THE FLOP SHOT

Widen everything to add maximum loft

You pull or push an approach and, when you get to your ball, you find that not only is there a bunker between you and the hole, the pin is cut just a few feet onto the green. The smart strategy is to chip to the widest part of the green and accept you’ll probably drop a shot, but there are times when you want to take this shot on. The good news is that it’s not nearly as di cult to play as it looks.

GET WIDE AND LOW AT ADDRESS

One of the secrets to adding loft at impact is to get the club approaching the ball at a shallow angle. Widening your stance and standing a little further away from the ball than you normally would will help you lower your body and your hands at address. These adjustments will give you more confidence to open the face of your sand wedge or gap wedge.

FLARE YOUR LEAD TOE TOWARDS THE TARGET

Rotating your lead toe helps with two things. First, it presets a little extra hip clearance. This will enable you to turn your body through to the target with more freedom. Second, it helps anchor a little bit of extra weight on to your front foot. This will discourage you from allowing your weight to fall onto your back foot and trying to ‘scoop’ the ball into the air – which is absolutely the last thing you want to do when playing this shot.

SET CLUBSHAFT IN A VERTICAL POSITION

Think about the relationship between the clubshaft and the clubface. If the shaft leans towards the target, the clubface loses loft. To maximise the loft on your wedge, set up with your hands directly above the ball. You can even play this shot with the shaft leaning slightly away from the target, but that requires a little extra practice to master.

CHOKE DOWN A LITTLE ON THE GRIP

This shot is all about keeping loft on the clubface at impact and being able to swing with speed without worrying that the ball will fly too far. Once you’ve widened your stance as I suggested in the first step, you’ll most likely find it more comfortable to move down an inch or so on your grip. This small adjustment will improve your control and add a little extra wrist action to the shot – not to mention some additional height.