Weaken Grip to Master Soft Lob Shot, Golf (Video) - by Pete Styles
Weaken Grip to Master Soft Lob Shot, Golf (Video) - by Pete Styles

I think one of the most flamboyant and glamorous golf shots you can ever hit on the golf course is that little flick shot from the side of the green, the little flop shot, the Mickelson shot. The Phil Mickelson shot, cutting underneath the golf ball, landing really softly on that side of the green. But it’s a very tough shot to get right, and one of the issues with this shot is that the clubface needs to stay open. It really needs to be open at address and then maintaining an open position through impact. And that’s difficult for a lot of golfers to do, because they are used to rotating the clubface through impact and rolling the face downwards and that’s what we need to actually try and avoid with this shot. So here is a little tip.

If you feel that you struggle with the flop shot, because you are rotating the clubface too much, here is a little tip to help you. When you set up to the golf ball, you open the face to the right hand side like that and that will be how you set up to it normally, but then you would normally place your standard grip and you would have two and a half or maybe even three knuckles visible. I am going to ask you just to try and grip it now with a one-knuckle-left-handed grip. It’s effectively a much weaker grip, your left hand for the right-handed golfer, turns round to the left hand side. Your right hand would then go on to its normal position to match that, and it would not only keep the clubface very open at address, but you would find it very difficult to release your hands through impact, you wouldn’t really want to be rolling your hands over because effectively your left hand is already rolled half away over anyway, so more than anything you going to want to open that face open, keep the ball popped up really high.

So we set the face up open. We set the feet up open. Left with the feet, right with the club faced for the right hander. Then we grip it, one knuckle on the left hand, it’s quite a weak left-handed grip. Bring the right hand, set that one nicely on top, clubface is wide open, looking at the sky. Slide the club underneath the golf ball, and the ball pops up very quickly and comes down really softly on the green, when I look back down on the clubface, now it’s still in the open position and haven’t rolled it over, so just be careful when you are playing the flop shots, don’t roll the clubface, keep the face open like Mickelson does, grip it in that weak left-hand grip position for the right-handed golfer and that will help keep the face open and keep the ball high and soft.

2012-08-03

I think one of the most flamboyant and glamorous golf shots you can ever hit on the golf course is that little flick shot from the side of the green, the little flop shot, the Mickelson shot. The Phil Mickelson shot, cutting underneath the golf ball, landing really softly on that side of the green. But it’s a very tough shot to get right, and one of the issues with this shot is that the clubface needs to stay open. It really needs to be open at address and then maintaining an open position through impact. And that’s difficult for a lot of golfers to do, because they are used to rotating the clubface through impact and rolling the face downwards and that’s what we need to actually try and avoid with this shot. So here is a little tip.

If you feel that you struggle with the flop shot, because you are rotating the clubface too much, here is a little tip to help you. When you set up to the golf ball, you open the face to the right hand side like that and that will be how you set up to it normally, but then you would normally place your standard grip and you would have two and a half or maybe even three knuckles visible. I am going to ask you just to try and grip it now with a one-knuckle-left-handed grip. It’s effectively a much weaker grip, your left hand for the right-handed golfer, turns round to the left hand side. Your right hand would then go on to its normal position to match that, and it would not only keep the clubface very open at address, but you would find it very difficult to release your hands through impact, you wouldn’t really want to be rolling your hands over because effectively your left hand is already rolled half away over anyway, so more than anything you going to want to open that face open, keep the ball popped up really high.

So we set the face up open. We set the feet up open. Left with the feet, right with the club faced for the right hander. Then we grip it, one knuckle on the left hand, it’s quite a weak left-handed grip. Bring the right hand, set that one nicely on top, clubface is wide open, looking at the sky. Slide the club underneath the golf ball, and the ball pops up very quickly and comes down really softly on the green, when I look back down on the clubface, now it’s still in the open position and haven’t rolled it over, so just be careful when you are playing the flop shots, don’t roll the clubface, keep the face open like Mickelson does, grip it in that weak left-hand grip position for the right-handed golfer and that will help keep the face open and keep the ball high and soft.