5 Feet Off The Green - Front Pin... What Do You Do?

[Wally]

Bump an 8 or 9 iron that lands on the edge of the green and rolls 15-20 feet. Assuming by 6 paces you mean 18 feet. Though with just 5 feet and in the fairway with no rough spots I'd probably putt it.

Usually I'd chip it or hit a bump and run, but I may putt if the ball has a good clear path to roll on.

[Fourputt]

If there is nothing unusual going on, it's a straightforward chip.  Carry the 5 feet onto the green, then let it roll out the 15 feet on the green (he said 6 paces on, which translate to about 15 feet for most people).  I don't see anything too surprising about it unless there is an adjustment necessary for the slope.

[tmac20]

I always putt these, unless the fairways are in terrible condition.

[David in FL]

If there is nothing unusual going on, it's a straightforward chip.  Carry the 5 feet onto the green, then let it roll out the 15 feet on the green (he said 6 paces on, which translate to about 15 feet for most people).  I don't see anything too surprising about it unless there is an adjustment necessary for the slope.

Yep. I'll make more with a wedge than a putter on this one.

[Mulligan Jeff]

After watching the British Open I'm all for the Texas wedge - 90% of the time you will leave yourself a makeable putt...

[mvmac]

Originally Posted by David in FL

17 hcp, absolutely.

But tell me that you're not bringing a couple of wedges with you to look at it......

Yeah and I would probably still end up putting it

[boogielicious]

If the apron grass is short and cut evenly, then putt.  If it is like the course I play my league on, pitch or chip.

[Bridge]

Originally Posted by mvmac

Putt it every time

Yep. I found this to be great, got it from the local pro

Paraphrasing:

"Putt when you can, chip when you have to, pitch when you must. Any time you put the ball in the air the penalty for failure dramatically increases"

Disclaimer; I'm new, but this^ advise has helped me

[Fourputt]

Originally Posted by Bridge

Quote:

Originally Posted by mvmac

Putt it every time

Yep. I found this to be great, got it from the local pro

Paraphrasing:

"Putt when you can, chip when you have to, pitch when you must. Any time you put the ball in the air the penalty for failure dramatically increases"

Disclaimer; I'm new, but this^ advise has helped me

My only question to this is "How often do you see a pro putt through 5 feet of fringe on TV?"  Even at the Open it depends on the course and situation.  At most tournaments in the US it's very rare because of the softer, more lush grass.  That makes it hard to judge speed, and it makes it less likely that the ball will hold a good line rolling through it.  Any grain will have a greater effect on the ball.  I will putt only if there is two feet or less of fringe to roll through, or if I have a difficult downhill or level lie to a down sloping green.  Most would feel that the "putt when you can" statement was intended for shots with a lot less than 5 feet of fringe to go through.

That said, I have a buddy who is a horrible chipper, and doesn't seem to have any interest in changing that fact (He'll spend 2 hours on the range, but never go near the chipping green).  I've seen him putt through 10 feet of dormant rough when we play in the winter.  The result isn't always great, but it's usually better than he'd have done by chipping.

[Bridge]

Originally Posted by Fourputt

My only question to this is "How often do you see a pro putt through 5 feet of fringe on TV?"  Even at the Open it depends on the course and situation.  At most tournaments in the US it's very rare because of the softer, more lush grass.  That makes it hard to judge speed, and it makes it less likely that the ball will hold a good line rolling through it.  Any grain will have a greater effect on the ball.  I will putt only if there is two feet or less of fringe to roll through, or if I have a difficult downhill or level lie to a down sloping green.  Most would feel that the "putt when you can" statement was intended for shots with a lot less than 5 feet of fringe to go through.

That said, I have a buddy who is a horrible chipper, and doesn't seem to have any interest in changing that fact (He'll spend 2 hours on the range, but never go near the chipping green).  I've seen him putt through 10 feet of dormant rough when we play in the winter.  The result isn't always great, but it's usually better than he'd have done by chipping.

Agreed, like you said its a situational thing, I'm not putting through 5' of fringe, so thats a "chip when you have to" deal.

My chipping is at the Jekel/Hyde stage, sometimes terrific, other times its an exercise in frustration.

A bunch of the fringes here are cut at 3/32", so for a guy like me I can minimize my liability by pushing the "easy button".

[MS256]

Hmmm...Lots of blanket statements here.

My wife would putt from that far off of the green most of the time (and she's pretty good at it). If she doesn't "putt" it with a putter she "putts" it with a 3 hybrid (and she's pretty good at that).

My son almost never likes to putt through any amount of fringe and uses from a SW to a 9 iron (and he's very good at that).

I'm somewhere in the middle and probably split the decision about equally. On nice courses with no Dallas grass or crab grass in the fringes I putt more often and on other courses I play I would almost never try to putt the ball through 5 feet of fringe when a putting style stroke with a PW takes the fringe out of play.

If the green is elevated, a feature that seems to be more common around here than in some other places I play, it's very hard to judge the speed up the slope of the fringe (almost always against the grain). Most of the seniors that play in our Saturday game are in the "Putt it every time" camp and they don't get up and down a very high percentage of the time when putting up the steep slope to the greens (and nobody else would either). Of course the caveat is that they wouldn't get up and down in those situations if they chipped it either. Not having a way to execute that shot consistently kills their scores each week because it combines very badly with their second biggest mistake, which is to not have enough club into the green way too many times.

