Should you putt or chip from the fringe?
Our guest blogger Matty K is going to walk you through what he does when he is on the fringe and up against the collar.
First..What club should you choose? A wood, putter or an iron?
This is one shot I personally struggle with and have never really had anyone give me the perfect answer. With the recent debate over "Bubba Watson" using a wood in his last tournament I felt the need to see how others decide on how to hit this shot? It could mean the difference between a par or bogey in many cases.
We have all been there we hit a great approach and the ball skids a bit and for some unknown reason decided to rest not on the fringe, but against the collar. Instinct at least for me automatically says grab the putter get the ball on the ground and rolling right? And every time it leads to a mental battle, I need to make sure and hit it hard because the grass is going to grab the putter which 9 times out of ten leads to a poor shot. So what is the right answer, or should I say an answer that leads to a more consistent way to hit this shot, because lets be honest each battle with the collar is different.
With the rise of "Hybrid/Rescue" clubs and fairway woods with thinner profiles I have seen many pros now going to this versus the putter. So I got to thinking maybe this is the answer? I set off to my local club to do some testing bringing with me my 3 wood, my 19 degree hybrid/rescue, my sand wedge, and of course the putter. I set up a shot giving me roughly 30 feet between me and the pin I know its not perfect science but I figured it was in the ballpark of the right situation. I proceeded to hit 20 shots with each club 3 times per club in a rotation figuring in a little room for warm up.
The results were very eye opening, with each club of course I was able to hit some close but found that the sand wedge was the least productive coming up short most of the time and requiring way to many hand decisions to produce a result. 2nd worst was the 3 wood though it preformed ok, the longer shaft had me playing with how much to choke down and distance control. 3rd was my putter the putter swing is always the easiest but again I battled control and drag as it moved through the thickness of the collar. 4th and by far the most consistent on every level was my hybrid/rescue I found the shorter shaft gave me the feel of a putter but the larger head and loft allowed the clue to flow smoothly through the collar while I maintained control. Well worth my time, problem solved probably not but I now feel more confident the next time I am faced with this often frustrating shot.
- Matty K
The hybrid was the winner for Matty K.
Should you putt or chip from the fringe?
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