Paul Runyan was the winner of two PGA championships and had 29 wins on tour. He was a genius at putting and the short game. He is well known for what is referred as “The Rule of 12.” In other words, putting with loft.
Mr. Runyan was a master at all facets of the short game. He played a game very different from that of today’s players.
He believed in making chip shots close to the green roll like a putt. In other words, minimum air time and maximum ground time. Quite the opposite of using your lob wedge for every shot around the green.
It’s not that he didn’t use lob shots, but he believed in using wedges to elevate your shot for a specific reason. Like going over a sand trap or getting your ball out of taller grass.
Runyan developed a chipping system that today we call the “Rule of 12.”
The theory
You begin by chipping your ball with an iron to the flattest and closest dry location on the green. Use your putting stroke. I use my putting grip as well. Some people grip the club all the way down to the bottom of the golf grip.
That’s where the term putting with loft comes from.
Another important part of the process is to hold the club upright and slightly on the toe of the club. Putting the ball off the toe of a 8 iron for example makes it come off the club in a deadened or eased fashion. In other words, it doesn’t jump of the club.
Putting with loft works well from just off the green.
Just a note. The longer the club is, it becomes difficult to stand close to the ball like you would with a putter. An example would be using a 4 hybrid. You have to stand farther away.
It’s a good idea to aim a little left with a longer club when doing this. The tendency is to leave the shot out to the right. It becomes harder to close the club face at impact with a long club and short putting stroke.
The Rule of 12
Runyan did simple math to determine the correct club to chip with. First he measured the base unit. That would be the distance from your ball to where you are going to land on the green.
For example, let’s say you are one foot off the green and you are going to chip the ball at your optimum spot which is one foot on the green. Your base unit would be two feet.
From the two foot mark or your spot on the green, pace off the distance to the hole. We are going to say there are eight feet from your landing spot to the hole. There would be four more (two foot) units to the hole.
Doing the math, you subtract 4 from 12 which equals 8 or 8 iron. See the example below.
Not every shot is the same
Of course, not every chip shot is exactly a foot off the green and the same length as the example.
So, you would first determine the distance to your landing spot. Use that for your base unit. Then measure the distance to the hole and calculate the number of additional units.
It’s pretty simple. Let’s say you are a two feet off the green and your landing spot is one foot on the green for a total of 3 feet. Then you pace off fifteen feet to the pin from your landing spot. 15 feet divided by 3 is 5. Using the rule of 12, choose a 7 iron as 12 – 5 = 7.
Here is a chart showing how to determine what club to use for different distance chip shots. Just a note. You will want to allow for uphill or downhill chips by going up or down in club selection.
Printable Charts for the “Rule of 12” or putting with loft.
Can you putt from off the green? Of course. If you watch the videos of Mr. Runyan he is quite confident he can chip the ball closer than most people can putt the ball. He says if you don’t have confidence in your chipping, putt the ball.
If you become skilled at putting with loft, it’s not unusual to chip the ball in the hole. It’s works and is worth a try.
Videos
Chipping Ratios (Rule of 12)