Hello!  It's finally golf season - yippee!  I think the last of the snow piles have finally melted, but we're not yet dealing with prime conditions on the course.  The greens are also brown but have been cut so they're not fuzzy.  What I have run into is the chip shot just short of the green where there really is no grass yet - it's just dead spots or dormant grass...I'm about 5-15 yards off the green...normally I love to use my 60 degree wedge, but I am finding myself almost scared to hit it because I think I'm going to blade it - do you have any suggestions on a different kind of shot where I won't feel afraid to chunk it?

Thanks!

Chipshot, don't despair  Get creative.  When there is little grass it is very dificult to use that 60 degree wedge because the bottom (sole) of the club is built to "bounce" off the turf requiring grass and/or firmness of the underlying ground.  Therefore we have to learn different shots.  You could use less loft (7, 8 or 9 iron) and chip the ball short of the green and let the ball run more to the hole. 

My favorite shot in this case is to putt the ball with one of my hybrids, usually one with at least 19 degrees of loft. This shot is easy to execute.  Grip down on the club to the length of your putter.  Play the ball slighty back in your stance ( just back of center and directly under your sternum).  Make a normal putting stroke for the distance you are playing.  The loft on the club will lift the ball slightl;y so it bounces low and rolls on top of the thin grass and one it gets to the green it will roll just like you putted it!  This is great for anywhere up to thirty yards and especially this time of year when the grass is this thin or non-exisistent.

Todd Hamilton won the British Open doing this a few years back.  And those condidtions in Great Britain in July are alot like what we face early in the golf season here.

Good luck with it.  I KNOW you will like the results.

Thanks a bunch for the suggestions!  I have tried using my 4-wood with very limited success, and I've also tried my 8-iron the last couple of days and it didn't feel right either.  But I never really thought about using a hybrid - I might have better luck than a fairway wood since the shafts are shorter.  I'll try it tonight!  Either that, or I'm going to try to hit more greens in regulation. 

Thanks again for such a helpful tip.  I tried it over the weekend and I'm very pleased with the results.  My first few attempts were hilarious..and horrible.  I was just hitting it too hard and trying to hit it like a chip instead of a putt...but once I got some more control over the club and got the feel for how hard I needed to hit it, my shots got much better.  I have 3 hybrids and ended up getting the best results from the 30 degree...it got a little hop, but playing it back in my stance gave it a nice roll on the greens.  I can see myself using this shot even after things start greening up and are mowed.  Now I have to go find my putting stroke...I think I left it back in 2007.   

I appreciated the help!