How to Hit a Flop Shot
What is a flop shot
A flop shot is one in which the ball travels high but not very far, and lands softly with very little roll. In difficult circumstances you may have to play one just to get out of trouble but in most instances you will play the shot from close to the green, when the hole is cut near to the edge of the putting surface. Frequently, but not exclusively, you will be trying to clear a bunker or water hazard (penalty area).
What do you need to hit a flop shot
This is one area of golf where you need a specific bit of kit and that’s a lob wedge. For many golfers, the most lofted club in their bag is a sand wedge, which are typically manufactured in lofts between 54-58 degrees. Lob wedges generally come with 60 degrees of loft but you can get 62 degrees or even more. However, if you cannot get the result you want with 60 degrees, you might want to consider snooker or bowls and leave the golf to someone else.
Preparation
Of all the shots you might want to try on the course, the flop is without a doubt the one that you don’t want to attempt without first practicing. It takes a little bit of skill but far more importantly, commitment. Think of a bunker shot, where the biggest fault you see among handicapped golfers is a lack of follow-through. The golfer knows they need to take sand but do not commit to swing hard through the shot. Almost certainly this is because they are afraid of thinning the shot and watching the ball skitter across the green like a startled cat. The same negative mindset can affect people trying the lob shot because a similar degree of commitment is required. To take the shot on during a round takes a wee bit of courage and confidence, and that can only come with practice. Typically, a lob shot will travel 20-25-yards but you can fine tune this with practice.
Mistakes when hitting a flop shot
Let’s start with the negative, and the most frequently seen error committed by golfers attempting a lob shot – and the same applies, incidentally, to bunker shots. The golfer knows they need as much loft on the club as possible, so they want to open the clubface. Grip a wedge and, right-handed golfers, rotate your hands to the right. This opens the clubface and increases the loft. What many golfers do, however, is set the club behind the golf ball, grip it as normal and then rotate their hands. Unfortunately, during the downswing their hands will automatically return to the address position, returning the clubface to its original neutral, or even closed, position. Instead, set the clubhead behind the ball and rotate it to an open position before you grip it.
Conditions
If your ball is on the fairway or sitting down in light rough, green for go. If it is on a tight, firm lie or perched up on top of thick grass, red for danger. Off a tight lie it is easy to hit the ground fractionally behind the ball and smother it. From a fluffy lie you can slide the clubhead underneath the ball so that it travels virtually nowhere.
Address
Because you have opened the clubface you need to aim left of your target. That is, aim your feet, hips and shoulders left, while the clubface points at the target. Have the butt end of the club pointing at your belly button – your hands should not be ahead of the shaft. Critically, put most of your weight onto your left leg (if you’re right-handed). This will encourage a steep angle of attack, making sure you hit down on the ball and minimises the chances of thinning it across the green. The ball position should be forward in your stance.
Technique
What you are aiming to do is take a full swing (backswing and follow-through), with a lofted club that has an open clubface. Because your feet, hips and shoulders are pointing left of the target you will automatically swing on an out-to-in swingpath. Imagine the clubhead sliding underneath the ball and – this cannot be emphasised strongly enough – do not decelerate. Once you have set up correctly you must commit to the shot and this is where it takes a bit of courage, which is why practice is so crucially important. You need the confidence to know that that the harder you swing, the higher, not further, the ball will fly. You may even find, once you gain more experience, that you hit it so high that it drops into the bunker of water hazard you’re trying to avoid but this can be rectified with just a little experience.
Summary
If you have the flop shot in your armoury, you will be literally and metaphorically ahead of the game as it is one of the greatest shot-savers in golf. Get yourself a decent lob wedge – the array from which to choose is tremendous – and practise. Check the lie of your ball, open the clubface, aim your body (but not the clubface) left of target, put most of your weight on your leading leg and swing with conviction.