Hinge and hold vs dead hands for chips, which one survives pressure?

[DrivingRange_Dan]

Ok I've been flip flopping on this for like two months and I need to settle it.

Background so you know where I'm coming from: 9 hcp, decent putter, total disaster with a wedge in my hands inside 40 yards. I was a dead hands guy for years. Stiff wrists, rock the shoulders, let the club do the work, basically putt with a wedge. On the practice green it's beautiful. Then the second there's a card in my pocket I start guiding the thing and chunking half of them.

So about 6 weeks ago I switched to hinge and hold. Wrist sets going back, hold that angle through impact, let the bounce kiss the turf. First two weeks I thought I'd found religion, honestly. Then Saturday I've got 12 yards to a back pin off a tight lie with my 54 and I bladed it so bad it almost hit the cart girl. The old dead hands chip would've at least been on the green.

Here's the thing I keep noticing, hinge and hold feels amazing when I commit and terrible when I don't, and dead hands feels mediocre always but never blows up. Is that just me? And how many of you actually switch between them depending on the lie? Because I caught myself going dead hands out of wet rough last week without even deciding to, and it worked.

Anyone got a rule for this or do you just pick one and live with the occasional rocket?