Play the flop shot

• Tuesday, 5 October 2010
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Golf tip: the flop shot [Tom Miles]

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So, your approach shot has finished behind a bunker and there's only a tiny patch of land to pitch the ball on between you and the flag. Your options are limited to one - the flop shot. This is a high tariff solution, but one you need to be able to pull off. The secret to playing the flop shot is to open the face and make a full and committed swing. Here's how to play the flop shot...

Understand the shot

Understanding how the flop shot works is the secret to playing it with confidence. When you play any regular golf shot, more speed in the swing translates to more distance. With this shot, however, speed equals height. And it's for this reason that you need to commit to making a full swing.

Notice from this photograph below how the clubhead overtakes the ball; the ball pops up into the air as the clubhead drives into the follow-through. This photograph illustrates exactly how important a committed approach is.

The address

To ensure you get as much height as possible move the ball forward in your stance so the clubface is perfectly open at impact. Hinge your wrists early in the backswing, as this will ensure you retain the right amount of loft. 

Read the lie

There is an important warning that goes with the flop shot. If you've drawn a bare lie the club will have no room to slide under the ball. If you find your ball in a bare lie take your medicine and play a normal chip shot to a safe spot on the green. If there's enough grass under the ball, like the image above, play the flop shot and do it with conviction.