any point learning to flop shot with lower loft clubs?

[Timmytoe]

I just practise the flop shot using my lob wedge but is there situations where learning it with a sand, gap or pitching wedge be useful?

[ncwoz]

I've heard of people (Seve in particular comes to mind) who "flop" higher lofted clubs to teach good technique and make typical lob wedge flop shots easier. Maybe if you still need to get the ball up in the air, but a further carry than your lob would provide? And you want the added bounce from your sand/gap wedge opened up instead of the lower bounce of your lob? To be honest, that feels like a super rare circumstance, I can't think of many other situations you'd need to hit that shot on the course.

[cnosil]

I seldom have a reason to hit a flop shot; not going to make it more difficult by trying to to it with a club that isn’t my most wanted.

[aerospace_ray]

I just practise the flop shot using my lob wedge but is there situations where learning it with a sand, gap or pitching wedge be useful?

I grew up learning the game with two wedges, ~50 deg/PW & ~55 deg/SW. Both had narrow soles. For a lob type shot > If I had to hit extremely high soft landing type shot i learned to roll face wide open to achieve. Pending turf/ground conditions combined w/carry needed determined if I would attempt the shot. I think at on time I could pull a flop off with a nine iron (what we call pw/gw today regarding loft).
I think it boils down to one's skill and if they have the type sole design with the club-head (non sw/lw) to try.

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[Stuka44]

1 hour ago, Timmytoe said:

I just practise the flop shot using my lob wedge but is there situations where learning it with a sand, gap or pitching wedge be useful?

I agree with cnosil.  I rarely find reason for the hard swing, ball goes 3x higher than it does far, flop shot. Don't practice it so I don't try it. I find an open 56 deg. and I can get the ball across the bunker, and get it stopped reasonably quickly.  I find the risk of the hard swing flop shot too great....skull it..woods..penalty stroke..chip on 2-3 putts and I've added 3 extra strokes to my round.   If you practice it you can probably find you can execute it with those other clubs when the need for added length for the flop presents itself.   Me I can't get the vision of the ball 3 feet off the ground going 70 yards out of my head.

[DaveP043]

I'm wondering why a "flop" with a longer club would ever be desirable.  I'm guessing that flopping a 9-iron, for example, the arc wouldn't be any higher than a normal high pitch with the lob wedge, with a substantially greater percentage of very poor outcomes.  It might be helpful to practice it occasionally, where you know the skulled shot won't kill an innocent bystander, but this is one I don't think I'd ever use on the course.  And this is coming from a guy who routinely practices driver off the ground (or off the mats at the range), just for the confidence that comes with making good contact on such a demanding shot.  I'll hit driver off the deck during a round of golf much more often than a flop shot with a non-lob wedge, and driver off the deck happens maybe 5 times a year..

[Kenny B]

I can't think of a reason why I would flop anything but a LW.  A flop shot is a high risk shot that requires practice if you want to use it.  I practice it, because when I need it, I want some confidence that I can pull it off.  A flop shot with a lower lofted club wouldn't fly as high and would go further.  I can hit that shot with LW/SW with much less risk than a flop shot.

[Shapotomous]

It might be useful to be able to hit a flop shot with your SW if you want to take the LW out of the bag to allow an extra club at the top end of the bag.  That could be a permanent replacement or a temporary one for a certain course.

[xBAGGS]

I don't necessarily see a reason why to use a lower lofted club for a flop except maybe just for technique and practice.  I will usually use 9i to practice some bunker shots.  Helps me with not taking too deep of sand which I tend to do.  I do use my 55* over my 59* for a flop as it seems to be more forgiving.  I had some issues with using my 59* on any short shots around the green and ended up going to my other wedges but allowing for more roll.  After i put that 59* in the proverbial corner, and used the other wedges, my confidence was boosted with the 59 now.   Also its fun messing around with the different shots to try and make a fool of myself.

[Blueberry_Squishie]

It wouldn't hurt your hand-eye coordination.

