Shots Every Golfer Needs To Know Around The Green And How To Play Them
In this video, Neil Tappin is joined by PGA Professional Alex Elliott to talk through the 7 shots every golfers needs, and how to play them.
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00:00Hello everyone, Neil Tappan here from Golf Monthly and welcome to this video in which
00:07we're going to take a look at the seven shots that every golfer needs.
00:10Now these are things from the tee all the way through to the green that are really going
00:13to help you shoot lower scores.
00:14They're not necessarily the flashy shots that everyone wants to hit but they certainly are
00:18the ones that are going to help you get your handicap down so they are well worth learning.
00:22Now the advice in this video comes from PGA Pro Alex Elliott, he'll offer you everything
00:26you need to know on how to play these shots.
00:28Guys, if you're new to the Golf Monthly channel, please do hit the subscribe button to make
00:31sure that you don't miss any of our videos.
00:33Hit the like button if you like what you're watching.
00:35But let's head out now to the golf course here at West Hill and look at the seven shots
00:39that every golfer needs.
00:45If you want to keep your score ticking over, you're going to need to be able to play this
00:48sort of half pitch shot and it's one that so many golfers struggle with, myself included
00:53Alex.
00:54Why is it that people struggle with this shot, do you think?
00:56For me it's the lack of speed, so it's a lack of commitment and not setting up to it correctly.
01:03Anything that we're talking around short game, we've got to be set up to it correctly because
01:06we've not got the speed, we've not got the momentum, we've not got that time to compensate
01:10and hit the shot.
01:11Yeah, so there's nothing you can do about the fact that you can't put much speed into
01:15the shot, it is what it is, but how do you set up to it properly so that you can take
01:19the kind of bad shots out of play?
01:20So straight away, I want to feel as though I grip in the middle so I have even amounts
01:25of grip at the top and the bottom, so shortening the length of the club and if you think about
01:30it, we're looking for accuracy, we're not looking for distance, so all these things
01:33are everything that's going to help us give control rather than give distance.
01:38I like to feel ball in the middle of the stance, shoulders parallel to target line, but lower
01:44half slightly open and this is the best thing for me, I'd encourage a lot of you to make
01:48some one-handed practice swings because it's amazing, any time you make a one-handed practice
01:51swing, actually, most people swing it on plane and most people swing it really good,
01:55so I would put my right hand onto my left elbow and just make some practice swings back
02:01and through, really trying to concentrate on can I create this L shape, so every time
02:05you do this, I've not even thought about doing this, I've made the club feel light, it's
02:09not feeling heavy and too far around the corner, it's not too far out and in front of my hands,
02:14it's not heavy in each direction, any time the club feels light, it's a lot easier for
02:20me to control speed.
02:21Can I just ask you, why do you open up your hips?
02:24What does that do for you?
02:25By opening your stance up a little bit, what does that do?
02:28Helps us clear that left side, so a lot of people go wrong when it's very scoopy, so
02:33if I was to stand very square on, this would encourage a more scoopy nature to the motion,
02:39so I'd always start with a bit of a routine, club down behind the ball, everything starts
02:44parallel, ball in the middle of the stance, lower half opens, weight goes left, a little
02:49bit of a waggle, then we get a good bit of consistency, we've got a routine, any time
02:59we've got a routine, we can trust it.
03:01And the one thing you have to do with this shot is practice.
03:09A stock shot, Alex, it's something that everyone needs, right?
03:13Everyone needs a shot they can rely on, a swing thought that they can have that's really
03:16going to just help them get the ball in play, what's your advice here?
03:20I think a stock shot, we've got to have it when we're under pressure or when we're not
03:25playing our best golf, and if we can get the ball around the golf course that way, that's
03:29our best golf, I think it's the most impressive golf, stock shot that gets us around the course.
03:34So I think most golfers will tend to fade to slice it, so I think it's working out on
03:38the day, is it more fade-y today, or is it a little bit straighter, because sometimes
03:42we have days where we feel better, and it becomes a bit more of a straight shot, so
03:45I tend to get five golf balls before I go on the golf course, and maybe these are my
03:48last five before I actually walk to the first tee.
03:52No real swing thoughts, what I would try and do here is-
03:54No swing thoughts at all?
03:55No, I want you to, at this point, we've gone through that process of working on a swing
03:59thought and maybe getting a feel into the swing, what happens if I naturally make a
04:03swing, what ball flight comes out?
04:06Because if we can let the ball flight dictate our swing, then that's a great place to be
04:10in.
04:11How many times have we've all done this, no matter the level of golfer, we've tried so
04:14hard to get it into a certain position, we're not really worried about the ball flight,
04:18so for your last five shots, make a swing, let's see what ball flight comes out.
04:24When you're out on the golf course, Alex, you play with no swing thought, you're just
04:27focusing on the target and the ball flight?
04:29I separate it like this, I have a virtual line, which is thinking zone, playing zone,
04:34so I'm quite heavily thinking about technique and swing thoughts right here, as soon as
04:39I step over the line, I let the shot dictate the swing, because I use a theory, we all
04:43practice to improve our technique, so we've got to trust that actually improving our technique,
04:48while we're improving our technique, so it becomes an inherent movement, so I keep reminding
04:53me what my blue star, my gold star, my blueprint is, so when I get over here, I trust that
04:58what I've done in my routine is going to somewhat come into my golf swing, but simply shot dictates
05:04the swing.
05:05Okay, so your stock shot would tend to be a little fade with it?
05:07Yeah, definitely, definitely.
