Flop shot issues

[Darlophil]

On the course yesterday eve and with no one behind me I thought I'd put a couple more balls down when I reached the green to practice a few flop shots.

I had about 4 attempts and could not for the life of me hit a flop. Everyone thined to the right and across the green. Only on my 5th attempt with more emphasis on a more wristy swing action did i actually hit the intended shot.

Its clear to me that something must be wrong with my set up as 1 out of 5 is not the base of a reliable shot to try in competitions. Has anyone else struggled with this and how did you reach a consistent swing that you could rely on?

My set up was as follows with my stance open, feet angled left of the ball and opening the face of the wedge with fairly steep swing path.

I used to be able to hit them all the time years ago but yesterday, not a chance.

 

[woody69]

Look up Phil Mickelson discussing this shot on You Tube. He basically says it's mostly about your weight distribution and the lie. Tight lie more weight on your left leg. If it is sitting up in the light rough, your weight needs to be more centred. Get the face open and really swing through.

Is a tough shot to master though for sure.

 

[garyinderry]

if you are thinning it them I would imagine you are trying to help the ball up in to the air. a little more weight on your left side will help.

it kind of depends on the lie. if you are on the fairway then I suggest more weight onto your left side. if its in the semi rough, you can stay more centred.


look up phil mickelson's secrets of the short game videos on youtube he shows you how to adjust your set up to suit each lie.

 

[Darlophil]

Cheers I'll have a look for that on youtube tonight.

Its funny you mention phil mickleson videos because I saw one the other day about chipping that has helped a massive amount.

He basically tells you to have a slow upswing and then accelerate through the ball on the downswing. The effect being that you have a more consistent contact with the ball and its helped my chipping no end. (chipped in for a 2 on a par 3 again - I can only do it when there isn't any money involved).

 

[garyinderry]

a lot of people think when they want to hit a flop shot is "I am really going to have to hit this full power to get it up in the air"


you can go for the Hollywood flop shot but this is not necessary most of the time. most of my little flops are over small bunkers or ridges.

the most important thing after picking your set up according to the lie is the follow through. for small little flops I take the club back till my hands are in line with my hips but my follow though goes right up to my shoulder. think 1/3 back , 2/3's through. I repeat this 3 or 4 times to get the feeling then just hit it.

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

Serious question....... you are a 16hcp, why do you want to hit flop shots? If you have missed a green, play a standard chip shot (to the safe side of the green) then take 2 putts (or maybe even 1) from there. A straight forward bogey using your shot allowance. Flop shots look glamourous but can put you in a LOT more trouble.

 

[Curls]

+1 the weight distribution, its odd to think with weight stacked on the left side you can get the ball so high but once you've done it once you'll have the confidence to do it again. In addition to the above I'd check how your wedge looks when you open the clubface (you can do this on a table or any flat surface), it is possible that with a lot of bounce and a wide sole that when you open the clubface it really presents the leading edge to the ball. If that is the case and you hit anywhere but exactly under the ball you'll either A. hit the ball with the leading edge and thin it or B. hit the ground behind the ball first, bouncing the club so the leading edge makes contact first and guess what, you thin it.

Tricky shot, only required in very few circumstances, most of the time you're better off pitching on normally and accepting you'll be 20 feet beyond from the hole with your next putt. Better to take 3 to get down from that initial position than thin it into the clag 50 yards behind the green. Who knows you might even sink the long one. If you've short-sided yourself with a hazard in front maybe take your medicine.

But I know thats not as much fun

 

[Deleted member 18121]

Serious question....... you are a 16hcp, why do you want to hit flop shots?

Sorry, but that really gets my goat.... as a golfer why WOULDN'T you want all kinds of shots in your armoury?

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

Sorry, but that really gets my goat.... as a golfer why WOULDN'T you want all kinds of shots in your armoury?

There is a huge difference between wanting to play a shot and having the ability to play a shot. I'm trying to help the guy lower his scores which surely is the target for all golfers?

 

[BTatHome]

Sorry, but that really gets my goat.... as a golfer why WOULDN'T you want all kinds of shots in your armoury?

Probably because in order to reduce the number of shots you take you should reduce the risks you take. A flop shot is high risk and whilst it looks great in practise there are generally better ways of reducing your score.

Practise it to your hearts content but use it in anger only when you can reproduce it most with some success.

 

[virtuocity]

Sorry, but that really gets my goat.... as a golfer why WOULDN'T you want all kinds of shots in your armoury?

I see both points.

I suppose it comes down to allocation of practice time for me. Of course, I want to be able to flight the ball high, low, straight, fade and hook.

But practising various shot shapes will take me away from the practice green and my putting will suffer.

So it's all about prioritising. Would you be better spending 10 hours practising flop shots or practising 6 foot putts? Which would help your score (and handicap) come down.

