Bump and run or fly it to the hole?

[oukeith]

Not a true bump and run, but my go-to is a low pitch shot that I try to get down on the green sooner than later. Almost always with the 56*. It seems relatively low risk.

[bluedot]

Think of it this way:

 

If your ball was on the green 30' from the hole, would you play a bump and run (aka a putt, which is a bump and run with a VERY low-lofted club, right?) or would you take a more lofted club and try to fly it to the hole? If that isn't a hard question, then you have your answer if the ball is off the green, too.

 

I've never run across a good teaching pro who teaches amateurs to chip instead of putt when on the green, and I've never run across one who teaches amateurs to fly it to the hole when they can bump and run it when they are just off the green.

[Celeras]

Around the green is always pretty obvious to me. It's when I'm a bit longer that I get screwed up. Say 20-30 yards short of the green, right in the fairway with no obstructions to the green and nothing tricky about the pin.

 

The play is to fly it, obviously. However I often get stuck in the "if I blade the wedge I'm flying 30 yards over" mode, so sometimes I'll try the impossible 7-iron roll up. It's the low percentage play with also low percentage of disaster. It's seldom hit close, "but at least I'm on the green!" so I can 3 putt. I think I lose a lot strokes there and I'm working on manning up more often.

[juststeve]

I like to get the ball on the ground and running toward the hole as soon as conditions permit.

 

Steve

[DFinch]

> @lenman73 said:

> > @DFinch said:

> > > @PlayfromtheBrain said:

> > > I've read this somewhere before, and it would be nice to have in this thread, but can someone tell me the general rule of thumb for bump n runs and the distance that each club loft will travel? Seemed like some useful information when I read it, but can't remember where I found it.

> >

> > "Rule of 12", which will vary with your specific technique, lie, and course/greens conditions. Take how far you need to carry it in the air to land it just on the green (that's one part), take how many "parts" it needs to run out (say, that distance 4 more times), subtract from 12. In this example, 8 iron. 6 iron will roll about 6 times as far as it flies, and so on.

> > I'm closer to the "rule of 13" when I'm bumping it, primarily because I spent a long time "chipping" with one club (58/60*). I tend to carry bumps a bit too far so I take one less club.

> >

>

> I never heard of this before, but it sounds brilliant ! I always heard the such and such club will roll out a certain percentage but I could never remember what was what like I can't now. But this I can remember and will try it next time the conditions are conducive to a bump and run. Thank you !

 

Look up the late Paul Runyon, often cited by short game gurus as one of the best short game players of all time. He cited the original "Rule of 11" (old lofts). He was a master around the greens and there are many videos on Youtube that demonstrate his method.

Here's the best one: