As the ground gets wetter and wetter, do you struggle to be as consistent around the greens as in summer time? There are 3 types of shot you need to master to make sure you get the best results every time you are around the green. The lie of the ball and what type of ground it is laying on (wet/dry or long/short grass) is the most important thing to analyse and enable you to pick your designed shot.
The reason why it is more difficult or less consistent to judge trajectory, distance control, spin control is due to the margin for error we have in the wet. With less optimal technique, our margin for error becomes smaller giving a greater demand to control the low point of the club (where the club hits the ground and also how deep we go down underneath the ground). Players who can strike the ground where they intend are more consistent in wetter conditions and poorer lies.
Here is 3 shots to practice to help get the most consistent results depending on the environment and the shot you have in front of you - set up for all these shots are KEY!:
The Anti-duff chip Shot
This shot is great for when you have a poor/wet lie with room between yourself and the pin. This shot can be used when in the fairway but can be very effective in longer grass or bare/muddy lies.
Set-up the ball close to your trail foot, 2-4 inches back and hands in the same poisiton (under lead chest with butt of club pointing at lead hip) of your normal chip shot ball position. Narrow your stance which will help control and produce a downward strike to the back of the ball. The intent here is to hit ball first to reduce the chance of duffing the ball, keeping hands ahead at all times and producing a low flighted running shot. The ball will come off quicker than normal with this club so bare that in mind with length of swing. Great shot with any club from LW to 7iron.
The Flop Shot
Ball position forward with a wide stance allows for a shallow angle of attack. In this shot, we would to brush the grass limiting the amount of divot we take. Open the clubface with your most lofted club and take a longer and slower tempo swing, allowing the clubhead to release at the bottom of the arc. This will produce a higher flight, utilise the bounce and maximise the margin for error on where you hit the ground. This shot is great when needing to go over something, or you have limited room between yourself and the pin.
Utilising the bounce with a short chip shot
*Demonstrated above in the photo of set-up*. This shot is a great way to hit a similar flighted chip shot with your LW or SW but produce more consistent results.
Similar to the flop shot, we want to utilise the bounce and therefore will have the ball position forward which allows for a shallow angle of attack. We want to have our weight more forward, 70-30 on lead side which will help us hit ball first. The key is to use a less lofted club with more bounce. Generally our SW/Gap/Pitching wedge has more bounce on the club than our lob wedge so we use one of these clubs. Open the club face to increase the bounce further and aim a little left with body and shoulders. Hit the same shot/technique with similar swing length you would with a straight faced more lofted club, ie. LW or SW and watch the club skid through the grass instead get stuck. Great shot if you don’t need a high shot and want to increase your margin for error to give you more confidence.