Short chips from Rough

[HighFade]

Situation: you are about 10 feet off the green in modest rough. Pin is about 15 feet away, green slopes away from you, towards the hole.

 

Do you take a larger swing with a lob wedge or sand wedge, or a shorter swinging chip?

 

I've found that my lob wedge is a little too light to get through the rough. But if I take my gap wedge and chip it, the club has enough weight to get through the rough without too much effort. My theory is that chipping will probably not be able to stop it too closely to the hole, but it's better than flubbing a pitch shot.

 

Any thoughts?

[RoverRick]

How about a pitching wedge, toe down, shaft vertical, an agressive putting stroke? The idea is to pop it out of the grass and carry it just far enough to land past the fringe on the green. You said it 10 feet to the green and another 15 to the flag so you should be able be able to use a pitching wedge. You said the green slopes away towards the hole. The idea it of course to put it into the hole. So you have to at least get it to the hole to have a chance. If it is a serious slope you may want to use a sand or gap wedge,

 

But on relatively level greens I use this all the time. I vary the clubs I use depending on the carry/roll. If I have 4/1 lob, 3/1 sand, 2/1 gap, 1/1 pitching wedge. 1/2 9 iron 1/3 8 iron, 1/4 7 iron.

Uphill or downhill make causes this to shift a club. Now standing at the bag I look and see the approximate relationship of Carry to roll I want. I then make the club selection, in this case I have approximately 1:1 ratio. So that decision is made, do not question it. You are committed and now the only thing that matters is to pop this ball so that it lands half way to the hole. We already know that it will roll about the same distance because it is a pitching wedge.

 

So since the ball will roll that last part like a putt you have to read the last part like a putt. You then decided where you want the ball to land to make it do this, Now that that decission is made all you have to do is get beside the ball and take three or four practice swings, using this almost putting stroke. To borrow a term from Raymond Floyd you are now "Putting with loft," so you take the practice strokes, I always do one that is obviously too hard, One that is obviously too soft and then a few that feel right, I even think, too hard, too soft, better, better, yeah that is it. I then take careful aim at my spot and hit the ball.

 

Twice today I hit the flag stick, and once I stopped an inch from it. I chipped in twice Saturday while playing 9 holes for $100.

 

Three times today i used the wrong club and left myself long putts. But I made two of them.

 

Now the reality of the situation. These carry to roll ratios may not be exactly right. And hitting it exactly the right speed is difficult to gauge unless you do it, BUT it is a safe shot. By being committed to this shot you reduce the likelihood of the dreaded chilli dip or blade, The worst that will probably happen here is a two putt. There are a lot worse things than a two putt.

[Matt Saternus]

Situation: you are about 10 feet off the green in modest rough. Pin is about 15 feet away, green slopes away from you, towards the hole.

 

Do you take a larger swing with a lob wedge or sand wedge, or a shorter swinging chip?

 

I've found that my lob wedge is a little too light to get through the rough. But if I take my gap wedge and chip it, the club has enough weight to get through the rough without too much effort. My theory is that chipping will probably not be able to stop it too closely to the hole, but it's better than flubbing a pitch shot.

 

Any thoughts?

 

I've been revising my theory on the short game lately. My driving thought now is, "What shot has the best miss?" In other words, if I am in the situation you describe, what shot can I hit where the worst I make is bogey? To me, that's the chip. You might chip close, might chip in, but at worst you are on the green and you two-putt. With the LW, I think there are more great shots, but more really bad ones as well. If I don't get the ball on the green, now we've brought double bogey into the picture.

 

My first golf coach told me, "Golf is a game of misses." I try to remember that.

[Kanoito]

I recommend you watch Luke Donald's Masterclass (15 short videos on youtube)

There is an episode where he shows this exact scenario: ball in the rough, green going downhill.

 

The idea is to pop up the ball (I think he used his lob wedge) without follow through, so you basically stop the club after impact.

 

I honestly don't have the details in my head now, but those videos have provided a lot of help for my short game. Worth taking a look!

[GolfSpy Barbajo]

Been working on the lob/flop shot in this scenario -- with mixed results. Have dropped them within a few feet and let them roll close, but have had more than my share of skulls or - more often - really bad distance control. As mentioned in another thread - these are the round-killers!

