Learn Different Shots around the Green to Save Strokes

October 18, 2007
By: Butch Bundy

Most of us love to watch the tour players take big swings with their sand wedge and loft the ball way up in to the air stopping it right next to the hole. While it is certainly a cool shot to hit, the odds of it coming off properly even half of the time are pretty small. The big difference between you and me and those players is that they hit that shot hundreds of times a week in practice and we try it on the weekend or whenever we get a chance to play. There is an old saying that I tell students during a short game lesson; Putt whenever you can, chip when you can’t putt and pitch when you have to.
I am and have always been a big fan of getting the ball on the ground and rolling as soon as possible when hitting shots around the green. It is much easier to figure out how far a ball will roll than it is to try to fly a ball the right distance and then gauge how much or how little a ball will spin when it does hit the ground. Even if you miss a green and have short sided yourself, the correct shot doesn’t always have to be to pull out your sand wedge and try to put the ball in the air. Some times taking an 8 or 9 iron out and bumping the ball in to the bank in front of you is the safer and better play. It is also much easier to hit this hot solid since the swing is not as long. The most important thing to take into account to ensure solid contact is to make sure that your ball position is off of your back foot and that your feet are only a few inches apart. Choking down on the golf club an inch or two also helps. It is essential that any chip or bump and run be hit down and through in order for the ball to react the same way and to release quickly. You never want to hit up on this shot and if the ball is not back in the stance it will tend to make you hit up on the ball which will result in either hitting behind the ball or hitting it thin.
As the saying implies, if the grass between you and the green is not too high or wet I always encourage a putter. I thought this might help some of you especially as we go into a time of year when the Bermuda grass goes dormant and the areas that are not over seeded with a winter grass become firm. Bumping the ball or putting from off of the green becomes the better play when the lies around the green get firmer in the fall and winter months.