Seems everyone wants to hit the flop shot these days. The first thing you should always do is see if a flop shot is even necessary in the first place. Often, I see amateurs hitting flop shots because they feel they always have to land the ball on the green. That’s not always the case. Sometimes is perfectly acceptable to land a chip short of the green and have it trickle on towards the hole. So make sure a flop is even necessary before you try one.

If it is, here’s what I like to do. Get your hands low, play the ball forward in your stance a bit, and allow the shaft to lean away from the target. From here, start your backswing with a big hinge of the wrists. Now, here’s where it’s get’s tricky. I don’t want you to turn the club over and release it on the downswing. If anything, you’re going to want to hold the handle back and let the clubhead pass through with some extra speed. You also want to hold that face open for as long as you can by limiting the rotation (not the release) of the hands through the shot.

Preventing the rolling of the wrists and the rotation of the clubface through the shot is a surefire way to hit a flop. Just remember to turn the body and maintain the necessary pivot through the shot. Give it a try and let me know how it goes. (And check back in a couple weeks. I covered this very shot on video.)

-Stan

And it’ll be interesting to see how things play out between the PGA Tour and the USGA in reference to whether long or belly-length putters can or cannot be anchored to the body. Nevertheless, long putters have helped many golfers who struggle with the yips and who need a fresh perspective with their putting.

To answer your question, can a long putter really help some golfers? Absolutely. But it’s not a universal truth for everyone. Some folks just don’t like the way they look and feel. And I’m one of them.

-Stan

Thanks for the question. The best way to handle trees on a golf course is to come visit me out here in the Arizona desert. You’ll rarely need a shot that flies low and stays below the tree branches out here…

But if you happen to face a shot that requires you to hit a low shot that stays below the leaves, the solution is to simply swing a club with less loft. I’ve seen some players try and get fancy by de-lofting their irons and hitting down on the ball. And while that may work from time to time, the reality is you’ll add a lot of backspin, which will then raise the trajectory of the ball. This is especially true if you plan on making full swings.

Instead, you’ll be better off by choking down on a lower-lofted club and swinging smoothly with soft hands. This will knock backspin off the ball to keep it low in the air. You’ll also see that this type of shot will add some forward roll when the ball hits the ground.

Give it a few practice tries the next time you hit some balls. Remember to choke down on the grip and because you’re using a “soft hands” approach, make a smooth, full rotation of the body back and through. Just don’t try to knock the ball down. The slower hand release and less lofted club will do the work for you.

-Stan

PS: The offer still stands to come see me out here in paradise.

Thanks

I own all of your books, including your latest, “The Art of the Swing”, as well as your Eyeline golf putting DVD. I was thrilled when I read about the new videos in the book because I learn better when I can see a swing action rather than reading about it. However, I must express how disappointed I was after I realized I have to own a smartphone to get the video features that accompany your new book. I do not own a smartphone and have no intention of getting one anytime soon. Is there any chance the videos can be made available to all of us that purchased this book, even those of us without a fancy phone and data package with our cellular provider?

Regards,
Tim

I have thoroughly enjoyed your earlier publications, “The Art of Scoring” as an e-Book on my Kindle. With the e-Book format I can bring your thoughts and recommendations to the practice area and refer to your material quickly through electronic bookmarks. Hence, will “The Art of the Swing” also be available as an e-Book, can I still use the Microsoft Tags, and might it be possible to get the electronic versions of “The Art of Putting” and “The Art of the Short Game” at a discount when you already own the printed versions?

Sincerely,

René Andersson, Veberöd, Sweden

PS On short par 3 holes, where I can tee up the ball, I sometimes use your pitching technique with an 8- or 9-iron to the detriment of my opponents. DS

I am just wondering whether I can get access to your videos without being an owner of a smartphone?

Greetings from Germany…. Ralph