Flop Shots

We’ve all been there, short sided, a bunker to go over and thinking there is absolutely no chance I will ever get this up and down. And most the time, we are right. Thin it straight across to the other side, or duff it into the bunker. But what if you had a shot in your locker that your mates cannot believe you would pull off? The flop shot. Check out these tips and you’ll be flopping it like Phil the Thrill in no time:

Open face – if you are short sided and have a bunker to clear you are gonna need plenty of loft to get that ball up and landing soft. That’s not gonna happen with a pitching wedges standard loft. Pull out that 56 or 60 degree and open the face up wide. Need as much loft as possible.

Weight forward – if you are leaning on your back foot for this shot, there’s only one place that ball is gonna go.. 3 feet in front of you. You’re gonna need at least 70/30 split on your front foot, and keep it that way throughout the swing. Don’t rock onto your back foot, stay on top of the ball. 

Full swing – now this is the part where people get scared, but if you are doing the first parts correctly this shot requires plenty of club head speed. Hinge those wrists quickly on the take away, take a good length swing and then commit to it. Don’t be afraid to let the hands ‘flip’ as you come to impact as this will help the ball pop up. 

Now, I would recommend giving this plenty of practice before you try and unleash it on the course because getting this wrong is not gonna be pretty for anyone. But give these tips a try next time you are up the range, and before you know it you’ll be a trickshot champ.