Wood/hybrid for pitch and run?

[marvin]

What are the pros and cons of using wood and/or hybrid for pitch and run instead of using wedge or short iron?

I think I saw Justin Rose used his driver for pitch and run at the US Open (CMIIW).

Anyone have more success in using wood/hybrid for pitch shot? Does that make sense?

[geauxforbroke]

  marvin said:

What are the pros and cons of using wood and/or hybrid for pitch and run instead of using wedge or short iron?

I think I saw Justin Rose used his driver for pitch and run at the US Open (CMIIW).

Anyone have more success in using wood/hybrid for pitch shot? Does that make sense?

The reasons I don't use a hybrid or wood for running shots:

1. the face is much hotter, so distance control is an issue for me

2. the longer shaft makes it more difficult to control distance as well

3. really easy to catch it heavy or thin with such a small stroke

I've yet to come across a scenario where using the hybrid or wood was a better option (for me) than a putter, wedge, or short iron.

[dchoye]

I just use a putter. but there's nothing wrong with a wood.

just my preference.

[David in FL]

  geauxforbroke said:

The reasons I don't use a hybrid or wood for running shots:

1. the face is much hotter, so distance control is an issue for me

2. the longer shaft makes it more difficult to control distance as well

3. really easy to catch it heavy or thin with such a small stroke

I've yet to come across a scenario where using the hybrid or wood was a better option (for me) than a putter, wedge, or short iron.

Agree......primarily with #'s 1 and 2 above.  The hot face especially is a big issue, and without a LOT of practice, can screw up your feel for normal chips too.

[MiniBlueDragon]

Also agree. The lowest lofted club I like to chip and run is my 4i if at all possible. At a push I might go with my 3h but generally I try to avoid that if at all possible for the reasons stated.

[mdl]

Never have like woods/driver for pitch and run for the hotness of the face reasons stated above.  I don't like to use my hybrid for the same reason, though admittedly it's not as hot as my 3w or driver.

But then again, I've never been a huge fan of the pitch and run with a lower lofted club shot generally.  For me it feels like adding an extra variable (controlling run out) with a smaller zone of quality of contact and swing speed at impact that leaves me on the green.  If I hit a stock medium trajectory pitch with my 54˚ or 60˚, there's a relatively very large zone of contact quality and impact swing speed that at least leaves me on the green.  Even if I'm aiming for hop and stop and don't get the cleanest contact and don't get as much spin as I was hoping, I'll just be 15-20 feet past the hole rather than maybe off the green!  Plus I don't then have to worry about weird hops before the green or calculating exactly how much break I'll get while the ball is still hopping, but not yet totally rolling.

With an 8i or 6i I don't feel like I have the safety zone of things working out alright if I connect a little too well or connect with 10% too much swing speed.  I'd much rather have a great shot give me a tap in, a decent shot give me a 10-20 footer for par, and a bad but not terrible shot probably still leave me with a lag putt.  With a 6i playing a runner, I feel like a great shot gives me a tap in, a decent shot gives me a 10-40 footer, and a bad but not terrible shot leaves me almost surely off the green, where lots of the time I'm then realistically looking at double bogey, and at best hoping to get up and down for bogey.

[Dave2512]

Depends on the lie but I do it somewhat often. Chipped in for birdie with a hybrid about a dozen times in 2013. I use my putting grip and stroke. But I stopped carrying hybrids about a month ago so I'm done for now.

[MS256]

I never use either a hybrid or a wood for shots around the green but my wife does it pretty much all of the time. I know what you are thinking when I say "my wife" but she's actually very good at it. I always joke that she's the best in the world at it and there's not as much hyperbole there as you would think.

She had a short sided 5 yard shot the last time we played that had to go over a steep rise of dormant rough to a fast green sloping away with about 10 feet of green to work with. Of course she had her 3 hybrid to attempt the shot. Nobody in their right mind would use that club on that shot.

I whispered to my son "watch this, totally impossible". Not to my surprise she ran it over the rise, trickled right down to the hole, and more to my surprise, fell in.

I guess if you are good at it you are good at it and she does that sort of thing all the time.

[Hammer 4]

I tried using a 3 wood once from the fringe............never again, just not enough control for me, so I stick with my irons.

[Pretzel]

As an alternative to doing this, I've found two other techniques that work better for me than the three wood chip if your ball is resting on the collar of the rough.

1) Purposefully thin a wedge to top the ball by sort of letting the bounce skim on top of the tall grass (Luke Donald explains it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xafCiw4o4c )

2) Something that my teammates introduced me to was the idea of putting with the toe of your putter. If you have a blade style putter with a flat toe, you can turn it sideways and hit a normal putt. The putter doesn't catch in the grass because the "face" is so narrow with more mass directly placed behind it and it can be consistent with a little bit of practice.

[Golfingdad]

  Pretzel said:

2) Something that my teammates introduced me to was the idea of putting with the toe of your putter. If you have a blade style putter with a flat toe, you can turn it sideways and hit a normal putt. The putter doesn't catch in the grass because the "face" is so narrow with more mass directly placed behind it and it can be consistent with a little bit of practice.

Yeah, on the (rare) occasion where the ball is on the fringe but directly up against rough, this is a sneaky little shot. But it's only worth the risk (if you're not careful it will dart at pretty sharp angles from your target, and it's hard to control speed) in that one unique situation. I think I've only used it during a round, maybe, twice ever. Regarding the hybrid idea, I second (actually I think I'm like 5th or 6th to agree at this point) geauxforbroke about it being too risky with a hot faced club. Way too much variation between a good shot and a mishit. With a wedge or short iron the difference is all in the swing length.

[Kelzzy]

I really really love this shot, but I will always use my 5 iron and toe it in. It's a really fun shot, the best is putting a little hook on it.. really cool. Takes practice though, but can help you out of multiple jams

[mvmac]

  marvin said:

What are the pros and cons of using wood and/or hybrid for pitch and run instead of using wedge or short iron?

I think I saw Justin Rose used his driver for pitch and run at the US Open (CMIIW).

Anyone have more success in using wood/hybrid for pitch shot? Does that make sense?

It can work but I think a short iron is easier.

[jbishop15]

I use my three wood for long pitch runs on occasion; usually when I have a lot of green to cover and its uphill. Otherwise I use my 60 degree for basically everything,

[Kelzzy]

  jbishop15 said:

I use my three wood for long pitch runs on occasion; usually when I have a lot of green to cover and its uphill. Otherwise I use my 60 degree for basically everything,

3-woods are so big and lethargic to do a pitch and run.. but so many people use them. I've used my hybrid for a cut-draw around a tree, but it still got off the ground about 10 feet. It just seems like a 5 iron, or lower irons, will pinch the ball and keep it low.

[David in FL]

  Kelzzy said:

3-woods are so big and lethargic to do a pitch and run.. but so many people use them. I've used my hybrid for a cut-draw around a tree, but it still got off the ground about 10 feet. It just seems like a 5 iron, or lower irons, will pinch the ball and keep it low.

How do you hit a "cut-draw"?

[cipher]

  David in FL said:

How do you hit a "cut-draw"?

You have to first tilt the spin axis to the right and then tip it back to the left.

[David in FL]

  cipher said:

You have to first tilt the spin axis to the right and then tip it back to the left.

While the ball is still actually in contact with the clubface, right?