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Really struggling with a certain type of shot.

bogeybrain

bogeybrain

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So here's the scenario. 30-40 yards short of the green , tight front pin , bunker in front and a good lie but thin on wet turf and very little green to work with.

How do you guys make this shot? Ultimately I should be playing a yardage and avoid this situation but in Florida it's common to come across wet turf areas especially on the coast.

I try flopping it with my 60 by opening the face and letting the bounce of the club work but more often than not I go under the ball too far it hit it of the top of the face and come short.

I use vokey wedges ( 8-10 degrees bounce) but I'm starting to consider one if those alien looking wedges that have that ginormous bounce.

How do you guys play this shot ?
 
This is a tough shot. I would try and aim for the back of green and take the buncker out of play. Using my 58* and just put a smooth 3/4 swing on it.
 
bogeybrain said:
So here's the scenario. 30-40 yards short of the green , tight front pin , bunker in front and a good lie but thin on wet turf and very little green to work with.

How do you guys make this shot? Ultimately I should be playing a yardage and avoid this situation but in Florida it's common to come across wet turf areas especially on the coast.

I try flopping it with my 60 by opening the face and letting the bounce of the club work but more often than not I go under the ball too far it hit it of the top of the face and come short.

I use vokey wedges ( 8-10 degrees bounce) but I'm starting to consider one if those alien looking wedges that have that ginormous bounce.

How do you guys play this shot ?
Click to expand...

Shallow out your swing for the wet stuff. Spend some time practicing pitch shots without taking a divot. Also more bounce might help, but it's not the answer.
 
I now use that alien looking wedge thing.
And frankly its hard for me to imagine how hard I had to work to do it previously.
 
I had something similar a month ago or so that became a bit of a learning opportunity for me.

First swing (the one that counted) I opened up the face, was a little heavyish and ended up on the fringe. Putted my ball in and went back to the same spot to see what I could have done.

I just found that a normal set up with my highest lofted wedge worked best - ball in the middle. I got a little steeper with a quicker wrist set I guess, but nothing crazy. Just let the loft do the work and ended up with some makeable putts.
 
Personally I would play the safe percentage shot and just take the bunker out of the equation and just make sure of putting the ball on the green
 
There's really no good answer for that one, it's just a very difficult shot. Personally I would use my 56* Vokey to make sure I don't cut under the ball. Then I would play it a little back and try and hit it to the flag, with that setup and a solid strike the ball comes out low and hops once and stops.
 
I'm with the guys above who recommend a shallower path and squarer face. A flop shot is a low percentage shot under the best conditions and when you add in a wet lie and bunker in front of a tight pin it's best to just make a standard pitch with your highest lofted wedge and plan for enough distance to get at least to the pin if not a spot past it on the fly. Try to make the longer putt and if you don't take your bogey and go to the next hole. A flop shot in that situation puts double or more into play.
 
Same here... 56* to the flag, completely ok with going past it... Just get it on the green. I try to never leave myself that shot if I can avoid it cause I'll chunk it 80% of the time.
 
I usually just go ahead and thin it over the green, so I'm no longer shortsided.
 
Moved to Swing Tips.
 
JB said:
I now use that alien looking wedge thing.
And frankly its hard for me to imagine how hard I had to work to do it previously.
Click to expand...
ok I thought you were the one that had it but I couldn't remember. what is it 64* or 60* ?
 
Wake said:
I usually just go ahead and thin it over the green, so I'm no longer shortsided.
Click to expand...
This is my approach as well. Much easier to get it close from the three foot high fescue behind the green.
 
bogeybrain said:
ok I thought you were the one that had it but I couldn't remember. what is it 64* or 60* ?
Click to expand...
58° and I think it's a wedge that can help anyone.
 
I think I'm just gonna pick up one of those alien wedges. Screw working harder. Time to work smarter
 
bogeybrain said:
ok I thought you were the one that had it but I couldn't remember. what is it 64* or 60* ?
Click to expand...

Mine is the new Cleveland S Wedge. Its actually 58*. There is a huge thread on it with awesome info from people.
 
I use a 60' wedge, open the face to use the bounce. The one thing people tend to do here is not swing hard enough, or even decelerate. The ground is soft under the ball, so with even great contact, the ground is going to give way more under the ball, so I definitely swing harder. ( tough to say how much, but a 40 yard shot I'd probably hit it like it was 50 - 60 yards. ) If it goes a bit too far, I can live with that. Don't want to chunk the ball a yard in front of me and have that same shot! It's a tough shot, no way around it.
 
I would use my 56*, choke down on it for a little more control, and aim just past the pin to get it on and take the bunker out of play.


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I'm looking for the best spot to put the ball on the next shot. Odds are not great that I can hole out or get super close, so I choke down on my 56* and do my best to spin it some and leave it below the hole for my next shot. No need to get cute and flirt with the bunker, leave yourself the best spot you can.
 
bogeybrain said:
So here's the scenario. 30-40 yards short of the green , tight front pin , bunker in front and a good lie but thin on wet turf and very little green to work with.

How do you guys make this shot? Ultimately I should be playing a yardage and avoid this situation but in Florida it's common to come across wet turf areas especially on the coast.

I try flopping it with my 60 by opening the face and letting the bounce of the club work but more often than not I go under the ball too far it hit it of the top of the face and come short.

I use vokey wedges ( 8-10 degrees bounce) but I'm starting to consider one if those alien looking wedges that have that ginormous bounce.

How do you guys play this shot ?
Click to expand...

The bold is something I rarely try and do- I look at it this way the tees aren't usually set at the marker that the card/sign says the hole plays, the pin is probably not in the center of the green, the odds of me getting the exact yardage and putting the ball down the middle is unlikely. So why play/lay up to a yardage because when I go for the green i'm not gonna have that exact 150yd shot in, it'll be more like 145,154,162. I Play to get the ball in a good position as close to the green as possible.

I would take my 56 and keep a shallow swing to toss the ball up and aim for the pin or aim left/right of the pin and use a slope if there is one to get the ball close.
 
Get it on the green. Anywhere.

We come across shots in our rounds that we do not have the skill to execute with any consistency. Sometimes we think we do, and that's where unless we're very, very lucky, we flub the shot.

Play the percentages. Do whatever you have to do to get the ball anywhere on the green.
 
bogeybrain said:
So here's the scenario. 30-40 yards short of the green , tight front pin , bunker in front and a good lie but thin on wet turf and very little green to work with.



I use vokey wedges ( 8-10 degrees bounce) but I'm starting to consider one if those alien looking wedges that have that ginormous bounce.

How do you guys play this shot ?
Click to expand...

I had the same problem when I moved to Fla, the areas in front of and around the greens are really wet down there. Try higher bounce on your wedges, maybe 12° to 14° on a 58, made a world of difference in my game.
 
Double B, in this situation I'm taking dead aim at the top of the flag. It takes the bunker out of play and should leave a makable 15'-20' putt. Would open my 56* a hair, middle/back of stance and shoulder high swing.
 
Tadashi70 said:
Double B, in this situation I'm taking dead aim at the top of the flag. It takes the bunker out of play and should leave a makable 15'-20' putt. Would open my 56* a hair, middle/back of stance and shoulder high swing.
Click to expand...

Do you move the ball forward in your stance and use the bounce of the club ? Generally I'll play the ball off my back instep with an open stance. I still think I'm gonna try picking up one of those wedges josh has
 
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