Assignment 20 - Kyle Hosey

How to Hit and Utilize a Flop Shot

     Congratulations, you have shortsided yourself with next to no green to work with. As a typical amateur player, you are screwed. At best, you can play a common pitch shot that will land just on the green and roll twenty feet past the hole, sketchy par chances at best. Well, stop doing that and start getting more up and downs by learning to use the specialized flop shot. ONLY use it when you need to stop the ball quickly on the green and when you don't have another option - for example, a 20 yard shot over a bunker with no green to work with and the green running away from you. To hit this shot, use your highest lofted club, typically a 56 or 58 degree wedge. Take a wider than usual stance, and align your feet and shoulders left of the intented target. You want to do this because your clubface should be opened up significantly, yet still pointing directly at the target. This allows for a higher ball flight, which obviously means less runout upon landing. The final setup tip is to place the ball towards your front foot when aligning; this will also help with a high trajectory. As far as swinging goes, well, that just takes a ton of practice. It's a high-risk, high-difficulty shot; it takes time to get right consistently. If you have previous experience hitting a high, soft bunker shot, think about the flop shot in the same way - although honestly, if you're good enough to hit the former well you don't need my help with the latter. Last tip: don't make this the focus of your practice. Eliminating situations where a flop shot is necessary is far better for your game than hitting them well on every hole.