How would you play this shot?

[saevel25]

Basically you are 30 inches from the green in 2 inches of rough, 12 inches from the fringe that is 18 inches wide. The green has a downhill slope of 3% for the first half tapering off to a 2% slope by the pin and a STIMP reading of 11 to a pin that is about 25 feet away from you.

This was close to the shot Spieth had on hole #3 about 10 minutes ago. He played the ball back in his stance, shaft lean forward and he tried to pop the ball out of the rough a short distance. He ended up stubby the club in the ground causing the ball to come out way short of the pin.

I am thinking the shot might be to open the clubface up, take the club up and let gravity drop the club behind the ball popping it up softly.

How would you play this shot?

[boogielicious]

Basically you are 30 inches from the green in 2 inches of rough, 12 inches from the fringe that is 18 inches wide. The green has a downhill slope of 3% for the first half tapering off to a 2% slope by the pin and a STIMP reading of 11 to a pin that is about 25 feet away from you.

This was close to the shot Spieth had on hole #3 about 10 minutes ago. He played the ball back in his stance, shaft lean forward and he tried to pop the ball out of the rough a short distance. He ended up stubby the club in the ground causing the ball to come out way short of the pin.

I am thinking the shot might be to open the clubface up, take the club up and let gravity drop the club behind the ball popping it up softly.

How would you play this shot?

If I read your description correctly, I do a little pitch shot with either my 58 or 52 to just make the green or hit the fringe and let it roll out.  I had one like this last week and it worked out well.  I still went by the hole but had a 5 or 6 foot come back putt.  I'd use the 58 if it is all the way down and the 52 if it is a fluffy lie.  My stimp was ~9.

[mdl]

Love these threads.

I agree with the high, soft shot.  That's my go to in this situation.  The only caveat is if the ball's sitting down.  In that case, or if I've got a really tight lie, then my risk of blading either a high pitch or a full flop get too high (I need to work on that, haven't done a ton of non-stock short game practice for a pretty long time).  But yeah, in 2 inches of rough with any space under the ball, I'm playing a high shot with an open club face to glide through the rough more easily.

I've never done AimPoint so I don't have a good internal idea of exactly what a 3% to 2% grade looks like.  I'm not a super expert on how stimp readings translate to my experience of fast and slow greens either, but my understanding is that 11 isn't quite pool table lightning fast, but is quite fast.  So quite fast downhill with 25 feet of green and only a few feet off the green, I'm probably aiming to land that shot maybe 3-5' onto the green and letting it roll the rest of the way out.

[boogielicious]

Love these threads.

I agree with the high, soft shot.  That's my go to in this situation.  The only caveat is if the ball's sitting down.  In that case, or if I've got a really tight lie, then my risk of blading either a high pitch or a full flop get too high (I need to work on that, haven't done a ton of non-stock short game practice for a pretty long time).  But yeah, in 2 inches of rough with any space under the ball, I'm playing a high shot with an open club face to glide through the rough more easily.

I've never done AimPoint so I don't have a good internal idea of exactly what a 3% to 2% grade looks like.  I'm not a super expert on how stimp readings translate to my experience of fast and slow greens either, but my understanding is that 11 isn't quite pool table lightning fast, but is quite fast.  So quite fast downhill with 25 feet of green and only a few feet off the green, I'm probably aiming to land that shot maybe 3-5' onto the green and letting it roll the rest of the way out.

3% on a stimp of 11 will roll out a lot.  My pitch wouldn't be that high, but just enough to get over the rough and onto the fringe or green edge.

[oregongolfguy]

is the ball sitting down or fluffed up?  what is the lie....With the picture that is drawn in my mind I am probably going to play like a 7 or 8 iron.  Something that I don't have to worry about sliding under the ball as much.  Pop it out of the rough and let it release/roll out to the hole...

[dkolo]

Yeah, I'm basically going to flop it with a choked up 60° opened up all the way. I'll aim to softly land it just on the green and go from there. Getting it on with any sort of speed sounds dangerous.

