I have no distance control at all with my flop shots. I either duff the ball in front of me or hit a (seemingly) good shot and it goes 20 feet too long. Anyone got some drills to help me out?
first off, if your handicap is over 10, u really dont need a flop, second, all a flop shot is is a bunker shot without sand, so make sure to accelerate through.
For distance control, all u can really do is practice.
i tend to use the flop shot often, but I'm not a good pitch and runner.
anyway, you need a decent lie to even attempt it. I just take a steep backswing and use lots of hand/wrist action. at the start of the downswing, I point the end of the grip at the ball and just drop the club on the ball as it passes through.
Well, if you'll do like stag said and use a steeper angle of attack with acceleration, and do like mr3856a said and practice it, then you should develop a somewhat consistent strike, although with flop shots nothing is guaranteed. Then, when you can achieve about the same strike every time you can control the distance by how much you draw the club back. Of course it all depends on your lie, type of grass, how much room you have to work with, etc. Keep in mind that the flop may not be the shot called for.
With your handicap it shouldn't be too hard to make the adjustment.
Mr.3856a and Shaderunner are right, consistent flop shots take lots of practice along with experimenting on different ways. a flop shot shouldn't be needed very often, but it's nice to have when needed. i practice chipping in my small back yard 2 to 3 times a week on all sorts of chips and flops, you would be surprised how much you will improve and what you can do with the golf ball.
The flop is a good shot, but I use it very sparingly...Heck, even Tiger uses it sparingly. This is what he said about it: "The flop shot is a high-risk gamble. I only play it when I have little green to work with or when it's the only way to get the ball close to the hole." (from "How I Play Golf" by Tiger Woods.) I'm pretty sure he hits a more consistent flop shot than me (Ya think?) so I factor that in before attempting the shot. Sometimes there's no other choice, but if I've got green to work with a pitch or chip is my choice before the flop. As for controlling distance, varying the length of your swing tends to make a flop shot problematic. The nature of the shot requires a long swing with a steep backswing and a slightly concave left wrist. You don't want to chop at the ball so it's important to use your full follow through. I find that if I use the toe of my 60* lob wedge for the shot it helps give a softer landing that stays put better (Got that tip from Tiger as well.) But making an abbreviated swing for a flop doesn't work for me. If it works for you, that's great.
You have to committ to this shot 110%. If you hesitate or decelerate at all, you'll be looking at the ball about 4 feet in front of you. As everyone else has said...open the face, open your stance, make sure the face is aimed at the target. Take the club back steep, and come through aggresively with some wrist action. Follow through big, and it should go high and soft.
Mr.3856a and Shaderunner are right, consistent flop shots take lots of practice along with experimenting on different ways. a flop shot shouldn't be needed very often, but it's nice to have when needed. i practice chipping in my small back yard 2 to 3 times a week on all sorts of chips and flops, you would be surprised how much you will improve and what you can do with the golf ball.
I was talking to a guy I played with yesterday about this after I hit a few nice pitches during our round. You would be AMAZED how much you will benefit from even minimal short game practice. It pays you back exponentially.
All the info given about the short game looks good. Here is another thought: try hitting 7iron pitch and run shorts with firm wrists. I learned that many years ago and it still works. And on the flop shot: practice taking a rather full swing with an open clubface, but break your wrists at the bottom of your swing and keep your hands low while letting the clubhead come up with the wrist break. I know that is counterintuitive because low hands tend to keep the ball low, but try it on the practice range or chipping green and you should see results after no more than a few shots.
A soft, fluffly lie where the ball is sitting just above the ground is key to this shot. Then, it's a matter of practice, practice, practice.
you open the club face to hit a true flop shot on a fluffy lie and your not even going to touch the ball. You will slide right under it. now you can hit a fake flop shot without doing anything to your club face or swing on a fluffy lie because that lie alone will make the ball go high in the air.
There is a lot of good advice here. I learned how to hit a flop when I was a kid and still use it. Never use it unless it's absolutely necessary....shortsided, green sloping away, bunker carry, etc. Regardless of how much you practice it, and you do need to practice it a lot, distance control will always be iffy. The good news is that once you start making consistant contact your margin of error is pretty large, that is, swinging too hard will result in a higher but not much longer ball flight so your misses won't be that bad. As has been posted, commitment is key and decelleration will kill you leaving the ball at your feet or skulling it 40 yards over the other side of the green.
August 23rd, 2006, 07:15 AM
you can control the distance by how much you draw the club back. Of course it all depends on your lie, type of grass, how much room you have to work with, etc. Keep in mind that the flop may not be the shot called for.
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