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Your best chip? a putt

Hank Haney also plays/teaches on the nicest courses around where you can roll it better in the fairways than we can on some of the greens we play. I putt from the fringe, and maybe a bit off the green, but that's about it.

I rarely mishit chips/pitches anymore because of a few tips I got a little while back. Hinge and hold, and always accelerate through (just vary backswing length).


I wish golf was as easy as Tapatalk.
 
I think it really depends upon the course. I would agree that a putt is a much safer shot than a chip, but if you have to putt through 20 yards of junk, what are you odds of actually getting the ball to the hole?
Ive played some courses where there was a lot of fringe or where the mowed the fairways really short and you actually could putt from that distance and others Ive played have really rough fairways or have lots of rough around the greens where putting from that distance isnt an option.
Different situations call for different shots.
 
Something I've noticed in my game is that if I am putting from 5-10 feet off the green, and I end up 10 feet off the hole, I am disappointed. If I chip and end up 10 feet from the hole, I feel like I did a decent job.

And Idrops, having seen you chip, I'd say you are making the right decision grabbing the wedge.
 
I read about that tip from him a few times and it works well for me from the fringe. From the fairway or "thick" fringe, not so much. I struggle with speed control cause it's a shot I don't practice(maybe I should), so I don't know how much the ball would slow down and how the putter interacts with the longer grass.
 
honestly i'd feel more comfortable with a PW in hand and play a little bump n run, if i'm on the fringe with more than 15ft to the hole i'll use a 7i to bump and run. i guess its down to what you practice most
 
this year i've been using this philosophy.


for me it comes down to how the ball is lying,and how short the fringe or apron is.being 20yrds from the green with a nice smooth surface to putt over is ideal but if the difference in length of grass is quite a bit then it's so difficult to judge distance and then it may be easier to chip instead.

the problem with putting is if you don't put it close you feel annoyed and that you should of done better.it's the same feeling you get when you 3 putt on the green.you're best doing what makes you feel comfortable.
 
I suck enough putting from 20 feet from the fringe. I can't imagine putting from 20 yards would do me any good.
 
In the right situation, sure. Problem is a lot of the time, it's hard to predict the roll of the longer grass.
 
im money from 35 yards out with the putter!
 
It really depends entirely on the course condition and if it is viable. If it is fairly smooth, someone's worst putt will most likely be closer than their worst chip. I think he is targeting the 20 plus handicappers who have a tendency to pull their highest lofted wedge anywhere around the greens and just get themselves in a ton of trouble. Proper club selection can be tough for high handicappers so he is saying when in doubt try the putter if it is viable. He is definitely not preaching that within 20 yards of the green to ALWAYS pull a putter. Still takes some common sense out there.
 
mcook77 said:
It really depends entirely on the course condition and if it is viable. If it is fairly smooth, someone's worst putt will most likely be closer than their worst chip. I think he is targeting the 20 plus handicappers who have a tendency to pull their highest lofted wedge anywhere around the greens and just get themselves in a ton of trouble. Proper club selection can be tough for high handicappers so he is saying when in doubt try the putter if it is viable. He is definitely not preaching that within 20 yards of the green to ALWAYS pull a putter. Still takes some common sense out there.
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that would be ME
 
I putt or bump and run with a hybrid all the time so if the situation allows for it I do. I believe in getting the ball on the ground as fast as possible to minimize mistakes.
 
For me it depends on the lie, but I'm pretty confident in my chip/pitch shots, much more then my long putting or ability to read greens. If I could read the greens better or if it was flat I could see putting but I generally do better with the bump and run.
 
I almost always chip unless I'm just on the fringe because I have a hard time judging speed with the putter. Maybe I should just practice more with the putter from off the green.
 
I putt as much as I can around the green but unfortunately the courses I play around here are not as manicured as the courses I see him teaching at on his show so putting from any farther then just off the green on the fringe is nearly impossible.
 
