In the past, even if I was on course to shoot my best score ever, I always managed to put myself in a position where a big score was inevitable.
When faced with some of the hardest shots in golf, I came up short time and time again, but with the help of some expert tips (and a few lessons), I am now starting to trust my ability to navigate the various challenges presented in a typical round of golf.
In this article, Golf Monthly Top 50 Coach Clive Tucker shares his advice on how to play the five toughest shots in golf…
1. Opening Tee Shot
The first tee shot is difficult if you haven’t prepared properly – that’s the magic word. You need to prepare in terms of practice and working out what the shot demands.
You also need to be realistic – if you’re a fader and the first is a dogleg left with wind off the left, you need a strategy that allows for that rather than trying to force an unnatural draw.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
If you’re pleased with how you’ve warmed up and know what the ball is going to do, you can build that into your strategy and feel quite comfortable. In this instance, that might include teeing off from as far right as you can go, so you can start it further left. If you feel comfortable with what you’re doing, you’re more likely to make it happen.
2. Less Than A Full Swing
Any change to your normal trajectory is difficult, because we’ve all developed a general pattern of movement, length of swing and length of turn to flight the ball adequately.
At set-up, move your body a little further left and have the ball an inch further back with your weight slightly more on your left side. To flight it lower, you must reduce your backswing length, so the arms go back no further than parallel to the ground.
This gives the wrists time to set the club and generate sufficient energy, but without so much momentum that you can’t then put the brakes on after impact. From this shorter backswing, rotate through and extend fully with a compact follow-through.
3. Fairway Bunker Shot
The margin for error is so small that any sand-before-ball contact at all will ruin things. You need to kind of pick the ball off the top, and to do so, you should have the ball middle to slightly back in your stance and swing a little bit shallower from an inside path.
However,…
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