Golf Digest Senior Editor Stina Sternberg checks in from King&#8217;s North Golf Course at Myrtle Beach National, to discuss how LPGA Tour great Lorena Ocha determines proper club selection from a shot just off the green.

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Lorena Ochoa did an article in Golf Digest where she described how she&#8217;s always been one to practice chipping with every iron in her bag. This has given her great feel around the greens, and it also allows her plenty of options for every short game situation out there.
One of the things that she didn&#8217;t cover in this article was that she also a lot of times incorporates putting from off the green into these practice sessions. That&#8217;s because, whenever you can, you really should use a putter from off the green rather than a wedge. It&#8217;s just a question of when you can do this.
<img decoding="async" alt="" src="/media/images/2014-02-07_23-00-37.jpg" style="float:left;height:230px;margin:6px;width:300px" />What Lorena does when she&#8217;s faced with a situation like this is she looks at the conditions of the ground and the slope and shape of the green. First of all, if she has a tight lie, the conditions are fast and firm, and there isn&#8217;t anything obstructing the route from the ball to the flag, then the putter is obviously the safest bet.
If she wants to keep the ball low to the ground, and have it roll out with some top spin rather than check up, then the putter is the safest bet &#8211; especially on a shot like this, where you have a downhill (approach) to the flag, you&#8217;re better off going with the putter.
But Lorena says the key to getting good with this shot &#8211; and any other short-game shot &#8211; is practice. And not just practicing the mechanics, but the feel and the decision-making that comes with using a lot of different clubs in your short game!

Tip Plus from Golf Digest with Stina Sternberg

Courses in this Article

King's North at Myrtle Beach National

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