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One of my lasting junior golf memories revolves around a player I would see at a lot of regional events around the northeast, where we grew up. This kid - let's call him Bobby - was very talented and pretty shy, with an extremely overbearing father who could be downright brutal on the golf course. I'm talking loud obnoxious insults directed Bobby's way after a bogey or a poor decision, sometimes delivered from across the fairway at a volume where practically the whole course could hear.
Even when his ball was a foot off the green and he had 50 feet to the cup, Bobby would typically pull out his highest-lofted wedge and attempt a high shot, to his father's anguish. The results were mixed, at best, but I like to think it was Bobby's way of rebelling against his absolute wretch of a father, albeit at the expense of his scores.
Even when they're trying to stick it to some villain, many golfers use too much loft around the greens. More often than you might think, it's best to keep the ball close to the earth. Here are a few tips from the GolfPass archive that will help you do just that, plus a couple more that will help you flight the ball down off the tee. Yes, of course we've got advice to help you hit a Tiger Woods-style "stinger," from a fellow multiple-time USGA champion.
5 great low-trajectory golf instruction tips
Andrew Rice's 'Safety Chip Shot'
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In this tip, Andrew Rice breaks down the fundamentals of a simple bump-and-run, which is likely to come in handy for most golfers multiple times in a given round.
Jim McLean on Hybrid chips from the rough
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Your favorite hybrid isn't just a shot-saver on long par 3s and par 4s - it can bail you out around the green, too.
School of Golf: Chip it Low
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For a more in-depth exploration, check out this School of Golf segment where Martin Hall and Blair O'Neal discuss the importance of keeping the ball low around the greens.
Michelle Wie West's stinger
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When she won the 2014 U.S. Women's Open, Michelle Wie West rifled a bunch of low 3-wood tee shots down the firm fairways of Pinehurst No. 2. In this segment from her recent Lessons with a Champion Golfer series, she demonstrates that effective shot to add to your arsenal.
Rory McIlroy's low fade
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A piercing, tumbling fade off the tee is one of the prettiest shots in golf. Here's how Rory McIlroy executes it, in a segment from our series 9 Shots.