[BIG STU]

my opinion practice the shot with several clubs and several methods of your choosing and choose the one you have the most confidence in and practice it. Everyone does things different there is no set proper way remember confidence is the key Some of the suggestions the readers have on here may work for you all of them were pretty good suggestions

[JBones]

I use the "more rough, more loft" theory. That being said, if I have a bank to punch into, I'll use an 8i.

[Shambles]

Situation: you are about 10 feet off the green in modest rough. Pin is about 15 feet away, green slopes away from you, towards the hole.

 

Do you take a larger swing with a lob wedge or sand wedge, or a shorter swinging chip?

 

I've found that my lob wedge is a little too light to get through the rough. But if I take my gap wedge and chip it, the club has enough weight to get through the rough without too much effort. My theory is that chipping will probably not be able to stop it too closely to the hole, but it's better than flubbing a pitch shot.

 

Any thoughts?

 

 

You know your game better than anybody else and you also know your limitations better than anybody else. The decision belongs to you. There are countless techniques available if the lie is undefined and even that will be affected by the grass involved and the swing you apply.

 

Personally, I would be thinking about how much I need that stroke, and if there was a safer place to put the ball on the green so that I could try to do the work with a putter.

 

 

Shambles

[JMiller]

I've been revising my theory on the short game lately. My driving thought now is, "What shot has the best miss?" In other words, if I am in the situation you describe, what shot can I hit where the worst I make is bogey? To me, that's the chip. You might chip close, might chip in, but at worst you are on the green and you two-putt. With the LW, I think there are more great shots, but more really bad ones as well. If I don't get the ball on the green, now we've brought double bogey into the picture.

 

My first golf coach told me, "Golf is a game of misses." I try to remember that.

 

+10000, I was about to type something close to this but you saved me the trouble.

 

I was taught a long time ago a theory on short game around the green. 'take the lowest amount of loft you can to fly it 1-3 yards on the green then let it roll the rest of the way to the hole like a putt'. 'lowest loft' means 47* is lower then 60*, 60* is higher lofted then the 47* PW. I find it much easier to predict the result of distance on a bump and run type shot then a higher more spinning type shot. I used to love the low one hop & stop shot on the old grooves, that shot is a lot harder to predict on the new grooves even from the fairway.

 

Phil made a comment in his interview that is relevant here after his last round. 'I put the shot on the par 3 4th hole in the spot that I wanted to. You can't be right of that pin and missing the green to the right is impossible. You have to put the ball left of the pin or left of the green on that hole. I put the ball where I wanted but never thought it could end up where it did, if it stays where it normally would I get up and down there 85% of the time'.

 

He was playing a shot so that he had a lot of green to work with in the case that he missed the green he didn't want to short side himself. Missing right on a right pin is death majority of the time in making par, or missing left of a left pin is also death any time you short side yourself you are gonna need one heck of a shot to get up and down.

[Tony Covey MGS]

Situation: you are about 10 feet off the green in modest rough. Pin is about 15 feet away, green slopes away from you, towards the hole.

 

Do you take a larger swing with a lob wedge or sand wedge, or a shorter swinging chip?

 

I've found that my lob wedge is a little too light to get through the rough. But if I take my gap wedge and chip it, the club has enough weight to get through the rough without too much effort. My theory is that chipping will probably not be able to stop it too closely to the hole, but it's better than flubbing a pitch shot.

 

Any thoughts?

 

100% depends on the situation. If I'm out by myself with nothing on the line other than a stroke or two, I'm going to try and stick it close with a lob wedge. It's the tougher shot, but one I might NEED to hit with something on the line, so it's a great opportunity to practice.

 

Early in a tournament, or if I'm protecting the score, or relatively close to the lead with holes left to play, then I'm going to hit it on to the green, and hopefully miss to the smart side of the pin. Maybe you roll one in from 15 feet, but worse case should be a two putt.

 

If I'm down late in a tournament, and there's not much left to lose, then I'm going to hope that the practicing I did when it didn't matter, pays off when it does. 64* every time.

 

It's a club that's not hard to hit from any lie provided you're 100% committed and absolute with your swing. The slightest hint of fear...backing off a little, trying to help in the air, etc....and you're done. Feast of famine, but sometimes you have to go for it. The upside is that unless you bail and blade it, going after it, and hitting it long, means you're right back where you would have been with the simple pitch shot anyway.