Short Game Shots - Tricky Pitching Lies, Flop Shot, Bunker Play (featuring Luke Donald)

• Grip down on the club for all these shots.  It gives more control since the club will feel lighter
• Generally you want the ball on the ground as quickly as possible

Downhill Pitch/ Nestled Lie
In Luke's words: "So here we are, I've just missed the green in some pretty juicy rough here andthis is a short enough pitch that you want to get the ball rolling.  Really the lie is the most important thing here.

Sitting Down

Sitting Up

If the lie was sitting up (see above), then I might use something a little less lofted [like a 9 iron or PW] and get the ball to roll a little more; it would be a chip shot.  But usually you're not that lucky and the ball sits down a little bit, and because of that, it becomes a pitch shot.  I'm using my 60* LW again, the ball position a little bit forward of center, and I really want to get the club hinging up and using the club's weight to bring it down into the ball, popping it out of the grass.  I'm not going to force the club past the ball, it's almost going to stop just past impact.  The biggest mistake I see with a lot of players is that they try to force the ball up by taking a long swing and falling backwards and that's not the way to get it close to the hole.  With tricky lies you just want to pop it out.

 Luke hinges the club back with his right hand bending/ cupping slightly.  This creates a slightly closed clubface which will make it easier to make square contact with the ball.

"See how far that club has moved?  It's moved hardly at all, but it's a good result every time.  The last thing you want to do is lift it up and hit it really hard."

Running Pitch 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0Le7c0te9U&list=PL2845430916F319FD 

In Luke's words: "I'm just in front of the green, the pin is at the back of the green though, and it's uphill to the pin.  I'm going to play a running pitch shot.  I think people always get in trouble here because they always want to go with their SW or LW.  It's going to be tough to run it up the slope even if you put the ball way back in the stance, the ball is just going to spin a little more and stop short of the hole by 20 or 30 feet.  In this situation, I like to use an 8 or 9 iron and I focus on where I want to land the ball on the green to roll the ball up to the hole.  It's a much safer shot, it's going to get up to the hole a lot easier and it's going to give you a better opportunity to get up and down.  It's a simple shot.  You're gripping down on the club a little bit, you want the ball a little back of center, and you want nice solid contact focusing on where you want to land it.  I think too many people get reliant on hitting the same club all the time around the greens.  Be adventurous, try different clubs around the greens, get the ball to roll a little bit more."

 He hinges the club back slightly, bringing the club back to about 9:00.  Remember to pick out a specific target and trust your feel by taking a few practice strokes.

Notice how there is a little bit of lower body rotation to help shallow out the angle of attack, to promote more of a sweeping strike.  

 
Bunker Play
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvXiKPDEUdM&list=PL2845430916F319FD 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTrZvYVk54A   
In Luke's words: "So here we are in the bunker.  This is the actual part of the game that I really enjoy.  A lot of people don't like being in the bunker, they find it hard, but it's all about technique and setup.  In this situation I have a short bunker shot.  In today's game we have pin positions that are cut close to the edges of the green.  So if you miss it on the wrong side, you've got to be able to hit the ball out of the bunker nice and high and be able to create some spin.  The way to do that is to use that back edge of the wedge.  Use the bounce, and the easiest way to do that is to change your setup.  You want the ball really far forward of center, a really open clubface (about 45* or more), you almost want the shaft leaning backwards (that will really expose that backedge--the bounce).  When you get the club leaning backwards that promotes a really open clubface (we want to open up and rotate that club as open as possible).  If you want to create spin with a bunker shot you've got to hit it with speed through impact.  By opening up the clubface, you are glancing across the blade and you can hit it as hard as you want and create more spin.  So ball position nice and forward, shaft leaning back, open that blade, and hit it hard.  The ball will come out and hit nice and softly and won't release.  You can pitch it right by the hole that way and you're able to control it.  You want nice thin divots.  One of the secrets in bunkers is that you want nice thin divots.  As soon as you see a deep, thick divot, you know someone has used that front edge too much and you're not going to be able to create spin that way.

You want as much loft as possible on these shots.  The more loft you have, the harder you can hit it, and the more spin you can create.  The only time I would use less loft is on a longer bunker shot when I want the ball to run a little more.    

Notice how far back the clubshaft is leaning and also how far up in the stance the ball is placed (about edge of his left hip!)

I've noticed that when I blade my bunker shots way over the green I tend to release the angle between my right forearm and clubshaft too early.  Often this is because my angle of attack is too shallow.   A good tip I learned to stop skulling bunker shots is to have a steep backswing (with the arms going very vertical like Bubba Watson).

 

If you can get under the ball (which it looks like here because it's probably sitting on top of the grass), then use the bounce wedge shot because you will have more margin for error.  Generally, the more bounce a wedge has, the easier it will go through the turf.  I recommend using a Sand Wedge for the thick lies (since it generally has the most bounce out of the wedges).