A method to chip, pitch and hit a lob shot from a poor lie

There is nothing worse than to miss a green, with a bunker between you and the green, and walk up to find that you have a poor lie. Perhaps, the ball is sitting on mud, or very tight grass, or the ground condition is very sandy.   In this video, I will show you a different opinions to trying to pick the ball clean from the bad lie, which can be difficult and risky.  It is similar in nature to the bunker shot, and with some practice might become your preferred shot in this situation.

Please note that you will need to practice this shot before trying it in a tournament round, and also, the ground condition must not be too hard.

Transcript

Now here’s a situation none of like too much, even the best players in the world. We’ve missed the green, we’ve got a bunker between the pin and our golf ball, but the ball is sitting pearly. You’re on some mud, or the grass is very short and tight, or even slightly wet conditions. You have no confidence that you can strike the ball cleanly, getting the ball over the bunker, and stopping the ball on the green. Now I’m going to show you a shot you can try in this situation, but before you try it, you need to check the ground conditions. The ground conditions need to be reasonably moist, or have a little softness to the ground to try this shot.

Because what we’re going to try to do is play a bunker style shot. We’re not going to try to hit the ball first. We’re going to try and hit the ground first. In doing that, that can give you more margin for error in your shot. It might sound very scary to start with but with a little bit of practice, you can actually realize this shot is not that difficult as long as the ground has a little softness to it. I actually prefer this shot myself in this situation to trying to hit the ball clean. It feels like a safer shot to me. But, to play this shot, let’s say it’s very similar to a bunker shot, but the differences are I want to place a little more weight on my left foot at address, and in the backswing I’ll cock my wrists a little bit more than I would with a bunker shot.

This is the help getting the club into the ground. The only mistake we can make with this shot is not getting the club into the ground, the club will bounce, and you’ll hit the ball clean and then you’re in big trouble. So, weight left, a little bit more wrist cock in the backswing, and you’re going to focus swinging down into the ground, making sure the club enters the ground before the ball. I’ll open my club face just the same as I would for a normal bunker shot.

I’ll increase the speed of my swing the same as a bunker shot because I’m going to hit the ball heavy, but after a little bit of practice and commitment, you must trust this shot. You might realize it’s not as difficult as you might think. Practice it a little bit before you try it on the course, but I think just like a bunker shot you’ll develop some feel for it. You’ll realize it’s not as difficult as what you might think and you might favor this shot to your regular shot when you’re in this situation.