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Do you use the bump and run?

I never use it but know I should. I prefer to chip with my 60 but I know the bump and run is a higher percentage shot and my chipping is crap lately. Planning to put some time into learning the bump and run this season.
 
I always bump and find around the green, I will use anything from a pw to 8 iron. I would say 80% of the time I use a 9 iron
 
Yes, I use it, if the bump, and run is considered a minimum carry, maximum run approach shot. A shot used from areas around the green. How far from the green depends on the golfer's talent level.

I sometimes warm up with a 7i, hitting half swing bump and runs. About 60-70 yards.

I think a lot of golfers use the shot without knowing it's name.
 
Yes I am about 50/50 bump and run and stock shot. I don't do it like others though as I use my 58 in both. I just put the bump way back in stance and deloft it a ton.
 
I'm probably an odd ball on this one given that I am such a range rat...and old. I've got quite a variety of chips and pitches that I am proficient using. So, I use the bump and run situationally.

Around the green I usually use this when I have a good lie on the fairway or collar, lots of green between my ball and the cup and a relatively flat or easy to read green. My choice is usually either between putting or bump and run, or pop and stop or bump and run. If the fairway or collar is substantial in terms of distance you have to cross or thickness the bump and run is great for eliminating some of the guess work. With the bump and run you can fly over some or all of this terrain. With putting you'd have to figure out how much more energy to put into the shot to get through the fairway and collar.

Sometimes you have a sprinkler head or some other obstacle you need to fly over or a severely sloped or complex green that eliminates putting as a good option. If a bump and run will land me on the green and the green is fairly simple to read from where the ball will land, I'll go with the bump and run. Conversely, if the bump and run would require me to land it substantially short of the green or the green has lots of complexity and slope, I'll choose the pop and stop. Flying it over all the guess work is a better play.

I don't like hitting the bump and run from the rough unless the ball is sitting up nicely and I can land it on the green and get the right roll out. If the ball is sitting down or you have to land it in the rough it's dicey.

There are two longer versions of the bump and run that sometimes come into play.

One is if you are say 50-150 feet short of the green in the fairway with a firm false front to the green. Bump it into that sloped front and you can even get it close to the pin when the pin is just on the green. You'll impress your buddies bumping it into that false front, watching the ball pop up into the air and land just onto the green with minimum roll out.

The other longer version some won't call it a bump and run, but it really is just a longer version. I've used this when 50-175 yards out and having low hanging tree limbs between my ball and the green, no opportunity to go over the trees or around them, and no water hazards in play. I'll use anything from a 7-iron to a hybrid for this bump and run depending on the distance and height required. I've gotten pretty good at getting the ball on or around the green, which in this circumstance is better than the alternatives. The side benefit is that if you get good hitting bump and runs from this distance, the ones around the green seem simple by comparison.
 
I definitely use the bump and run when needed. No shame in having as many shots that work for you
 
When I can. But so many greens are elevated or with uncertain grass or wet areas, that it does not come into play as much. When I can, I air onto the green and allow roll.
 
Not enough but looking to get back to having that shot in the bag.
 
The bump and run has been a big part of my game lately. My instructor worked with me on it during my last couple of lessons, and it has become my go to technique. Using it around the green has really improved my play from further out when I need to punch out from under trees. A couple of rounds ago I put two on the green from 130+ out using a bump and run with my utility iron.

I think for a struggling golfer it’s a great shot to play since it eliminates a lot of the terrible outcomes possible with other shots.
 
If I go OL, you’d better bet your ass I’ll be playing the bump and runner more haha
 
I've started using it more this year. I did it on a whim late in the fall and holed out from 25 yds and started to see the benefit. Hopefully I'm able to use it effectively next year.
 
Practice, practice, practice.
 
I actually just remembered about a guy I play with. He's taken the whole bump and run thing to another level.

He's started using driver and holding like Happy Gilmore style. It's was actually starting to work quite well for him at the tail end of our season!
 
I used to be pretty consistent doing the bump and run with my 8i. The last few years I began relying on my wedge game instead. :rolleyes:
This year I decided to use the bump and run whenever I could and my scoring improved.
 
Not as much as I should. The B&R was a bread and butter shot to those who started playing in the 70s and 80s. Keep it low and rolling as much as possible. Now flying it and wanting it to check/stop seems to be in vogue.
I'm guilty of almost automatically grabbing the 54 and 58 along with the putter when I'm around the green and trying to make a shot fit, when sometimes the 7i, 8i or 9i would be a better option.
I'm going to try and play more bump and runs next year.
 
I am a bump and run guy. It just feels safer for me to get it on the ground quick. Flop or even pitch shots make me a little nervous. I'm always worried about fluffing it or even chunking it.
 
