Moecat Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2010/jul/20/jim-suttie-mastering-running-chip-or-pitch/ If any of you watched the British Open last week, you noticed a shot many of the pros were using: The running chip or pitch. St. Andrews has large greens with generous sloping. Oftentimes, right off the green, the grass is cut quite low where it almost resembles the green. This is one of the main reasons you saw the Europeans dominating this tournament. They are used to playing low-running shots into the green, where the Americans are more used to just throwing the ball up in the air and lobbing it more to the pin. This is due to the construction of our courses here in America. A golfer has many options in this situation. You can run it with an 8-iron, pitch and run it with a pitching wedge, run it through the grass with a hybrid, or simply putt it through the short grass. This past week, we saw many of the players just putting the ball from 20 yards off the green, because the cut of the grass just off the green was almost as short as the green itself. Likewise, many of the Florida courses have embankments just in front of the green, but the grass is cut very short where you can run the ball right up the embankment. It might require a putt in this situation. Just treat this like a long putt, and do your best to get the feel for the distance. Unfortunately, most of us will automatically pull out that sand wedge and try to lob it on the green. This is our training. The Europeans should have no trouble beating the Americans in the Ryder Cup this year, because Americans still haven't learned to play European golf. And in Europe, it's their way or the highway. Here are some tips on the run-up shot: â– Play the ball back in your stance. â– Lean your weight to the left at address. â– Make sure your hands are ahead of the clubhead, at address and through impact. â– If you use a hybrid, short iron, or pitching wedge, choke down on the club and de-loft the club to three to four degrees. If you are using your putter to run the ball to the hole, just take your normal stroke with a longer backstroke. The key here is practice, as you must get the feel of the length of the grass that you have to run the ball through. If the pin is a long ways from you, for goodness sakes, don't try to lob it to the hole. Also, let's say you might have short-sided yourself, and the pin is quite close to you, and you must go up an embankment to a pin that is very close to you. If the grass is cut close enough, just putt it up the embankment. It doesn't look as pretty was you will find it is quite effective. The next time your ball is close to the pin around the green, weigh you options. Don't simply take out your 60-degree sand wedge and lob it up in the air. Get creative around the green. Dr. Jim Suttie, 2000 National PGA Teacher of the Year, operates Suttie Golf at The Club at Twin Eagles North Naples and Cog Hill Golf Club, Lemont, Ill. Suttie is a Golf Magazine Top 100 Teacher and rated No. 15 in Golf Digest Best 50 Teachers. Suttie is the director of golf for the FGCU golf program. For lessons and program information call 800-765-3838 or [email protected] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheymike Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 I often use a 5, 6 or 7 iron for these shots also, depending on how far I want the ball to run after it lands. I try to have it land just onto the green and let it run to the flag, depending on distance from edge of green to flag. •Never argue with an idiot. First, he will drag you down to his level. Then he will beat you with experience!• Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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