Any one of them would pick up several strokes a round by always taking one more club than they think they need on all approach shots and to buy a chipper or use a fairway wood or hybrid for those "putts" from off of the green...But they will never change.

[k-troop]

Though I wouldn't say putt it 100% of the time, I agree with MVMAC's sentiment:  under most conditions, most golfers have a better chance of getting down in 2 with a putter.  The two variables are 1) what are you trying to accomplish (up-and-down or make) and 2) what is the grass like between the ball and the green.

If I'm trying to get up and down, then I'll always putt unless the grass between the ball and the green is really bad.

If I'm trying to make it, then I'll chip unless the grass between the ball and the green is perfect.

Whether you're trying to make or just get down in 2 depends mostly on the slope.  (FWIW I'll almost never leave this chip outside of 4 feet unless there's significant slope, so I'm comfortable with this option).

[Kevin04]

I'm pretty happy with my short game, but almost dread that shot you describe. I'd honestly prefer it to be nestled up in Carnasty rough - that way I could get a huge swing at it. 5 out of 10 times - I'll under hit that shot you describe if I chip it.

I've started recently and it's working to a fair degree is doing a little ''dunt and run'' using a driver with a putting stroke, and long term I'd maybe like to have confidence to get the sand or pitch out, but right now it's doing well.

[Fairway_CY]

Originally Posted by mvmac

Seems like from Fairway_CY's post that the shot is pretty standard, no uphill or downhill steep slopes to contend with.  5ft between him and the green, tournament situation, 17 handicap, makes sense to putt it to me.

Yeah... this is pretty much it, in a nutshell.  I was just curious to see the different replies.

Looking at them... the guys with the lower handicaps (for the most part) all seem to have brought up the variables (slope, grain, length of grass, etc).  The higher handicaps (again, for the most part) all seem to have a 'comfort' shot they go to in a situation like that.

For me... it's almost entirely a comfort thing.  I'll bring a wedge with me, in case there is an ugly patch in the path of the ball... but, as of right now, I don't feel comfortable playing the chip... so I go with the putt whenever I can.

Anyway... it's cool to see how different people approach the game.  I find it interesting that there is a fairly prominent line on the handicap scale as to how people respond to threads like this and how they approach every shot on the course.

It gives me something to think about, for sure.

CY

[Mr. Desmond]

Depending on the lie and what's in front of the ball, it's pray, putt, chip, pitch... bring putter and LW.

[mp33 man]

My only question to this is "How often do you see a pro putt through 5 feet of fringe on TV?"  Even at the Open it depends on the course and situation.  At most tournaments in the US it's very rare because of the softer, more lush grass.  That makes it hard to judge speed, and it makes it less likely that the ball will hold a good line rolling through it.  Any grain will have a greater effect on the ball.  I will putt only if there is two feet or less of fringe to roll through, or if I have a difficult downhill or level lie to a down sloping green.  Most would feel that the "putt when you can" statement was intended for shots with a lot less than 5 feet of fringe to go through. That said, I have a buddy who is a horrible chipper, and doesn't seem to have any interest in changing that fact (He'll spend 2 hours on the range, but never go near the chipping green).  I've seen him putt through 10 feet of dormant rough when we play in the winter.  The result isn't always great, but it's usually better than he'd have done by chipping.

You said it exactly right,"how often you see a PRO putt through 5 feet of fringe on TV", that's why they are pros because they are able to execute the low percentage shot that most of us are unable to execute. That being said I agree that I will usually pitch this shot with my 60 deg wedge unless its downhill in which case I have a 2i hybrid that I like to use with a pitting stroke. I also get a little inconsistent when I'm going into the grain or if the grass is sticky.

[Fourputt]

Originally Posted by mp33 man

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fourputt

My only question to this is "How often do you see a pro putt through 5 feet of fringe on TV?"  Even at the Open it depends on the course and situation.  At most tournaments in the US it's very rare because of the softer, more lush grass.  That makes it hard to judge speed, and it makes it less likely that the ball will hold a good line rolling through it.  Any grain will have a greater effect on the ball.  I will putt only if there is two feet or less of fringe to roll through, or if I have a difficult downhill or level lie to a down sloping green.  Most would feel that the "putt when you can" statement was intended for shots with a lot less than 5 feet of fringe to go through.

That said, I have a buddy who is a horrible chipper, and doesn't seem to have any interest in changing that fact (He'll spend 2 hours on the range, but never go near the chipping green).  I've seen him putt through 10 feet of dormant rough when we play in the winter.  The result isn't always great, but it's usually better than he'd have done by chipping.

You said it exactly right,"how often you see a PRO putt through 5 feet of fringe on TV", that's why they are pros because they are able to execute the low percentage shot that most of us are unable to execute.

That being said I agree that I will usually pitch this shot with my 60 deg wedge unless its downhill in which case I have a 2i hybrid that I like to use with a pitting stroke. I also get a little inconsistent when I'm going into the grain or if the grass is sticky.

This is not a low percentage shot.  It's an ordinary routine chip shot that the OP proposed.  Nothing unusual or difficult about it.  I'm a long, long way from being a pro, but I hit this with my 51° gap wedge and get it within a couple of feet 4 out of 5 times.  I actually like my chances of holing it out.

[meenman]

37 degree niblick with a putting stroke