Bump & Run

Look, you’re not Rory McIlroy and you’re never going to be. He can nip a lob wedge off tight lies around the green, you can’t. And that is fine! But why do you keep trying to make the game harder for yourself, when there is a much easier way of chipping around the green. Okay it’s not sexy and usually you only see senior members doing it, but the bump and run is a very easy way of getting closer to the pin from just off the green. 

Use a short iron – when you have a lob wedge in hand on a tight lie there is so much that can potentially go wrong. Put a short iron in hand, suddenly there is far less to go wrong. The ball flight will come out lower with less spin so you only need a short swing to get it just onto the green and rolling. 

Treat it like a putt – Because of the low ball flight, you want to treat this shot like it is a long putt. When you are using a wedge it is going to spin but because you’re not a tour pro, chances are the spin is going to be inconsistent. By putting this shot in the locker, you know every time that it is going to land on the green and roll out which you can control by shortening or lengthening the stroke. You can even use your putter grip for this shot to help with feel. 

No wrist hinge – you don’t need to create any wrist hinge for this as the club head needs to stay square on the way back and through. A good feel for this one is that you create a triangle with your arms, and you don’t break it at any point throughout the stroke. 

So swallow your pride, and pull out a short iron next time you have a chip shot around the green. I guarantee you will make more up and downs this way.