[DiscipleofPenick]

Stop the flop.

Take Dead Aim

[fixyurdivot]

I'd say yes. There are shots where having the ability to sky and drop a wedge can be very handy.  I can think of several greens on two of the course here in Yuma, AZ that, depending on flag position and where you're playing around the green (more so back side of green), have pretty steep uphill to the green and downhill once on the green.  Being able to have a ball almost drop vertically onto the green can avoid the runaway to the opposite apron.  On nice lies, I'm pretty successful making these shots... but on dry and hard lies it seems a 50/50 proposition.   I do practice these shots with my 56/12, both my regular pitch and roll and hoisting them up and getting them to sit really close to where they land.

[null]

Yes, but not because you’ll use that exact shot on the course, but because it will teach you how to manipulate swing plane, swing path and face angle and build your tool box as a golfer. 
 

 

[Buffly]

On 2/22/2021 at 8:07 AM, Timmytoe said:

I just practise the flop shot using my lob wedge but is there situations where learning it with a sand, gap or pitching wedge be useful?

Yes, I can think of two reasons of using an iron instead of a wedge for a lob style swing:

• Very fluffy lies where the ball is sitting up and a wedge played open would go right under the ball. A less lofted club played open may actually have more effective bounce to prevent going completely under the ball.
• Longer bunker shots around 30-70 yards made easy by using an iron and similar swing to sand wedge with an open face. Opening the face adds loft and bounce, and with less loft to begin with the ball will launch lower and farther without having to swing harder. 

As with any specialty shot, without practice the likelihood of pulling it off is low. So, practice it when you can. If your stuck behind a slow group then hit a couple extra approach shots from terrible lies, bunkers, and/or with different clubs to develop that feel. One of my favorite time to get course practice is about 90 mins before dusk getting a super twilight tee time where I know I wouldn't even finish 9 holes.

Trying a shot you never practice is what I call a "Hero Shot" but practicing a shot you might need one day is part of what makes golf imaginative. I use my range time to hit recovery shots like low punch shots, 20 yard curling shots with an open face 8 iron to 90 yards, and hooks to help me undo some messes I find myself in regularly.

[Timmytoe]

16 hours ago, fixyurdivot said:

I'd say yes. There are shots where having the ability to sky and drop a wedge can be very handy.  I can think of several greens on two of the course here in Yuma, AZ that, depending on flag position and where you're playing around the green (more so back side of green), have pretty steep uphill to the green and downhill once on the green.  Being able to have a ball almost drop vertically onto the green can avoid the runaway to the opposite apron.  On nice lies, I'm pretty successful making these shots... but on dry and hard lies it seems a 50/50 proposition.   I do practice these shots with my 56/12, both my regular pitch and roll and hoisting them up and getting them to sit really close to where they land.

So you use this shot with both a 56* and a 60* am I right? 

[fixyurdivot]

Just now, Timmytoe said:

So you use this shot with both a 56* and a 60* am I right? 

My 56/12 is the most lofted club in the bag. It seems to cover my needs quite well from about 30 yards in.  I can confidently flop my G410 UW (50*) if I'm on nice lies, but when doing so it's most often to clear a tree.  Thus far, I remain a 3 wedge player.

[revkev]

Personally I see no reason what so ever to hit a flop shot in a round of golf - I don't have the time it takes to hit it well enough to use it successfully - I used to work on it some but honestly the best I can ever remember doing is 10 feet - it was an impressive ten feet because I made a big swing and the ball landed dead but I could just have easily left 10 feet hitting a normal shot with my 60.  That would have been the smarter play, for me.  If I'm in a position that calls for a flop shot I've hit a poor approach and am looking to get away with no worse than bogey anyway - choosing the flop brings all sorts of n umbers in - I'll just hit the 60 to 15 feet past and take my chances from there, no muss no fuss.

Better to use the time working on normal chips, pitches, putting, driving, bunker shots, drinking a beer, things that are very useful out on the course.

That's my take.