But I would say that I'm against the "you're a hacker, why do you own a driver / why do you not go practise your putting etc etc" idea.

 

[Deleted member 18121]

There is a huge difference between wanting to play a shot and having the ability to play a shot. I'm trying to help the guy lower his scores which surely is the target for all golfers?

100% agree with you. The OP said "I used to be able to hit them all the time years ago" - so he does have the ablity, and he plays off 16....which to some maybe is a high handicap, but to play off 16 he obviously knows his way around a course and must be used to scrambling for par....

I just don't quite see the defeatist attitude of not giving the shot some practice time. As a golfer we all know there are times when you look at a shot and think that you don't have a chance in hell of making the shot, so you take your medicine. But there are also times when you look and see that the lie is good, you've got some room to play the shot and you take your chance.

 

[garyinderry]

I don't even call most of my "little flop" shops flop shots. they are just small chips with lots of loft. they are not really all that hard once you practice them and gain confidence.


the 1/3 back 2/3's through shot does not go that far. hit correctly it will pop up over anything in front of you and stay on the green. these shots are vital to me and is why my 60 is the first club in the bag! really useful when the greens are baked hard

the Hollywood flop miles in the air is the one you really do want to avoid. not really worth it and most of the time unnecessary!

 

[harpo_72]

This shot takes loads of practice and a really good understanding of the lie. The Mickleson video is good, so watch it, and then go out and practice it. I do play the shot but this is when I really need to, meaning I have short sided myself. The thing is, the hand speed, to really zip it you have to get aggressive, this then affects distance judgement. If I open up my 60 degree wedge till its flat and really whip into it there are two different distances due to lie. Practice will only tell you what these are, it will also suggest that sometimes its just not a choice. Oh and sharpen your grooves ....

 

[RobertB]

as others have said, weight on left, lie is important as is bounce of wedge, also when you say open the face are you just twisting tour hands/wrists or are you gripping club with it open? then you have to have commitment to hit down through ball and follow through and trust the loft to do its job.

 

[Khamelion]

Opening up the club face to play a flop, or just opening the face up in general, relies a lot on the grind of the sole and how that grind works in allowing you to open the club face which will still enable you maintain the bounce the club has.

A couple of links here with grind explanations:-

http://www.mygolfspy.com/scratch-wedge-grinds/
http://thesandtrap.com/b/bag_drop/wedge_bounce_and_grind_what_it_is_and_why_it_matters

 

[Ian_S]

I see both points.

I suppose it comes down to allocation of practice time for me.

+1 to this

It's not "why do you want to play flop shots" but more "as a 16 hcp, is not having a flop shot really the biggest issue on the course for you?"

Having said that, if the OP wants to practice flop shots who am I to say he's wrong? He asked for flop shot advice, not advice on lowering scores. If he wants to be a 16 capper with a Lefty-like flop shot then go for it. It's your hobby, play it however it makes you happy.

 

[Simbo]

I see both points on you wantig to be able to play a flop shot, and drive4show saying abot the 16 handicap, I do agree with him that it is probably not the best way to go abot lowering your scores. I also see that you want to be able to play it, but mate you've only had 5 attempts at one of the hardest shots in the book. Get out and try it 100 times and find out the way YOU need to play it. It's an exceptionally high risk shot and personally I only hit it when their is no other option available.

 

[Foxholer]

I'm going to get splinters again.

The fact that the OP stated that he used to use them successfully means I'm not so anti them as I normally would be. And I've been around with enough 20+ cappers whose flop shots with the 64* Donnay/Dunlop were their 'best' shots! And a Junior, off 14, that several folk used to take the mick out of for only seeming to hit flops on the practice green, is just out of Junior ranks and is off +2 - so there was obviously some other practice going on!

On the other hand, it's definitely a high-tariff shot. If it comes off, you may save 1 shot - you still have to make the putt - if it doesn't come off well it will almost certainly cost you 1 shot; if it goes wrong it could cost 2 or more shots.

So be aware of the cost/benefit before simply reaching for the LW - specially if you haven't practices it for a while!

I've hit 1 in the last 3 rounds, having had the opportunity to hit half a dozen or more. It almost came off and as a 'no-loss' shot anyway as I hd to get up and down to be any use in the hole.

 

[Curls]

Mountain molehill - I said the exact same thing at the same time (came up as the next post) and no one raised an eyebrow. It was just the way Drive4show typed and if you read it with a chip on your shoulder you can read it as being a put-down and if you read it completely objectively he is saying as a 16 h/c (and this might well have been a 9 h/c) why are you trying to take on such a risky shot? You have shots, use them wisely. He wasn't, in my opinion, berating the players ability, the Mickelson/Hollywood flop shot is an incredibly hard thing to pull off correctly every time at any (club) level.

Keep calm and golf on.