How to hit a flop shot.
pattyblind9golf
New member
The husband had a PGA pro in this weekend that orally told him how to do it. He took it to the par 3 we played on and he picked it up rather quickly. I think the Par 3 was a great place to try it - really flat, got lots of opportunities just to play around with it and to it over and over on almost every hole that he didn't hit it up on the green.
Ok, so here's what the pro said:
Do it off a 60* wedge or higher. Open up the face. Play a little forward in your stance. And on the back swing, you should feel like the shaft is centered between your arms and swing through.
Um... good luck with that! LOL. I remember when my old golf teacher taught me this, he also said move the ball forward and use a high lofted wedge. I also remember loving it although I have since lost the shot (since I don't get out much anymore).
Now I've got Mr. Blind 9 in the simulator flopping away again...
Ok, so here's what the pro said:
Do it off a 60* wedge or higher. Open up the face. Play a little forward in your stance. And on the back swing, you should feel like the shaft is centered between your arms and swing through.
Um... good luck with that! LOL. I remember when my old golf teacher taught me this, he also said move the ball forward and use a high lofted wedge. I also remember loving it although I have since lost the shot (since I don't get out much anymore).
Now I've got Mr. Blind 9 in the simulator flopping away again...
daveetrice
New member
Flop it
Flop it
I couldn't agree more, I have a friend that has a pretty wicked flop shot (big Phil Fan), and he may only have one or two times in a round where it is useful. The bump and run is way more useful in my opinion.
Flop it
I couldn't agree more, I have a friend that has a pretty wicked flop shot (big Phil Fan), and he may only have one or two times in a round where it is useful. The bump and run is way more useful in my opinion.
daveetrice
New member
I feel I do need to add that I don't have a good flop shot in my bag, so deep down I'm a lil envious :act-up: They are truly great to watch when done right!
Here's a couple good flops:
Faiz
Well-known member
I always try to play my chip shots with the lowest lofted club possible, roll it with a 7.
if there's something in the way then the club loft increases depending on where the ball needs to land.
If the balls rolling it has more chance of going in, I mean you don't loft your putts for a reason.
When it is required then I'll use my 64 and open it up, open my stance, club head a bit forwards and try and swing as freely as possible with a low follow through.
Needs a lot of practice, most of the time you end up trying to be too cute with it which is where you get in trouble.
Tight lies always catch me out and start playing with my mind.
i find that most people are always trying to loft their chip shots as much as possible even from the side of the green. Why would you do that if you could just roll it right next to the pin? Your putting stroke has a minimum amount of risk. Even a top leaves you with a 6 footer.
if there's something in the way then the club loft increases depending on where the ball needs to land.
If the balls rolling it has more chance of going in, I mean you don't loft your putts for a reason.
When it is required then I'll use my 64 and open it up, open my stance, club head a bit forwards and try and swing as freely as possible with a low follow through.
Needs a lot of practice, most of the time you end up trying to be too cute with it which is where you get in trouble.
Tight lies always catch me out and start playing with my mind.
i find that most people are always trying to loft their chip shots as much as possible even from the side of the green. Why would you do that if you could just roll it right next to the pin? Your putting stroke has a minimum amount of risk. Even a top leaves you with a 6 footer.
I'm decent at the flop shot.
The problem however is, I'm decent at it during practice. When you're just off the green, with a suboptimal lie and a skulled flop means the difference between a bogey or a double-par, it's MUCH harder to pull off.
I'm not saying don't do it, I'm just saying most golfers (including me) should only do it when there truly is no other option. Or, if you want to try it to get more comfortable with it, do it only when there's not disaster after a miss.
The problem however is, I'm decent at it during practice. When you're just off the green, with a suboptimal lie and a skulled flop means the difference between a bogey or a double-par, it's MUCH harder to pull off.
I'm not saying don't do it, I'm just saying most golfers (including me) should only do it when there truly is no other option. Or, if you want to try it to get more comfortable with it, do it only when there's not disaster after a miss.
SPG40
New member
I practice flop shots all the time and can pull them off most times in practice, on the course is a different story. I would only attempt the flop if I had a great lie for it and it was the only shot to get it close. I would like to say I chip all the time with my 60 and have lots of luck with it. Its easy to get the ball to check up fast and leaves me quite a few in 1-putt range. I guess its just best to go with what your comfortable with.
Fourwiggle
Member
Same for me on chipping, except I use the 54* and flight it accordingly.
The only time I pull the 58* is greenside bunkers, heavy rough and true FLOP shots where I have little green to work with (even then I'll usually take my medicine unless the lie is decent). It's a high risk shot that nets a result maybe 2/10 times. If you have to, you have to but I usually err on the side of "don't make a bad situation worse"...
Yep, made this mistake last weekend. Had shorted myself behind a large bunker and had to carry about 10 - 15 yards and get it to stop or the ball would roll way over the green, so I attempted the flop (which I can do quite effectively in practice I might add). Bladed the shot into the bunker and made things worse. I didn't really have a choice here though - there was absolutely no chance to keep the ball on the green with a regular pitch.
If you do choose to use the flop, the video Thainer posted is excellent. It talks about how you have to change your setup according to the lie you have.
Additionally, the big thing to remember is that opening the face, even just a little bit, makes a dramatic difference in how far the ball will fly. When you take a 60-degree wedge and lay it open just 15 more degrees, now you've got a 75-degree wedge and the ball is going darn near straight up. If you've got to cover any distance, you're going to have swing pretty darn hard to get it there. That's what makes it so tricky.
Additionally, the big thing to remember is that opening the face, even just a little bit, makes a dramatic difference in how far the ball will fly. When you take a 60-degree wedge and lay it open just 15 more degrees, now you've got a 75-degree wedge and the ball is going darn near straight up. If you've got to cover any distance, you're going to have swing pretty darn hard to get it there. That's what makes it so tricky.