In that glorious battle between you and the golf course designer there are certain weapons you need in your armoury. The obvious ones are a set of golf clubs and a golf ball and you are set to engage the enemy, the bumps and hollows of the fairway, the three inch rough and the sneaky pin positions. However a set of clubs and as many balls as you can carry are not enough to win this battle consistently so a few tricks of your own are required and this is where you will find them.



The lob shot.

Arguably the hardest shot in the whole golf game the lob shot is fraught with danger but can reward you with close to the pin birdie opportunities or even up and down par saves. Practice is required as a miss hit will leave the ball in exactly the same place or sixty yards over the green. Set up slightly open to the target with the ball slightly forward in your stance and the club a little open, take a three quarter swing and accelerate through the ball fast, the combination of speed and open club face will pop the ball high into the air with gallons of backspin so it will land softly and stop or even roll backwards a little.

The Pitch Shot.

The shot from sixty to seventy five yards out which can float your ball to the green and roll up to the pin. You can use any wedge for this shot but usually a pitching wedge or sand iron would be selected. This is a wristy shot with not much arm or body movement. Set up with the lower body open but the shoulders and club face square to the target. Take the club back fairly steeply keeping it on plane and only around three quarters of the way back, i.e. you arms should reach a point at where they are parallel to the ground, the down swing is a mirror of the back swing and will finish at about three quarters of maximum so the club shaft will be pointing straight up.

The Bump and Run

A shot played mostly on links courses where there may be a lot of wind but you can utilise it anywhere to keep the ball low beneath the breeze or where you want to just run it up to the green. A low shot is usually safer than a high, lofted shot for most amateurs and the bump and run is a low risk shot. Use any club for this from a putter to a five iron. To play the shot set up square to the target line, place the ball back in your stance and swing in a putting motion with little to no body motion. The length of back swing will affect the distance the ball travels so practice with a few different clubs to get a feel for it. My favourite club is my trusty seven iron and having used it for a few seasons I now have a pretty good idea of the back swing needed to get the ball where I want it.

The Chip Shot

From a few feet off the green or even on the putting surface a good chip shot can be a par saver, allowing you to roll the ball close if not in to the hole. This shot could be described as a jumpy putt as the motion is the same and the idea is to get the ball rolling not flying. This is, like all these shots a feel shot and preparation and practice are required. To play the chip shot stand slightly open to the target and place the ball to the rear of your stance, keep the wrists firm and putt. The trick is to select a club which will give you a short flight and the roll you need to get to the pin. Practice will allow you to gauge this for your swing but as a rough rule of thumb a nine iron will fly approximately as far as it will roll and as you go up the cubs the ratio will change so a seven iron will roll about one and a half times as far as it flies.

The Greenside Bunker Shot

The evil course designers like to protect the hallowed greens with these nasty, horrible sand traps knowing that for the amateur player and pros as well they can wreck a scorecard in seconds but you can leave your partners in the beach as you fly softly to the pin with a bit of practice. To play a bunker shot first and foremost dig your feet in, this gives you a solid base and allows you to get a feel for the sand, set up open to the pin with an open club face, aim a little left of target and use your arms and wrists for a wide swing, keeping a firm grip on the club, and accelerating all the way to a high finish. You have to imagine the ball is the yolk of a fried egg and you want to slice it off the surface so the club will enter the sand slightly before the ball. The bounce of the sand wedge will cause the club head to glide through the sand creating a wave upon which the ball will ride and fly softly out. Do not wimp out on this shot as anything less than full commitment will leave you in the bunker

You will have noticed all these shots are in the short game area and the reason for that is because that is where most of your strokes are played and wasted. Drive for show, putt for dough as the saying goes but the short game is vital to maintaining a healthy score card. Practice these five shots and see your handicap tumble, leave the driving range to the muscle heads and play the golf of winners.