You’re entitled to relief off a cart path, but sometimes your drop will put you in more trouble than where you started. For example, your nearest relief might put you in a path of deep grass, or it could mean you’re dropping behind a tree. So while relief will always be granted, it’s not always the smart play to take it.
If you decide against dropping off the path, typical golf rules apply — play it as it lies. The pavement might be great for trekking from hole to hole, but it’s not so forgiving as a playing surface. Safe to say, playing off a cart path is much different than playing from the fairway.
It’s a scary shot. Not only could you injure yourself, you could also damage your club. To escape the hole unscathed — both figuratively and literally — you need to approach the shot with the proper technique.
Phil Mickelson — the preeminent escape artist of his generation — has found himself in this scenario on numerous occasions. And, true to form, he’s opted to play it off the path plenty of times.
How to chip from the cart path
With pavement being so much firmer than turf, you’ve got to make some adjustments to your setup. You don’t want to engage the bounce, because the club will not be able to slid underneath the ball. Instead, expose the toe of the club by setting up with the shaft nearly vertical.
“What I do is get the shaft as vertical as I can,” Mickelson says. “So that only the toe makes contact.”
Another consideration when hitting off pavement is how the clubhead is going to react near impact. Without the give of the turf, your clubhead will bounce off the pavement and into the back of the ball.
“Here, the ground is so firm, so you’re going to hit into the ground and hit the ball level,” Mickelson says. “So the ball is gonna shoot a little bit more.”
Once you get the shaft vertical, set up with the ball in the back of your stance so you still get a descending blow on the ball. Then, just use your basic chipping moption.
“You just have to keep in mind that it’ll come off a little bit faster,” Mickelson says. “But otherwise it’s really not a hard shot.”
For more game-improvement advice from Mickelson, check out the latest episode of Warming Up right here:
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