While it may be true that your worst putt is better than your worst chip (ie a fat chunk that goes two feet), my average chip from long distance is much better than my average putt from long distance. Get me inside 20 feet and I feel very good about my putting. Putt me 60 feet away and I'm thrilled if that first putt is within 10-15 feet of the hole. I can almost always get a chip of that distance closer.
 
oiler3535 said:
I am not a good putter weightwise, and am particularly bad at knowing how much fringe will slow me down, so if just in the fringe I'll putt, but otherwise I will chip. I use the hinge and hold method, and from inside 100 feet I'm usually inside 4-6. So, while for most people I know I agree with putting, it is bad advice for me.
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Hinge and hold, baby:) Since I first saw Phil's DVD my short game made a huge leap forward. Unbelievably simple and effective. Hinge and hold all the way. I even use it for the 100+ shots from under the trees.

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guga said:
Hinge and hold, baby:) Since I first saw Phil's DVD my short game made a huge leap forward. Unbelievably simple and effective. Hinge and hold all the way. I even use it for the 100+ shots from under the trees.

Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk
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Agree 100% My short game saves me and I owe it entirely to the hinge and hold. Interestingly enough, I never knew until this thread, that the technique I was using was called the Hinge and Hold. I was taught the technique from a friend who just explained it as not breaking your wrists. It's a great technique to ensure you trap the ball and it also seems to impart a good enough spin on the ball.
 
My home course doesn't have much of a fringe, so the definition between fairway and green isn't great. One of my weak points is short range chipping so I tend to putt from anything up to 25 - 30 yards off the green. If there's anything longer than fairway grass between me and the green then I'll chip, with my fingers and toes crossed for luck.
 
Depends on where you are playing, around here you will often have 4 inch thick rough within 5 feet of the green. I have started hitting more shots with a putter from farther off the green than I ever would have tried a few years ago, especially after that Israeli guy on the Big Break hit some 30 yard putts close to the pin, shots that I would never have even considered using a putter for.
 
This is a hard one for me because chipping seems to be the most consistent part of my game and I'm also not a horrible putter. I think it depends on the hole and how I usually play it. I like to putt whenever possible, but like many have said here - 20 yards off the green is a little much.
 
Penglynns said:
While it may be true that your worst putt is better than your worst chip (ie a fat chunk that goes two feet), my average chip from long distance is much better than my average putt from long distance. Get me inside 20 feet and I feel very good about my putting. Putt me 60 feet away and I'm thrilled if that first putt is within 10-15 feet of the hole. I can almost always get a chip of that distance closer.
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On really long putts just use your chipping stroke with the putter. Works great. Nothing says you have to hit the same stroke with your putter every time. I putt short (inside 20 feet) putts with a different setup and everything from longer putts. Once I realized that I was chipping closer from farther away I started using a similar type of chip stroke with the putter, helped me get rid of the 3 putts.
 
I've been putting a lot more from the fringe lately. It is all dictated by what is in between the ball and the green, ie: length/condition of rough, how much rough, and how far from the hole.
 
In my opinion, there are far to many factors in play, to make a blanket statement saying people are better off putting from near the green. For some people, chipping and pitching may be the strongest part of their game. Some courses (such as my home course) have rough practically surrounding most greens, making putts to the green next to impossible.
This past spring, I was was putting from as far as 20 - 30 yards off the green. At that time, my chipping was horrible and the tight lies from the thin spring grass was more putter friendly than wedge friendly. Fast forward to the present, and I'm chipping better than ever, so the putter doesn't come out till I'm at least on the fringe.
 
If it is flat and the grass is half decent, I see no problem in putting from 20 yards out. I personally would never putt off the fringe as I love chipping! But I have several golfing partners who are terrible chippers so they putt from any lie within 20-25 yards of the green, Even if it is uphill/downhill and almost impossible to read the speed. It works for them though so I can't rag on them too much for it. I think in the long run, suffering through bad chips and learning how to chip better will pay off big time! Its always funny to watch them walk up to the ball and have a bunker between them and the green, almost always ends up in the bunker because they don't practice chipping enough.
 
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