from the side. This is when golfers run into trouble with skulling or duffing, or coming completely under the ball with no contact.

Accelerating through the ball with confidence and a proper stance (open to target and ball off the front foot's big toe) with an open club face (56-64°) (I personally use a 60) and a steep swing is how I approach a buried lie near the green with great success. Just don't forget that the pin is not always the go-to target. Sometimes you will need to simply think green, or go for the largest percentage of green that you have to work with. I'm surely not trying to hole out on every bad lie. If the pin is short sided and there's 10 feet between myself and the ball though and I'm flopping to an elevated green, I would take the same approach with a 3/4 swing at an appropriate club speed.

I guess I am just strongly against stopping the club to chop it out green-side because you can end up with a similar lie on the other side of the green far more often than you would with a clean flop. Part of this is because when you stop motion of the club, you have a natural tendency to get "handsy" and the club face will often pass your hands. This can cause the sole of the club to begin a positive AOA and cause you to blade or "skull" the ball.

Here's a great video with some tips on flopping. Yes, it's Phil and he's the god of this shot in my opinion... but with practice you can duplicate the shot and become comfortable with it.

[saevel25]

Depends on how deep the grass is, and how thick it is.

Also, is the ball on the side of a hill, meaning, your front foot will be higher than your back foot. If so, then the shot i like to play is were you kinda hit the ball and the ground at the same time, no follow through, just a thud. The ball will just pop out and fly about 2-3 yards and land softly.

You can also try to hit a flop shot, but if you have any sort of grass under the ball you can just leave the ball there, its really not like sand were the sand will carry the ball.

If its a level lie, i usually just accept that i short sided myself, i will aim for a spot on the green were the ball will go towards the pin, and i will try to chip the ball to that spot, usually it carries a bit farther, but i am hoping the ball hits the pin. If not, then i will just accept a 10-15 foot par put. Next time i will not miss it short side. I rather have a putter than another short sided chip.