Escaping From The Worst Rough

Is there's any worse lie than when you're in really thick rough and the grass is growing against your ball? When that happens, the grass slows down the clubhead, grabs the hosel, and shuts the clubface. It's a recipe for disaster. But you can escape the rough by adjusting your setup to accommodate the thick grass.

Below are six keys to this shot:

1. Take an extra club

2. Stand closer to the ball

3. Position the ball slightly back

4. Open the clubface a little

5. Make an early wrist hinge

6. Use your normal swing

This shot sounds tricky, but it's not. Like many shots in golf, it's mostly adjusting your setup. If you make the right changes, you'll get out.

Take an extra club, position the ball slightly back of its normal position, and stand a little closer to it. (If the grass were growing toward the target, you'd take less club on the shot.) Standing closer helps you swing the club more vertical, reducing the time the clubface spends cutting through the grass.

Open the clubface a few degrees, offsetting the shutdown effect of the grass. Grip the club tighter, preventing it from twisting in the grass. And take your regular swing, but hinge your wrist early. Your thumbs should be pointing toward the sky by the time the club reaches hip height in the backswing.

Hinging your wrists early is the key move. It creates the angle you need to come down sharply on the ball. It also prevents the clubface from coming in contact with grass for a long period. The less contact with the grass, the less chance the club will twist in your hands and shut the clubface down.

Getting out of thick rough with the grass flowing against the ball is tricky. But if you make the right adjustments to your setup, you'll escape with little trouble.

For more golf tuition visit http://www.learninggolfswing.com

Wayne

Hitting From Hardpan

Here's the scenario:

You've sliced it right and landed on hardpan (or in a waster area on a desert course). You struggle from hardpan lies, tending to skull the ball more often than not, but you're close to the green and want to go for it. An easy swing gets you home from here, if you hit it right.

Below are six keys to hitting this shot:

1. Use a hybrid for the shot
2. Position the ball forward
3. Hover the club above the dirt
4. Shift your weight slightly forward
5. Take an easy three-quarter backswing
6. Strike the ball and hardpan together

Use a hybrid for the shot because the club's extra loft makes the shot easier. If you're inside the hybrid's range, choke down.

Position the ball just forward of the middle of your stance, hover the club above the ball, and set your weight slightly forward. Don't place too much weight forward. Your swing will be too steep and you'll drive the clubhead into the hardpan.

Take a nice easy three-quarter backswing. If you swing harder, you risk slipping on the sand. Your footing isn't that good to start, since you're standing on hardpan and your spikes can't dig in. Keep your lower body quiet. It should feel like your upper body is turning, but your chest isn't swaying.

Hit the ball and hardpan simultaneously. To do it, rotate your shoulders, hips, and knees toward the target together. If you turn like this all the way through, you'll avoid coming down too steeply with your swing and bouncing the club off the ground.

The key move here is hitting the ball and hardpan simultaneously. If you do that correctly, you'll reach the green easily, leaving you a chance to make par.

For more golf tuition go to http://www.learninggolfswing.com

Wayne

How To Add 10 Metres To Your Irons

How well do you hit your irons?

If you rarely take a good divot, chunk the longer clubs or hit them thin, and/or leave your approach shots short, you're leaking power. Swinging harder only drains more power from your swing. That's because your arms outrace your body, the true seat of power in a golf swing. You must plug those power leaks in your iron swing to add metres to your swing:

Here are six keys to plugging those power leaks:
1. Maintain your head behind the ball
2. Assume a powerful back arm position
3. Keep the shaft ahead club head at impact
4. Keep hips and arms in the same place
5. Make sure the back of your front hand faces the target
6. Transfer your weight to your forward foot.

The key to hitting power irons is to arrive at impact with a descending blow. Unfortunately, some golfers swings are so flat, they can't return the iron squarely to the ball at impact.

Here's a drill that teaches you to generate good club face-to-ball contact with your irons:

Stick an umbrella in the ground. Next, place a ball on the ground so that when you take your stance the heel of your back foot is about two feet from the umbrella. Swing back. If the club hits the umbrella, your swing is too flat. Take numerous practice swings until you're sure you'll miss the umbrella on the way up. Before you hit balls, move the umbrella back six to ten inches, so you won't hit it on the way back down. But use it as a reminder. Move it back to its original position when practising.

If your back swing path is flat, you can't return the club squarely to the ball. You'll hit weak irons no matter how fast or hard you swing. Work on the drills like the one described above to ingrained its fundamentals and plug the power leaks.

Making solid contact consistently adds metres to your irons and cuts strokes from your scores.

For more golf tuition, go to http://www.learninggolfswing.com

Wayne