Golfing for Novices: Part Four

We have all the seen the bewilderingly long and yet accurate drives of Tiger Woods. When he hits the ball, it flies through the air only to land in the bang middle of the fairway, 300 odd metres away.

It is difficult not to let jealousy rise in us as we wonder if we could ever dare to hope to drive like that. Luckily, long drives are not the crux of the game of golf.

Enter the short game for without good short game skills, all the long drives are not worth a light.

The short game consists of those shots that get you onto the green from about one hundred feet out, be it from the fairway, a bunker, the rough or a drop zone and includes chips, sand shots and pitches.

This is where you get to use your higher numbered golf clubs, as well as your pitching iron and sand wedge or lob wedge.

Most golf courses have practice areas as well as a driving range. You should spend some time working on hitting the ball onto the green from different distances. Aim for a ten-foot circle in the center of the green at first. Experiment using your wedges, but what works for someone else, might not work for you and your particular swing.

When you can perform this skill fairly consistently, it is about time to start practising how to get out of a sand bunker. Being able to get the ball out of a bunker can really cut your score quite dramatically and it is very frustrating if you can’t do it.

The way to do it is to plant your feet firmly in the sand with your left foot turned to face the hole. See an imaginary 4-inch circle around the ball and try to hit the outer edge of that circle.

Try to take up lots of sand with the ball and swing completely through as you normally would. Don’t pull back on your swing at all when or after you have hit the ball. It should spring up gently onto the green and stop dead in its tracks. This doesn’t work very well though unless the sand is quite soft and dry. On harder or compacted surfaces, you might need to avoid actually hitting the sand completely.

However, as in every skill in the game of golf, it is only continual practice that will help you to improve your game.

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