Page 10 Short game


In this article we are going to cover, in my opinion, the most important part of the game, and the area that is most neglected. Your approach shots to the green.


How many of you when you have had a bad day on the course really look at the part of the game that has probably let you down the most? I would say not many. Most of the time we go to the range and start to work on our swing or possibly our driving after a bad game. However, if you were to look at your stats you would probably see that although those elements of your game might not have been so great on the day, if you have a sound short game you can still make a score.


So let’s start to think about a scenario on the course that could possibly get our heart racing or make us really nervous. The one shot that I find people have the most problems with in the short game is that tough shot over a bunker or a pond where the ball really must have a nice flight on it so that it will land and stop on the green. What thoughts start to go through our mind when faced with this shot? Please don’t let me duff it in to the bunker, perhaps. Or please don’t let me thin this over the green. I think if we are all honest with ourselves at some point these thoughts have gone through our mind when faced with this type of shot.


What I am going to do is to give you some simple help to overcome these fears.


First of all a common problem that we tend to have when faced with such a shot is we try desperately to get the ball in the air. That thought is foremost in our mind. The problem that we have when we try to make the ball go in the air is more often than not we won’t achieve it.


We have always been told that to get the ball airborne for this type of shot we must have a steeper angle of attack. This will produce


QF Focus Magazine a digging motion that will invariably lead to the shot being duffed.


By thinking about trying to get the ball airborne we tend to try to use the hands at impact to lift the ball. This will normally cause the ball to be hit on the equator and thinned.


What we have to do is to start thinking about how the club would need to be delivered to the ball to create the outcome that we are looking for.


For this type of shot I would strongly recommend using either a sand wedge or a lob wedge. These clubs have the most loft on them and they are designed to get the ball airborne for you, as long as they are delivered to the ball appropriately.


Instead of thinking about a movement to lift the ball I would like you think about something different. What I would like you to start to think about when playing this type of shot is of a movement that could start to push the ball forwards along the ground. Now I know you may think this strange because you want to lift the ball but I will now explain why. If we start to think about pushing a ball along the ground what sort of movement might this produce? Would it produce more of a brushing movement with the club staying low to the ground? I believe that it would.


So now let’s start to think about the design of the club. The club has loft. If we are using the loft effectively it will impart backspin on the ball. If we start to think about the movement that we are now making what part of the ball would we be hitting? Remember if we try to help the ball in the air we hit the ball on the equator, (the middle). If the club is making a brushing motion and staying low to the ground the loft of the club will make contact with the south pole, or (the underside) of the ball. The loft of the club will impart the backspin on the ball to lift it without us having to try to make the ball go in the air. The movement that you will feel will possibly be not too dissimilar to a putting motion. The hands will remain very passive throughout the swing giving you much greater control over the clubhead. This is a different way to start to think about playing this particular shot but with a little practice you will be amazed at what you can achieve by using the club effectively.


The amount of swing that is needed for each particular shot is very individual as we all have different levels of power. The key first of all is to achieve the quality of strike and shot that we are looking for, then we can start to become more absorbed in the distance of the shot.


So a quick summary for playing this shot:


Trying to help the ball in the air will produce a thinned shot. Getting steep on the shot produces a digging motion and a duffed shot.


Feel a movement to push the ball along the ground and the club will stay low. The loft of the club is designed to impart backspin on the ball. This is produced when we hit the underside of the ball.


Remember these key points and you will be well on your way to improving those tricky shots around the green


Top tip to play this shot - the more loft you have on the club the easier it is to get height on the shot. I would consider if you haven’t one already, investing in a lob wedge. It will pay for itself very quickly.


Adrian Rudge, PGA Advanced Golf Professional. If you would like any information about lessons with Adrian please contact him on 670 291 788 or by email at: adi.rudge@yahoo.com. Adrian is based at Greenlands Golf.


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