Your Swing – Lower Scores (Part One)

We all want to improve our scoring.  If you’re like me, when you watch the PGA tournaments on TV, you picture yourself hitting those long drives, crisp irons, wedges that back up 10 or 15 feet, bunker shots that almost go in, and dropping putts from all over the place.

Well, after you’ve hit 20,000 shots maybe you’ll be getting close.  But until then, you’ll have to consider a few short cuts to lower scoring.

Short Cut #1

When you’re in trouble, get out.  Take one shot and get back into the fairway or back into play.  Do not try to make a heroic rescue of par by going for it.  Quit trying to be like Phil, just get out of trouble and avoid taking even more strokes.

In this regard, perhaps the most important tool you can have is a reliable escape shot.  A ‘get out of jail’ shot, a ‘go to’ shot for tough situations.  It doesn’t really matter what you call it, what matters is that you have something that you can use to get yourself back into play when you’ve found trouble.

The shot should be very low and close to the ground.  It has to run for up to 100 yards depending on how hard you hit it.  And, it’s better if you can curve it one way or the other.  A good old smother hook works best.  It allows for an escape from trees particularly well.  Just roll your wrists over and bash away – under the overhanging branches it goes, around the tree trunk and on up the fairway, skittering along like a scalded rabbit.  Also great for waste areas and light rough.  The smother hook will run further than a sliced ‘runner’ because there’s a bit of overspin on the ball.

To smother hook the ball, take the lowest iron in your bag, put a really strong grip on it – so that the grip arrows point below your right shoulder – aim right of the tree, close your stance and put the ball a little further back than normal, then swing low and flat so that the club head traces the straight line made by your two big toes.  You’re putting counterclockwise spin on the ball.  Just like Beckham bending one in from the left corner.

The sliced ‘runner’ is a little harder to hit because you’ll have to hood the club face to get a steep angle for the low flight, and at the same time open the toe at the address so that you’ll be able to slide the club face across the ball from out to in.  This requires you to open your stance, put the ball back, aim left, then pick the club up outside on the takeaway and swing down hard across your ‘toe line.’  You’re putting clockwise spin on the ball.  Experiment a little with the grip and the hooding of the club in order to get that really low screamer.

The straight ‘runner’ is just like a punch shot or a knock down shot except you are not going to let it fly nearly that high.  So you’re placing the ball further back in your stance, hooding the club and chopping down on it with a very restricted follow through.  Don’t break your wrists.

Short Cut #2

Avoid the short side.  Look at the hole.  If the pin is on the left, hit it to the open right.  And vice versa.  Don’t try to get it close.  You can’t recover from the short side with two shots.  It will almost always take you at least three.  Quit trying to be like Jordan, just play to the open side of the green and two putt from there.

Short Cut #3

Don’t be short!  Take more club than you think you need.  If you’re 150 yards out and that’s a perfect 7 iron distance for you, hit 6.  And commit to it, don’t pussyfoot around.  Don’t choke up on it.  Don’t back off the swing in any way.  Hit it!  You’ll get that 150 out of the 7 iron under perfect conditions once out of five tries.  Quit trying to be like Rory, just take the extra club.

Short Cut #4

Know when to go for it, and when it’s a no go.  If all the circumstances of the shot are PERFECT, then go for it.  If the pin is accessible, the lie flat, the ball sitting up, the wind friendly, the yardage agreeable, and, if you’ve been hitting the ball well all day, then go for it.  Otherwise, DON’T.  Just play to the safe side, or play short of the water, or away from the hazard and take your par or take your bogey and move on.

These short cuts go against the grain of most hard chargers.  And it’s not easy to swallow at first:  “What?  Don’t try to make a great recovery?”  “Don’t try to carry the water?”  “Don’t try to finesse it back into that corner?”  No.  Don’t do that.  Nine times out of ten it will cost you more strokes.   It takes a lot of courage and will power to make the decision to play it sanely.  See if you have it in you.

Cover photo via Flickr