Bump & Run: How much carry for each loft?

[WideOpenFairways]

Say your chipping a bump and run shot onto a flat green. What percent of the distance do you expect to carry for each loft?

e.g.

Sand Wedge: 50% carry, 50% roll
P Wedge: 30% carry, 70%roll
9 Iron: 25% carry, 75% roll
8 Iron: 20% carry, 80% roll
Hyrbrid 5: 10% carry, 90% roll


Note: the above distances are just estimated to give an example. I'm not sure how much each club is supposed to carry on a proper bump & run shot.

[ezra76]

I personally only chip with 3 clubs PW,GW,SW. I have no clue what each will carry and run. It depends so much on the break and speed of the chip I just play by feel. I played a GW today for about 5% carry and holed it from nearly 40ft. The bump and run is pretty much my standard tecnique. I only drop into the lower irons if it is extremly long and uphill. Usually I prefer to fly onto a spot though for long ones, I find it easier to just read one section of the break.

[warbirdlover]

I do the same as ezra except only use a PW for everything.

[WideOpenFairways]

I guess its a feel based technique, but I'm just wondering if there's a rule of thumb or something. This question could apply for short chips around the green as well.

[ezra76]

I do the same as ezra except only use a PW for everything.

Holy mackeral, how?? What if you are in the thick greenside crap and have a 9 footer downhill breaking 4-5 ft. R to L. No putter because there is 7feet of cabbage between you and the fringe. Land a PW even 6inches on and you'll be chipping the next one 28ft. back up the hill. Just figured I'd play devil's advocate, these are some of the shots I've faced in the last few rounds at the tougher courses I've been trying out.

[ezra76]

My best recommendation is to spend a few minutes on the chipping green before a round, especially on an unfamiliar course. I did this today and chipped very well. The course I normally play I don't even bother. If I don't know the speed after probably 300 some odd rounds there I never will. I think I did read something about the carry and roll distances and they were pretty similar to what you stated. It's so dependant on conditions though it could never be reliable. Another thing too, try to use the same brand/model ball, different balls can react very differently on delicate shots.

[sidvicious]

the guys are right; the question is too shot specific to be answered in the general sense.

pesonally i chip with all sorts of clubs depending on the lie, distance, slope, etc.

on LESS THAN tight lies i try to get the ball on the ground fairly soon and roll to the target. this again is a generalization.

on tight lies i vision landing the ball in the hole. usually, if i hit it good, it'll hit just beyond and back up nicely. on tight lies i use a 56*.

another factor is wrist roll. if you turn it over you'll get a lot more roll, so you gotta consider that part of the technique as well.

EDIT: i should have paid more attention to your true topic, the bump and run. my favorite bump and run club is a 7 iron. the shot i'm describing is one where the shot will land short of the green rather than on it, and hopefully roll on. though, sometimes i do try to land ON with a 7. again, though, it depends.

[JEFF4i]

I don't have any idea, really, which is funny because the bump and run is my favorite short game shot, leads to lots of hole outs.

[HighTopFade]

Yep, it's all feel. If I have to go longer than what my 54 can bump, I'll try to fly it up there.

[WideOpenFairways]

on tight lies i vision landing the ball in the hole. usually, if i hit it good, it'll hit just beyond and back up nicely. on tight lies i use a 56*.

another factor is wrist roll. if you turn it over you'll get a lot more roll, so you gotta consider that part of the technique as well.

I think you're describing more of a flop or a pitch shot here. To clarify, I'm asking more about the type of bump and run or chip shots that require a low finish and little wrist action. Something from 20-30 yards in.

[sidvicious]

I think you're describing more of a flop or a pitch shot here. To clarify, I'm asking more about the type of bump and run or chip shots that require a low finish and little wrist action. Something from 20-30 yards in.

without more specific description of the geography, its really hard to say. however, as stated above, i play the 7 iron, usually, if i'm intentionally landing short and running up.

hmmmmm, about the only time i'd bump from 20-30 yards is if i had a terrible lie coupled with a tight pin. even so, however, i'd try to drop it.

if i bump and run it all depends on the thickness of the landing area and the distance to go, plus the slope, afterwards.

[Stanters]

What I always look for is a good landing area. If there is a piece of gnarly ground that could kick the ball anywhere I obviously want to that. I pick my landing spot and then select the club afterwards. I would use anything from "putting" with my Sonartec Hybrid to my most lofted wedge depending on where I feel the best place to land the ball would be.

[NBGolfer]

I love the bump and run.
I use different clubs for different lies, lenght all that stuff. If I have a clean look at the cup and simply have to carry some ruff I like to get the ball rolling like a putt once it's over so I'll use a 3-5 iron. If its a longer bump I'll grab like the 7 iron. Then if I have to get up and over something like a little hill, or a trap I'll use the higher lofted club and try to flop it close with a little roll. I love the bump and run and have spent alot of practice hours working on it.
I think it's one of those things that different from golfer to golfer. I'd take some practice time and work on different lies and distance with different clubs. Doesn't take long to get the feel.

[goatster]

if you have seen any short game videos they usualy break it down to loft and roll out %`s.but i dont know what they are because my method is to stare at the shot.then just grab what ever i feel most comfortable with at the time.usualy for me distance is the deciding factor.because i know im gonna roll it more than fly it.

[cypressperch]

type you are asking about. My recollection is that a sand wedge is 50% carry-50% roll as in your example. I cannot remember if it is a 5% or 10% change as you go from the sand wedge to a pitching wedge, or from a nine-iron to an eight iron, but it is one of the two and it is a constant between any two clubs. Having said this much, I agree with all who are saying that there are so many variables, that such a formula might not be of much use. It would only be of use if the course, including both greens and fairways were all pretty much level.

On the other hand suppose you were wanting to carry the shot farther on to the green to avoid some irregularity in the green. You might make use of such a formula. But in that situation, and all others, nothing would be as valuable as the feel that comes from hours of good practice on the short game. Related to this point, I would suggest having a stroke of some sort around the green that was constant with which I used just about every iron in the bag, especially from a five iron through the wedges. You then carry the ball just a few feet on to the green getting a different length of roll with each club. The closer to the green you are, the less lofted the club you use. This is probably what you want to know the formula for, but again, because the conditions are not as consistent as they tend to be around many practice greens, experience is the better guide.

Sincerely, Cypressperch