I use it a lot. I am a big believer in getting the ball on the green and rolling as quickly as possible. Around the greens I use everything from 58* to 6i regularly. I have been known to use a hybrid or FW on occasion but those are situational. I have always held to the concept that if someone gave you a ball and told you to throw it to a spot you would mostly roll it underhand you wouldn’t throw it up high in the air. Think bocce or lawn bowling. I feel it is much more consistent and accurate than flying the ball to the hole.

I feel similarly about using different clubs around the green. I would rather use loft of lack of loft than try to manipulate the clubface.
 
working on using it more often, sometimes I'm lazy and don't bring a lower lofted club when needed. But I find that with lots of elevation changes near the hole, it's easier at flatter courses.
 
Considering the difficulty of properly hitting a lob wedge, every amateur golfer should be using bump and run when appropriate.


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Jman said:
Conversation I had with my #2 bag yesterday, kid has amazing touch in full pitches and manipulates the club face well, but he won't try the bump and run unless forced. My #1 on the other hand got a front row seat at state last year to one of the top junior golfers in the country destroying a course with bumpers all day, and has added it back to his arsenal this summer to see his scoring average drop even more. (as a freshman he used it all the time, but as his touch developed he fell in love with the dainty shots).

I myself don't play it enough when I think about it, so what about you thp? Do you play the bump and run as a regular part of your arsenal? If not, why?
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Hmm. I hit almost every shot 125 and in with my set GW. So theres a little bit of run on shorter ones, but not much. Flat and a true chip I plan on carrying it 2/3 and having it run out 1/3. Terrain and slope it rarely works like that but there are times I have to land it shy of the green if close and on a slope. At that point you just pray as it’s out of your hands.

I have a 56* true wedge I’ll use for greenside bunker and severely short sided work but I can hit a true 30 yard full swing flop with my 49* GW if needed.

I read something long ago that it was easier to master one wedge than 4-5. I haven’t mastered it for dang sure but if I do my part I can expect consistent results and it’s easier for me playing 12-15 rounds a year the past couple years to know what consistent results are with one wedge.
 
Smiter said:
Hmm. I hit almost every shot 125 and in with my set GW. So theres a little bit of run on shorter ones, but not much. Flat and a true chip I plan on carrying it 2/3 and having it run out 1/3. Terrain and slope it rarely works like that but there are times I have to land it shy of the green if close and on a slope. At that point you just pray as it’s out of your hands.

I have a 56* true wedge I’ll use for greenside bunker and severely short sided work but I can hit a true 30 yard full swing flop with my 49* GW if needed.

I read something long ago that it was easier to master one wedge than 4-5. I haven’t mastered it for dang sure but if I do my part I can expect consistent results and it’s easier for me playing 12-15 rounds a year the past couple years to know what consistent results are with one wedge.
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The trade off on one wedge is it easier to master one swing or many. I like the idea of having one basic swing around the green and adjusting the club. There are definitely two schools of thought though. Back to my analogy earlier if you were throwing a ball I don’t think you would throw it 2/3 of the way and have it roll out 1/3.
 
Nope. My thinking is that, if I can do a clean flop, and that's one part of my game at which I was fairly successful last season, I can pretty well predict where the ball's going to go, because air is air :) Bump and run: Not so much. Irregularities in turf can wildly alter how and where the ball will roll. Don't trust it.
 
Chef23 said:
The trade off on one wedge is it easier to master one swing or many. I like the idea of having one basic swing around the green and adjusting the club. There are definitely two schools of thought though. Back to my analogy earlier if you were throwing a ball I don’t think you would throw it 2/3 of the way and have it roll out 1/3.
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That is correct, maybe? I just don’t play enough to get used to 4 or more wedges. I add a lot of loft so I can go high and have it stop quick with a GW if I choose unless terrain is conducive. But my standard flat chip I pick a spot 2/3’s there and then read it like a putt from that point.

Chipping is neither a strength or a weakness (except the occasional deceleration, that just comes from not playing much and not trusting the shot) I’m currently a 4.7 HC (thanks to some recent strong 💪 play) and I’d say my inside 30 yard game is about average for a 5. My past couple rounds my 50-130 game has been scary good which has got me below 5. Also largely negating any other short game chipping. I do not expect that to last.

Be nice if it does though.
 
NVGOLFER80 said:
I like hitting toe down bump and run. High percentage low failure. It’s not sexy, but they get the job done..
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mtbloco said:
I can’t get my head around the toe down stuff.
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If you stand closer to the ball - more of a putting stance - then your club shaft is going to be more vertical, and the toe will touch the ground before the heel. It's a good setup for these type of shots.
 
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