Best Golf Tips: How to hit a flop-shot Phil Mickelson style!

Francesca from Denton Golf Club in Manchester has got some simple pointers on how to hit a flop shot.

Matt Chivers's picture
Wed, 13 Oct 2021
Best Golf Tips: How to hit a flop-shot Phil Mickelson style!

The flop shot is the shot we all wish we could execute, but one that is extremely difficult to pull off.

Players on the PGA Tour and the European Tour make these shots look so easy. They slice their clubface under the ball, brushing the turf, and the ball spins up perfectly towards the hole.

No other player hits this shot better than the great Phil Mickelson. Time after time, year after year, we have seen the six-time major champion hit perfect flop shots.

He has immense confidence and a perfect technique and this is what we want to achieve here. Francesca from Denton Golf Club in Manchester has some great tips to help you pull off this difficult shot.

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Francesca competes in the Rose Ladies Series and many other professional competitions up and down the country.

When you address the ball, open the clubface before you place your hands on the club. This is important because when you take your grip, the club is already open and ready to go as Francesca shows in the image on the right. The image on the left is a stance for a normal chip.

You should position your hands lower than you usually would compared to a normal chip and you should bring your grip about an inch and a half down the shaft as well, in order to increase your control over the clubface.

Wherever your target is, you should aim a yard or two left of it. This is to account for your open clubface because as it is open, your ball is going to spin to the right in the air.

Once you have perfected your grip and clubface position, you should bring your left foot back an inch as well. This will help your swing path freely flow down on the inside and cut across the ball.

This may seem like a lot to take in but Francesca has provided a number of simple and sharp tips to help you perform your flop shot. 

If you are practising them on the driving range, as we saw with our driving tips piece, you could put a basket a clubs length away behind you for this drill.

Once you have applied your flop shot set up and you swing back, you should aim to bring your clubface back above the basket.

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Width is very important with the flop shot. You need to generate power and the correct trajectory to slide the clubface underneath the ball.

In no time at all, you will have the powers of Phil Mickelson. Just remember to open your clubface with lower hands and increase the width of your swing.

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