But again some people enjoy the challenge of hitting a fun looking shot, if that's you by all means go for it.  I can't quite figure out why you'd want to do it with a less lofted wedge unless your lob wedge were a high bounce 60 that you use for sand play and your 56 was the low bounce one.  That would make sense and might actually be easier to execute. 

 

Good luck regardless of what you do.

 

[Tom the Golf Nut]

I'm not in the  norm. I enjoy the flop shot. I use my 60 degree from 60 yards and in unless its a tight lie. It is just a shot I got good at over time. I get it to sit right next to the pin a very large percentage of the time. @stuka44 witnessed me hit one when we played together. I was 60 yards out on hole 13 and hit the pin (yes I have a stupid good golf memory). In one of my golf league final match's I needed par to tie on the last hole. 60 out and holed it for the win. I just like the high flight and landing right at the pin. But in fairness I have a few holes at my course that require it based on your location to the green and the pin location. A couple holes have big bunkers in front of an elevated green.

I would not try using other clubs for this. I stick with the 60.

[Kansas King]

I'm a proponent of flop shots but only when they are actually necessary. Regarding opening up longer clubs, there can actually be a use for it but I wouldn't call it a flop shot. I will open a 9 or 8 iron a little on rare occasions if I have a longer shot and need to clear a tree. These are not flop shots but the extra club length can really help get you a few extra yards on high shots from 130 - 150 yards for me. I have success with the shot but I certainly wouldn't call it a "flop" shot in that sense.

[Kenny B]

1 hour ago, Kansas King said:

I'm a proponent of flop shots but only when they are actually necessary. Regarding opening up longer clubs, there can actually be a use for it but I wouldn't call it a flop shot. I will open a 9 or 8 iron a little on rare occasions if I have a longer shot and need to clear a tree. These are not flop shots but the extra club length can really help get you a few extra yards on high shots from 130 - 150 yards for me. I have success with the shot but I certainly wouldn't call it a "flop" shot in that sense.

I used to do the same at my old course; haven't needed that shot in 5 years at my new course.  On one hole I was too far out from the green for a 9i to get there, and I had to get over a tree.  No going around, and short was no good either.  Opened an 8i, played it a little forward, and made a normal swing.  Got pretty good at it, as I was behind that tree a lot!!

[dlow206]

Given my current skill level, or lack thereof, I've now taken the approach of keeping the ball as low to the ground as possible and letting the ball run. Obviously if there is an obstacle in the way, I hit a pitch in the air, but never try to hit a very high pitch or flop. I basically never hit shots where I have to open up the clubface. For me, opening up the clubface is a guaranteed way for something bad to happen. And the very bad thing that can happen is unpredictable. Could be bladed, could go dead right, could even be a pull. 

[tehuti]

I rarely have a need to hit a flop shot. And it doesn’t end well when I try. I carry a 50° and a 56° sw and that’s it. So the bump and run is my friend.


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[HardcoreLooper]

I'm a strong adherent of getting the ball on the ground and rolling as soon as I can around the green.  But when you short side yourself behind a bunker, that's not going to work.  At some point, you're going to need to hit the high one.

Several years ago, my dad and I were defending champs in his member-guest and got to the final hole in the shootout.  After halving it, I lost the tournament for us in a chip-off by going right under the ball with a lob wedge out of the rough.  One of the better players in the club came up to me in the bar afterward to console me, and he told me that he hits that shot with an open pitching wedge, so if he catches it off the top of the club, there's more mass up there and you're not going to completely fluff it.  Is it a true flop shot?  Probably not.  But it's handy to have in your arsenal if you play courses with fluffy lies around greens.  

I still have nightmares about that shot.  

 

[Kanoito]

On 2/22/2021 at 6:04 PM, cnosil said:

I seldom have a reason to hit a flop shot; not going to make it more difficult by trying to to it with a club that isn’t my most wanted.

This exactly. A flop shot is really last resort bordering on fancy... so I would never think about doing it with lower lofted clubs, not even during practice.