How to hit a flop shot
The first thing to understand about a pitch shot that flies super high and lands with a thud, also know as "the flop," is when to attempt it. If your ball is sitting on tightly mown grass or hardpan, this is not the shot to play. However, when you have a little cushion or the ball is sitting up, anywhere you can get the club to slide under it, call that a green light to try one of the coolest shots in golf. Here's how to do it. —Katie Dahl, one of Golf Digest's Best Young Teachers in America
- Select your most lofted wedge
- Hold the club in front of you and turn the face open a little (clockwise for righties)
- With the face open, take your normal grip, holding the club lightly
- Take a wide stance with more knee bend, like you're starting to sit down
- Lower your hands toward the ground
- Shift a touch more weight onto your front foot
- Set the handle in line with the clubhead and the ball just forward of center
- Start the clubhead back on a wide arc
- Hinge the club up when you get about halfway back
- Make a full backswing but don't rush it to the top
- Think slow and smooth as you come down
- Keep your grip pressure soft
- Don't stop your body rotation toward the target
- Let the clubface slide under the ball
- Be sure not to increase grip pressure through impact
- Keep your body turning until you face the target
- For a tension-free finish, let the club slide down your fingers