subject: Practice the Trouble Shots When You Encounter at Your Course [print this page] Practice the Trouble Shots When You Encounter at Your Course
Trouble shots might be a hot topic of conversation after the round, but they are less popular at the practice range. There are several reasons why we don't practice trouble shots. First of all, we never expect to have to play a trouble shot. And there are not many practice areas set up to work on these types of shots. Besides, trouble shots are not the most glamorous shots to practice. Imagine yourself hitting a large basket of practice balls from high rough or under a tree. The way to practice trouble shots is with one golf ball and the competition of others. It's the difference between practicing for five minutes or two hours.
On the following pages are four common trouble shots golfers run into at wholesale golf clubs. With a little guidance and practice, you can save yourself a few strokes and a lot of frustration.
This is a fairly easy shot to get out of the bunker, but difficult to get close to the hole.
Understand: Because the ball is in a hole, it will come out fairly low and with very little spin. Little spin will cause the ball to roll when it lands on the green.
Keys: Close the face of your sand or lob wedge. Next, close it even more. Did I mention, close the face? Finally, strike the sand fairly close to the ball. Make sure you get the sand out of the bunker.
Several of the greens at The Bridges are set into the hillside, testing your ability to chip down to the putting surface.
Understand: Don't try to hitburner 2.0 ironshigh. The slope of the ground has already determined that this shot must be hit low.
Keys: The most important key is to make solid contact. You're going to use a basic chipping technique with one adjustment: angle your shoulders with the slope. This will help you swing with the slope. On a downhill chip, you will make a higher backswing and a lower follow through.
This is almost guaranteed to happen at The Bridges at least once a round. The ball is located just a couple feet off the surface of the green, but it has settled into a small depression, not much larger than the ball itself. This shot is very easy to chunk short or blade over the green.
Understand: Because the ball is sitting down in a depression it is very difficult to spin. This is the bad news and the good news. Because it will come out with topspin, it will be easier to predict the first bounce. No matter if the first bounce is in the rough or on the surface of the green, I know it will not spin. The ball will roll true, which makes the shot easy to execute with a putter!
Keys: Use your putter. Place the ball slightly back in your stance, and treat the r11 driver like a chip. You will contact the ball with a descending blow, the ball will pop over the long grass, and roll with topspin. Plan on hitting it close to the hole.
Conclusion
It is a good idea to be knowledgeable of the trouble shots you encounter the most, and to practice them. You need to set up your practice to be entertaining. We cover a few trouble shots during the on-course instruction portion of our one-day golf schools at The Bridges Golf Club. It's a real kick to put yourself in a situation and see how many shots it takes to put the ball in the hole. No matter the situation or the results, make sure you keep it fun.
