In this video, Dan Grieve, head professional at Woburn Golf Club, explains how to pitch from muddy lies.
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00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 - Hi, I'm Dan Greave, head professional here at Woburn.
00:07 And we've got a beautiful, wet summer's day here at Woburn.
00:11 And we are gonna talk about the muddy lie,
00:14 which I know for a lot of you amateur golfers
00:16 is a real difficult shot because it's so difficult
00:19 to get that contact, to get that ball first contact
00:22 from these lies is really tough.
00:23 So it's really all about setup.
00:24 So if we get the setup right, like all lies,
00:27 it becomes a lot easier.
00:29 So you've seen some of the other videos,
00:30 we talk a lot about the bounce
00:31 and how the bounce is really your friend.
00:33 And for almost all short game shots, that's the case.
00:36 Apart from this one, where it really becomes your foe.
00:39 So we need to make sure we're using more of the leading edge
00:42 more of the sharp leading edge to make sure
00:44 we can get that contact into the back of the ball.
00:46 When we start using too much of the bounce off these lies,
00:49 the club just goes into the turf
00:50 and the ball just goes a yard or two in front of you.
00:52 So like all short game shots,
00:54 it's critical that we get the setup right.
00:55 So if we look at this face on,
00:58 you'll see that the book, the key here is the ball position.
01:00 So we need that ball position to be just back of center.
01:03 And let's make sure that the chest bone
01:05 is a good couple of inches there in front of the ball.
01:08 'Cause that really dictates the low point in the swing.
01:11 A lot of club golfers I see,
01:12 they get way behind it from these sort of lies.
01:14 So it brings a low point back
01:15 and it's very easy to hit the ground first.
01:17 So the key there is ball position, just back of center.
01:20 Let's make sure that the chest bones are ahead
01:22 and shoulders nice and level as well.
01:24 When you start tipping this right shoulder
01:26 also makes the low point appear too far behind the ball.
01:28 So nice level shoulders,
01:30 get the chest bone in front of the ball.
01:33 And the key here is that leading edge getting into the back
01:36 and really think about your finish.
01:38 When you have a long finish,
01:39 you tend to release more of the bounce.
01:41 When you have a short finish,
01:43 so a curtailed finish with a little bit more pace,
01:45 it just allows the hands to stay a little bit more
01:48 ahead of the club head and get that ball first.
01:50 So let's see if we can play once,
01:52 a little bit like this.
01:53 (upbeat music)
01:56 A nice ball first contact.
02:07 It will go lower, the ball will be fairly hot,
02:10 but that's a sacrifice to making sense
02:11 of getting the quality of that strike.
02:13 Okay, this is a really tough shot here, okay?
02:15 But it is real life, we do get it sometimes.
02:17 So really wet muddy lie to a tight pin.
02:20 So the pin there is only about four yards on.
02:23 Now of course there's options here.
02:24 And really I probably would advise most of you
02:26 to play a low shot there with maybe with an eight or nine
02:29 and running into the bank,
02:30 try and take some pace off the ball.
02:32 But sometimes maybe you can't do that.
02:34 It might be a bunker there, for example.
02:35 So you've got to try and play the higher shot.
02:37 So one of the things you can do
02:39 is get the club selection right.
02:41 I've got my high toe 60 degree low bounce lob wedge here.
02:45 And what I really like about this wedge
02:46 is how it's really shaved down on the toe.
02:48 So the bounce really is measured in the middle of the sole
02:51 and the toe there is shaved down.
02:53 So I can use that to my advantage here.
02:54 So I'm going to set up with the toe lower than the heel.
02:58 I'm going to face a little bit open,
03:00 really put that toe down and address it slightly
03:02 out the toe of the club as well.
03:04 I'm going to stand quite a bit way to the left there.
03:07 So a good sort of 30 degrees open with my feet.
03:10 And I'm going to swing the toe across the ball
03:13 and I can hit just before it
03:15 and the toe will nip under it
03:17 and hopefully hit it nice and high.
03:19 So let's give that a go.
03:20 So high hands, toe down,
03:23 and we're going to work across the ball.
03:25 That nice high shot and hopefully up and down.
03:30 So really tough shot made easy by using the right club
03:34 and the right technique.
03:36 (upbeat music)
03:38 (upbeat music)
03:41 (upbeat music)