Most beginner golfers make life harder than it needs to be around the greens. When faced with a short shot, many players automatically reach for the highest wedge—even if there is no problem carrying it—and try to fly it anywhere.
Done right, it’s a shot that will impress your teammates, but it also requires a ton of skill and consistency. Hold it thin, and the ball rockets over the green. On the other hand, a heavy gun will leave you with a very short trip to your next shot. Before you know it, you’ve done the dreaded double chip – one of the fastest ways to throw away strokes.
Instead, GOLF Top 100 teacher David Armitage recommends a simpler alternative: the bump-and-run.
Because the ball spends more time rolling than flying, it is easier to control and produces a more reliable roll. Reducing the chances of costly mistakes. It’s a reliable shot that every golfer should have in the bag, and one that you can learn with just a few simple keys.
1. Choosing a club is important
Tour players often prefer a high, soft shot near the green. That makes sense because they practice those images every day. Recreational golfers do not.
“When in doubt, lower the high and lower the risk,” Armitage says.
Choose a club that gives you the most margin for error while still producing the shot you need. On the greens, the smartest play is often the easiest. For hitting and running, choose a club that suits the shot and gives you the confidence to stand on top of the ball.
2. Stand close and keep the club upright
A few simple setup settings make this image very easy to use. Start by standing next to the ball and pressing it down. Hold the club like you would a putter. Then stand the shaft straight so that the toe is pointing down.
The last key to setup is very important. Allow your weight to favor your leading edge as you complete the set. Then, keep your weight forward as you swing. This promotes a clean, neutral contact and produces a predictable strike.
3. Keep your wrists still
One of the biggest advantages of the bump-and-run is that it eliminates unnecessary hand and wrist action. This makes the swing easier and keeps the clubface stable through impact. Also, solid contact is easy to repeat and the ball rolls consistently.
It’s important to remember that instead of binding your wrists like you would with a wedge, you need to let your shoulders control the stroke. The motion should feel almost like a pendulum motion using the green.
4. Treat it like a putt
The key to a good bump-and-run is smooth, controlled movement, and the easiest way to achieve that is by changing your mindset. Think of these shots as longer putts than chips.
Because the ball stays so short of the hole, most of your distance comes from the roll. That means you have to control distance the same way you would on the greens: by changing the length of your stroke, not by swinging too much.
Need the ball to move forward? Make a long stroke. Need it to stop quickly? Shorten your backswing while maintaining the same smooth tempo.
Just as you would with a long putt, take the time to study the green before hitting the shot. Since the ball spends most of its journey rolling, factors such as slope and grain will have a big impact on where it ends up.
Now that you know how to hit the bump-and-run, the bottom line is simple: if there’s no problem with carrying, this is usually the smartest choice. It may not look as flashy as a flop shot, but it is very reliable.