[Truegolf]

I would set up like Spieth with essentially the same motion use a LW except I would make sure I rolled the ball close to the hole He probably stubbed it because he was off balance Always good to do a few practice strokes before actual shot if balance is an issue

[billchao]

If the ball is sitting up, I'd probably putt it. I've had some success putting out of greenside rough this year. 18 inches is doable. If it's sitting down, I probably would opt for a toe down chip-putt.

[mvmac]

How would you play this shot?

If I'm reading it right it seems like you just want to land it on the green a few feet and the ball will feed down towards the hole. I'd basically do like you said, play a semi-bunker type shot.

[vangator]

Based on what I think I'm seeing from the description, I would play a 60* back in my stance and do a little pop. A lot of forward lean with no wrists. It's a leading edge shot, but I practice that a lot. Bermuda rough in Florida requires some digging with the leading edge. I have a 68* wedge that I use for real trouble shots. It has no bounce, so it's kind of always a leading edge chip. Never use it for full shots. Only for shots I want to get up and stop quickly. I use an aggressive pop back a little in my stance. It's a wonder club.

[bste]

Well, 2 inches of rough is pretty short, no need to come into it at a steep angle.

sounds like a PW to hop to the fringe, bounce once and roll as far away from the hole as I can get and still be on the green.  lol

But, like vangator said, If it's bermuda rough, 60 LW pop and roll.

[vangator]

Well, 2 inches of rough is pretty short, no need to come into it at a steep angle. sounds like a PW to hop to the fringe, bounce once and roll as far away from the hole as I can get and still be on the green.  lol But, like vangator said, If it's bermuda rough, 60 LW pop and roll.

Two inch rough around greens is usually pretty thick. A ball is only 1.6 inches so if it's sitting down, this could be a real bitch of a shot.

[Gunther]

Yeah, I'm basically going to flop it with a choked up 60° opened up all the way. I'll aim to softly land it just on the green and go from there. Getting it on with any sort of speed sounds dangerous.

My approach as well. Easier said than done of course.

[WatchOutLeft]

I would blade it over the green. Or did you mean how would I attempt to play it?

[vangator]

I practice shots like this since the rough around the greens can be tough since they get watered more than the course rough. Bermuda rough can be evil at times. I've played courses where I've lost balls that went past the apron. You try to find them with your feet. That would incur a penalty for most folks, but I cheat like a dog. :)

[CarlSpackler]

It all depends on the lie. Sitting down, open the L wedge. If it's sitting up, I would probably bump it with my hybrid.

[joekelly]

Vangator.  Is that 68* thing called the 'Flop Wedge'?  Hard to believe such an iron is not a home-made contraption, bent and ground down to resemble a bezel on a stick.

And regarding the rough at Dublin OH this time of year, very unlikely to be Bermuda grass.  So you guys from FL would not know how to play the shot.  Nice try , though.

Did Spieth carry a 'chipper' iron?  That would be one way to just get the ball onto the green and let it run.  Check it out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyss-lLroSE

[dchoye]

Basically you are 30 inches from the green in 2 inches of rough, 12 inches from the fringe that is 18 inches wide. The green has a downhill slope of 3% for the first half tapering off to a 2% slope by the pin and a STIMP reading of 11 to a pin that is about 25 feet away from you.

This was close to the shot Spieth had on hole #3 about 10 minutes ago. He played the ball back in his stance, shaft lean forward and he tried to pop the ball out of the rough a short distance. He ended up stubby the club in the ground causing the ball to come out way short of the pin.

I am thinking the shot might be to open the clubface up, take the club up and let gravity drop the club behind the ball popping it up softly.

How would you play this shot?

is it like this?

Phil had longer chip shot but also fast downhill off a downhill lie but the ball sitting up, so flopping is possible.

I dont think the flop shot is possible if the ball was sitting tight and downhill.

I might just try to hit a rolling chip shot and hope it hits the pin or 15 foot from the hole.