short pitch shots off dirt

Hi all.

Been trialling a bunch of methods for pitch shots off hard/soft dirt.

I play a country course. where there is minimal grass. Real hardcore hardpan basically. Googling hardpan lie techniques usually shows guys playing off tight grass.(wish i had grass to play off..lol)

Im at a loss for a reliable technique. Use the bounce and the club skips up and skulls the ball sometimes. Use forward lean and you risk digging the club in.

Unsure if i should come in shallow or steep? forward lean or not? release the club or hold it off? I play off a 5 HC currently. Im finding i drop 2-3 shots a round due to bad pitching.

any tips be great

Just use your putter. Seriously.

How short is the shot? Is there water or trap to carry? I grew up playing s*** like that around amarillo, tx. Lots of putts. Lots of chips with 6 irons.

Putter. Hybrid. 5 wood/3 wood. All great options if you dont have to carry anything.

Otherwise, u need to explore a lob wedge with a very specific grind. Basically grind one down like u wld if u had to pitch off concrete. There are several custom wedge guys who can do the job for about $200.

Two words

Power chunk

Shallow with a little bit of shaft lean. All the “use the bounce” teachers still have a little lean at impact. I like to use a wedge with quite a bit of leading edge bounce but a lot of relief in the rear of the sole (think PING’s TS grind). It doesn’t dig when I lean the shaft forward a bit and effective bounce doesn’t get too high when opening the face.

I played a lot golf when i was young on a course that had concrete hard dirt areas. It's why I've always favored low bounce wedges. I open it up and play them like flop shots close to the green and swing firmly. If I try to finesse a pitch shot on that stuff it's blade city. with any other shot out of that stuff, I play it normally. Every now and then it's gonna be a bladed skank but no more often then I top or fat from the grass. Don't fear the hardpan. It's like a dog, it smells/senses fear!

Never had a problem with hardpan. Soft squishy/soggy is my nemesis

It’s a tough shot if you use any loft. If possible go down to a straighter faced club but if not put all your weight on your lead side and hope.

Monte Power chunk! or maybe use a hybrid and just use a putting stroke. Hope it doesn't hit any bigger impediments.

The Texas wedge will never let you down, especially under pressure

The OP said pitch, implying a longer shot with the need for some amount of carry. That rules out putter, hybrids, 6i, etc... . Now a power chunk sounds interesting. Is it low bounce + shaft lean + 0.5" fat + extra firm swing for given distance? Any special technique tricks?

Saw Phil once hit a high-lofted pitch off a paved cart path using bounce. So the answer is practice. If I were in the OP’s shoes, I’d take shag bag and a couple of beers and find a bare spot where I could work on that very shot. Then rinse and repeat until I figured it out.

Power Chunk sounds like an awesome chocolatey snack I would grab at the turn.

If you are going over something, I completely agree with Monte, the "power chunk" is the shot of choice! Essentially a bunker shot, but make certain that you manage your expectations. You aren't going to hit it stone dead out of a bad lie over a bunker after you have short sided yourself. So, commit to the shot power chunk, hit it well, and go try to make a 10'er!

Alternatively, if you aren't going over something, the "bumpy trundler" chip/putt with a fairway wood or hybrid is super easy to get very proficient with in a very short amount of time.

Now, all that sounds great and wonderful, but it does take practice and you are not alone in your search. We are all there with you looking for how to play that one shot that seems to get us all! For instance, I live in NW Florida, where it's typically lush and we play on Bermuda grass. I can't seem to figure out how to play the "into the grain (or bare) lie when the ground is wet" shot when I have to get it in the air!

Good Luck!

I like the power chunk for thin or wet bunker conditions.

But a lofted club with forward shaft lean and a putting stroke work better for me from the hard pan. You didn't want to try the power chunk on the crap I grew up playing on in Eastern Colorado. That stuff would break the club or your wrists, depending.

> @jholz said:

> I like the power chunk for thin or wet bunker conditions.

>

> But a lofted club with forward shaft lean and a putting stroke work better for me from the hard pan. You didn't want to try the power chunk on the crap I grew up playing on in Eastern Colorado. That stuff would break the club or your wrists, depending.

you got it. if you are playing in the west in a draught and the caliche soil bakes out. it is literally concrete. you aint going to chunk it with any success. you are going to have to nip it perfectly with a wedge with the right grind/bounce or stab it off your back foot. or putt it. do the best you can. just dont judge yourself based on what you see people do at Augusta.

Use as little loft as you can get away with.

Lower bounce wedge is probably better, but if it's sitting clean stay aggressive and use that bounce. Ball forward and throw the sole of the club under the ball. practice off a piece of plywood or even concrete, I have no problem using a Vokey M grind in this scenario.. The ball will come off a bit lower with tons of spin. (this might be what Monte is referring to, not sure what he means by power chunk?) if you are in a bit of a hole you might need to play it way off your back foot and come down more steeply, feel like you are almost hitting the top of the ball.

