Six tips to help you master the flop shot

I’ll always remember the second shot I hit on the 17^th hole in the state championship. I was left of the green and short-sided. I opened the face and took a huge swing that resulted in a towering flop that landed and stopped 6 inches from the hole. The shot sticks with me because of all the bad possibilities on a shot like that. I could have flubbed it just a few yards or bladed it into the few spectators (my family) on the other side of the green. But I didn’t!

The flop is a specialty shot that everyone wants to have in their bag of short-game escape shots. It gets you out of tricky spots and evokes some “oohhs and aahhs” from your playing partners. If you haven’t quite mastered the flop, we’ve compiled six of the best flop tips on GolfPass to help out.

This article is the first of a new series we're launching in 2025 to help you master some of golf's most unique, and important, specialty shots.

1. How Rory hits a flop shot

Rory has hit many memorable flop shots in his career, including the sensational one in the Ryder Cup that he talks about in this Ask Rory tip. In this episode from Lessons with a Champion Golfer, he shares his feels when hitting a flop shot with Martin Hall and Michael Bannon.

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How Rory Hits a Flop Shot

2. How to hit Phil’s high flop

Phil and the flop shot are synonymous. Here his coach, Andrew Getson, details how Phil executes the shot he is known best for.

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Hit Phil’s High Flop

3. Three keys to the flop shot

The flop shot simplified to 3 easy to remember keys from Chris Como in this segment from 3 Keys to Every Shot.

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Flop Shot

4. Toothbrush flop shot

Martin Hall and a household item that can help you play better golf, a tale as old as time. In this iteration from our Top 100 Tips, he shows how a toothbrush can help you flop it like a pro.

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Tip 57 - Martin Hall - Toothbrush Flop Shot

5. Hitting over a bunker

Foley Factor: Short Game covers all aspects of the short game. In this segment, Sean explains how the speed of your swing is key to executing a high pitch shot.

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Specialty Shot: Hitting Over a Bunker

6. The tight lie flop shot

Flops are hard enough from fluffy lies. Even more precision is required from super tight lies in the fairway. Aimee Cho helps you navigate this tricky lie in this tip.

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Tight Lie Flop

What's your most memorable flop shot? Let us know in the comments.

Drake Dunaway

Drake Dunaway grew up in Dayton, Ohio, where he started playing golf at a young age before playing collegiately at DePauw University. Recently he’s lived in Phoenix and now in Orlando, where he still tries to play once or twice a week. He’s worked in golf since 2016 and joined the GolfPass team in 2019. Follow him on Twitter @drake_dunaway

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