The Loop

How He Hit That: Tiger's miracle flop shot

*Editor's Note: Every Monday Kevin Hinton, Director of Instruction at Piping Rock Club in Locust Valley, N.Y. and one of Golf Digest's Best Young Teachers, tells you how a tour player hits a key shot. This week, Kevin examines Tiger Woods' miraculous flop wedge from behind the 16th green at Muirfield Village. Jack Nicklaus said afterward that it was "The gutsiest shot I've ever seen...He hits it short, the tournament is over, He hits it long, the tournament is over...He put it in the hole." Tiger went on to win Jack's Memorial Tournament by two strokes, and in the process tied Nicklaus' career tournament victories at 73.

*Roger Schiffman

Managing Editor

Golf Digest

Twitter: @RogerSchiffman*

By Kevin Hinton

Twitter: @KevinHintonGolf

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First, here's the shot again...

__2. The Technique Component__Tiger hit this shot almost identically as he would a lofted bunker shot. He said the lie wasn't great--the ball was sitting down a bit in the short rough. He had a very small area of the fringe to land the ball on. He played the ball forward in his stance, the clubface wide open, and the shaft straight or possibly leaning back. This is the setup to maximize loft. He then made a nearly full swing on both sides of the ball, setting the club very early in his backswing, then swinging the club fast and to his left through, keeping the clubface open through impact. Speed is essential to pull off this shot. One absolute in golf is that slow swings produce low shots. The flop is impossible without club head speed.

__3. Thump the Ground__Just as trying to "thump" the sand is a key to quality bunker shots, making sure you "find" the ground is necessary in hitting a well-executed flop. The feeling is the same. You must return the club to ground level, ensuring the club gets under the ball. This is one of the few times you don't really hit down on the ball, but rather try to get the club to slide underneath. If you do err, however, especially when the ball is sitting down a bit, you must hit this shot fat and come up short. Hitting this shot thin will send the ball 100 yards over the green (in this case, in the water).