What's your go-to rescue shot?

[TheCanadianBogeyman]

We all do it more often than we like.  Put a ball into a bad spot and have to dig ourselves out of the situation.  So do you guys have a go to get out of trouble shot that you are confident in? Or are you coming up with whatever you think will work best on the spot?

For me trouble is usually an errant tee shot that puts me in the trees, or near enough that I can't flight a normal shot back into play.  So my most confident rescue is a punch/short stinger 6 iron, played far back in my stance, to get back into play.  I feel confident enough that I can hit it short and accurately enough to get out of the trees, or play longer and run it up the fairway closer to the green if I have the room.  It's saved bogey for me several times on holes where I should have scored far worse.

[GolfSpy_APH]

I don't mind the blank thought hit and hope shot. Had to use it a few times the last few rounds and its worked out well. However my go to recovery shot is usually when I get to the green and need to make a big putt. 

[GolfSpy_SHARK]

I’m with you a low stinger is 99.9% my go to because like you typically my rescue shot is from a group of trees. If I am able to advance I typically go 5 iron and like you with the 6 can control the 5 pretty well and can hit it really any distance needed.

[Chip Strokes]

29 minutes ago, Lacassem said:

I’m with you a low stinger is 99.9% my go to because like you typically my rescue shot is from a group of trees. If I am able to advance I typically go 5 iron and like you with the 6 can control the 5 pretty well and can hit it really any distance needed.

i need this shot, like yesterday. 

i can’t, for the life of me, keep the ball low enough to pull this off. 

and in the rare event i do, it comes out so hot that i end up back in jail behind the green or through the other side of the fairway. 

luckily, my misses off the tee are usually bad enough to leave me in the next fairway with a shot over the trees and back in to play. 

[GolfSpy_SHARK]

19 minutes ago, Chip Strokes said:

i need this shot, like yesterday. 

i can’t, for the life of me, keep the ball low enough to pull this off. 

and in the rare event i do, it comes out so hot that i end up back in jail behind the green or through the other side of the fairway. 

luckily, my misses off the tee are usually bad enough to leave me in the next fairway with a shot over the trees and back in to play. 

I struggled with distance for a while. The most helpful thing for me was when using planemate and keeping my hands low, and the ball in the back of the feed. 
unfortunately  had to use it a lot the second half of the year this year, felt like I was getting myself in trouble for a lot of holes

[Middler]

^^ Same here. You have to have a repertoire of recovery shots, being good at one limits your chances of success. I don't have a best or favorite, and unfortunately I get to practice most of my repertoire often. Punch outs, very high loft over trees, fairway bunkers, short sided chip/pitch, partial swing layups, bunker fried eggs-under a lip-against back lip, severe sidehills, etc. I've made scrambling pars and birdies, and some double bogeys too.

To me one of the greatest recovery skills is knowing when to just take your medicine, versus going for a risky low odds recovery shot - too many people opt for the latter, self included sometimes...

[silver & black]

A sip of beer and a prayer. 

[Stuka44]

On 9/24/2022 at 2:29 AM, TheCanadianBogeyman said:

For me trouble is usually an errant tee shot that puts me in the trees,

I will 3rd, or 4th this.  I am not ashamed to say I am becoming something of an expert, in answering the question, "Exactly how hard do you hit a 4 iron from 125 yards, out from underneath the trees".  Ball almost uncomfortably far back in my stance, hands slightly in front of the ball, ignore the tree 35 feet in front of you, and all the others, and let it rip!  If the gaps in the trees are a little more forgiving I will use a 5 iron.

[ejgaudette]

2 minutes ago, stuka44 said:

I will 3rd, or 4th this.  I am not ashamed to say I am becoming something of an expert, in answering the question, "Exactly how hard do you hit a 4 iron from 125 yards, out from underneath the trees".  Ball almost uncomfortably far back in my stance, hands slightly in front of the ball, ignore the tree 35 feet in front of you, and all the others, and let it rip!  If the gaps in the trees are a little more forgiving I will use a 5 iron.

I have actually worked out how far 5 through 8 iron run out on a punch trying to keep the recovery game strong.

 

[TheCanadianBogeyman]

21 hours ago, ejgaudette said:

I have actually worked out how far 5 through 8 iron run out on a punch trying to keep the recovery game strong.

 

I should probably do that as well.  I typically just have my 6 iron dialed.  But I need to make a shot like that enough that it would probably be beneficial to know my distances with different clubs.