one hop and stop chips only work on fast greens and it's wrecking me

[IronMike72]

Played my muni yesterday, shot 84 with like 4 chunked or run-out chips. My home course has bent greens rolling around 11 and I've spent all summer grooving this one hop and stop chip with my 58. Ball lands, one bounce, checks. Feels incredible, I've been bragging about it to anyone who'll listen.

Took the exact same shot to the muni with shaggy bermuda running maybe 8 and every chip just kept going. Same swing, same ball, same wedge. Skidded through the fringe and rolled out 15 feet past the hole like I'd putted it. My buddy is dying laughing because I suddenly look like I've never held a wedge in my life.

So do you guys carry two different chip shots depending on green speed? Or is the move just to land it shorter and let it release like a normal person? I'm losing my mind a little because a shot that's automatic at home is completely useless 20 minutes down the road. Do I need to stop being precious about the check and just learn to run it?

[TeeTimeTina]

Your muni didn't break your chip, it just showed you that you built a shot for one exact set of conditions. Bent at 11 gives you friction. Shaggy bermuda at 8 basically hands you a wet towel. Same swing, way less grab. Your buddy laughing is the least shocking part of this whole story.

But I'll push back on the "just learn to run it" crowd a little. You don't have to torch the check shot, you just need a release valve. For me that's clubbing up (50 or PW), ball back a hair in the stance, land it shorter and let it trundle out. One motion, two speeds. Trying to groove two totally separate technique feels is how you end up with neither.

Real question though. How often do you actually play the shaggy stuff? If it's a once a month thing I wouldn't rebuild your whole short game around it. I'd club up and putt from the fringe like a coward and sleep fine at night. Which is exactly what I do, and I've made my peace with it.

[Ace_Adams]

TeeTimeTina's right about the friction part but I don't buy the "two feels equals neither" thing. I've carried a spinner and a runner for years and they don't get confused, because they're different clubs doing different jobs. 58 for the check, 50 or even an 8 iron for the bump. The feels aren't competing, they're separate tools. What actually wrecks people is trying to hit the same club two ways.

The thing nobody's mentioned is your lie at the muni. Shaggy bermuda doesn't just slow the green, it grabs the ball on the way out. If you catch even a hint of grass before the ball you're not producing spin no matter what your hands do. So you're not comparing a check chip to a check chip, you're comparing a clean check to a dead floater. Completely different shot.

And honestly the check shot on bent at 11 is a bit of a trap. It's the most satisfying shot in golf and it makes you feel like a wizard, then you play 90% of the courses around you and it's useless. I spent a whole season being precious about it too. What finally worked was accepting the runner is the default and the check is the bonus. Boring, but I stopped losing money to my buddies.

[PuttMaster]

Ok so Ace_Adams' point about the lie is the one that wrecked me. I've been blaming my hands all summer and it never once occurred to me I might be catching grass first. Half my chips at home are off tight bent so I'd never have noticed the difference.

How do you actually practice the 8 iron bump though? Do you pick a landing spot like a putt or just hit it and hope? I tried it twice last week and blasted both about 30 feet past. Felt like putting with a shovel.

Also not ready to call the check shot a trap. It's the only shot I have where my buddies go "ohhh" so I'm keeping it.