Either way don't decel, stay aggressive.

> @I_HATE_SNOW said:

> Use as little loft as you can get away with.

I disagree, I use my 58 and thump it. Now if it's hard pan all the way to the hole and you can run it up there fine...but if you need to fly it to the green in the air, less loft is not what I would do.

> @dlygrisse said:

> > @I_HATE_SNOW said:

> > Use as little loft as you can get away with.

>

> I disagree, I use my 58 and thump it. Now if it's hard pan all the way to the hole and you can run it up there fine...but if you need to fly it to the green in the air, less loft is not what I would do.

I'd only use a LW if short sided, any room to run the ball and I'm hitting less loft, much easier to get good contact and the thinned shot won't be as bad as a bladed LW.

Thanks for all the replies guys.

Whats a power chunk?..lol. Is it basically a bunker shot? explosion shot? how far out would you expect to play this shot?

Legitimate hardpan lies (like those off concrete) are easy to play.

I find the hard baked ground that has 5mm of slightly softer dirt the issue. My main miss is a slightly heavy shot. when the Lie is to thin to use all the bounce but the leading edge digs in a bit if you shaft lean it. The 40-70y range is where i find most issue. to far for a big chip shot.

As for bump and runs. With the random clumps of grass/dirt/3inch wide cracks all over the course, often your ball can literally bounce sideways. Pretty much need to carry it the entire length as the greens are typical elevated greens the size of a postage stamp and the bump and run just doesnt work i find.

> @ThinkingPlus said:

> The OP said pitch, implying a longer shot with the need for some amount of carry. That rules out putter, hybrids, 6i, etc... . Now a power chunk sounds interesting. Is it low bounce + shaft lean + 0.5" fat + extra firm swing for given distance? Any special technique tricks?

This describes perfectly how I do it, but face open a bit like a bunker shot. It works for me. Key is to commit to it

> @OrangeGravy said:

> > @ThinkingPlus said:

> > The OP said pitch, implying a longer shot with the need for some amount of carry. That rules out putter, hybrids, 6i, etc... . Now a power chunk sounds interesting. Is it low bounce + shaft lean + 0.5" fat + extra firm swing for given distance? Any special technique tricks?

>

> This describes perfectly how I do it, but face open a bit like a bunker shot. It works for me. Key is to commit to it

Cool. Thanks!

> @MIgolfer20 said:

>

> 60 degree, very upright off the toe. limits turf interaction and makes ur path pretty shallow. still a tough shot but this is the best I have figured out from that **** on earth lie.

That is exactly where I'm ending up in my "testing." Heel off the ground, maybe even toe the club in just a hair, and super shallow. Also still fiddling with ball position to see what works best. So far, I'm leaning towards a middle to forward ball position, but it takes some good nerves to look down at that ball position with that kind of lie and not freak out just a little bit!

> @MIgolfer20 said:

> > @"Dan Drake" said:

> > If you are going over something, I completely agree with Monte, the "power chunk" is the shot of choice! Essentially a bunker shot, but make certain that you manage your expectations. You aren't going to hit it stone dead out of a bad lie over a bunker after you have short sided yourself. So, commit to the shot power chunk, hit it well, and go try to make a 10'er!

> >

> > Alternatively, if you aren't going over something, the "bumpy trundler" chip/putt with a fairway wood or hybrid is super easy to get very proficient with in a very short amount of time.

> >

> > Now, all that sounds great and wonderful, but it does take practice and you are not alone in your search. We are all there with you looking for how to play that one shot that seems to get us all! For instance, I live in NW Florida, where it's typically lush and we play on Bermuda grass. I can't seem to figure out how to play the "into the grain (or bare) lie when the ground is wet" shot when I have to get it in the air!

> >

> > Good Luck!

>

> 60 degree, very upright off the toe. limits turf interaction and makes ur path pretty shallow. still a tough shot but this is the best I have figured out from that **** on earth lie.

This is my go-to play from really crappy lies around the green where I have some room to run it. Works well from both hardpan and muddy lies. Easy as putting once you get the hang of it.

just try to nip it with a 60 lol. I like to practice trying to make perfect contact by chipping/pitching on putting surfaces (just don’t make any divots). teaches you to use the bounce correctly, and when you pitch on tight fairways again, it’ll be a piece of cake. i struggled with these shots since i moved to south florida where it’s not only very tight, but grainy and soft (a recipe for loss chipping confidence lol). i’ve also tried a bunch of different bounces and grinds but the best thing to do is just to train yourself to make perfect contact.

How much bounce you have on your wedges will determine how much shaft lean and how far back to place ball. A lot of bounce, leading edge off the dirt.

Sole grind is another factor. With a grind with some heel remove, allows to open clubface and keep leading edge flush with dirt.

After moving from WI to GA, I got new wedges with less bounce.