In the past, I’ve written about club selection around the
greens. However, it seems either I don’t have a very large reader
following or some of you just aren’t comfortable with changing your
club selection on chip shots.
In the past, I’ve written about club selection around the greens. However, it seems either I don’t have a very large reader following or some of you just aren’t comfortable with changing your club selection on chip shots.
I often see players automatically take a high-lofted club, like a sand wedge or lob wedge, to hit every chip shot. There are times when this is the correct choice, like when chipping up or down to a different elevation. But when on the same level as the pin, change clubs to fit the amount of green you have to work with.
If you are not familiar with this, it means the amount of room you have for the ball to land and roll before it gets to the hole. So high-loft clubs are great with little green to work with. But when you have a lot of green, lower the trajectory to get the ball to roll to the hole with an easy stroke.
The last thing you want is to take a high-loft club to a back pin – hit it up in the air and it gets no roll. Now you have a 40-foot putt and you 3-putt.
The rule of thumb is the more room, the lower the loft; less room, the higher the loft.
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Don DeLorenzo is a PGA-certified instructor at Gilroy Golf Course. To schedule a lesson with Don, call Gilroy GC at (408) 848-0490.