05:09Some days it comes out a little bit straighter, so it's for me just finding out what it is,
05:13and I would tend to split these five golf balls up, three with my 7.9, and two with driver.
05:17Go on then, hit a couple for us.
05:26There's one, a little bit of a fade.
05:28Little fade.
05:29So straight away I've got a little bit of feedback, again, no real thoughts, just seeing
05:32what ball flight comes out.
05:34Again, a little bit of a fade.
05:42So I'm getting some feedback right now, knowing that out on the golf course today, I can expect
05:46a little bit more of a fade.
05:47Yeah, and you can see now that that's building a picture in Alex's mind, should be building
05:52a picture in your mind of exactly the sort of shape you'll have, so when you get into
05:56the golf course, you can have a positive image in your mind before you play the shot, and
06:00if you can do that, you should be able to get the ball around the golf course in fewer shots.
06:04Okay, so I guess this one, Alex, is on the list because it's one of the most intimidating
06:12shots that people face, isn't it?
06:14So having to hit a chip shot over a bunker, it's tricky for anybody.
06:19In this scenario, you've got a little bit more green to work with with the flag, but
06:22if the flag was a little bit closer to the bunker, this would be a very intimidating
06:26shot for a lot of people.
06:27How do you play it?
06:28I think a lot of people go wrong with this kind of shot straight away, especially if
06:31this flag was a little bit closer, is the Phil Mickelson million dollar shot of trying
06:35to land it just over the bunker and take all the risk into play.
06:39I always try and think if there's not a lot of green between the fringe and the flag over
06:43a bunker, try and land it in the hole.
06:45So I always overcompensate and take 10, 15, even 20 foot past the flag.
06:49Right, so you're taking the bunker out.
06:51I think for a lot of golfers, if we can avoid going in here, we avoid that card wrecker
06:56and we can keep our score going.
06:58That also begs the question, how do you avoid hitting it 50 yards over the bag?
07:02So the setup that I like to use is ball position in the middle of my stance, choose my most
07:07lofted wedge, which is my 58 degree.
07:10I then really want to feel a little bit of separation between upper and lower.
07:14So I feel like my shoulders point towards or parallel with target, but my lower halves
07:18and my feet and my hips are slightly open.
07:21If we think in the long game, everything that we're looking for is to be open at impact
07:24and be through to target.
07:25Whereas in the short shot, we've not got the speed, we've not got momentum for that.
07:29So it's almost like pre-empting where we want to be.
07:32Okay, fine.
07:33So I lay the field, just get that split and almost feel my stance is very, very narrow,
07:36ball in the middle, underarm throwing it through towards target and really trust that I've
07:43got to put the speed in.
07:44Now, if I took a really long backswing, I might tend to deaccelerate into the ball to
07:48control the distance that way.
07:50However far back you go is how far through we go.
07:53Just imagine the flag is a little bit closer to us than it is because with this shot, it
07:57would be a slightly more straightforward shot, but if the flag was a bit closer to us.
08:00So again, I would picture landing it into the hole.
08:03I wouldn't open the face too much.
08:04I've chosen my most lofted wedge and trust the fact that the loft is going to come from
08:09what club I've taken.
08:11Ball in the middle, weight slightly left and trust that it's going to land over, roll just
08:21past the flag.
08:22I'd always say to every single person, we'd rather have a 10-foot putt past the flag or
08:26even 20-foot putt than be in the bunker in front of us.
08:29If you can, devote a little bit of time to that in practice because it's the sort of
08:32shot you're going to need from time to time out on the golf course and avoiding the bunker
08:36and avoiding hitting it over the back is the only way to keep your scoring intact.
08:45Okay, so this one is about the punch.
08:47Now, a lot of people watching this might think to themselves, well, you know, I want to master,
08:52you know, a normal golf shot before I develop the punch, but actually, it's a shot well
08:56worth practicing, isn't it, because it can teach you an awful lot about your game.
08:59Definitely.
09:00I think what most people are looking for with their irons, hands ahead of the golf ball,
09:04hit the ball and turf.
09:05That's everything this shot is sort of tending itself to be, so you can actually have some
09:08great benefits technical-wise.
09:10Yes.
09:11Okay, so how do you play it?
09:12How can people play in the sort of most simple and effective way?
09:15So first off, we've got to think of like we're trying to lower the ball flight, so we want
09:19a little bit less speed and less spin.
09:21So less speed and less spin, a little bit more gripping down on it.
09:24So by having, when you have more spin, more backspin, it doesn't matter what level you
09:27are, I think a lot of people associate backspin with like tour level, but everyone creates
09:31backspin.
09:32The harder you hit it, the more you create, the higher the ball will go.
09:34That's the basic physics, right?
09:36Exactly.
09:37So shorten the lever, so ultimately making, gripping the golf club closer towards the
09:41steel.
09:42Ball towards the back of our stance.
09:44So I try and tend to use my reference points as where my buttons are on my shirt, just
09:48to write my buttons.
09:49No specific point, really.
09:51Got everything feeling like it's working parallel to target.
09:53I then open up the lower half and weight goes left.
09:56Why do you open up the lower half?
09:57Now without going into too much detail, the more you hit down on it, the more light of
10:01this ball is going to want to squirt a little bit out to the right.
10:03So I open up my stance and feel as though I swing down my feet line and hit down on
10:08it that way.
10:09Right, okay.
10:10Go on then, hit one for us then, Alex, can you?
10:11So club down, gripping down more towards the steel.
10:13Start with everything parallel, and that's a really nice point.
10:17Open up the lower half, weight goes left, swing down the feet line and keep the weight
10:21left.
10:22And I'm really trying to feel like I make a three quarter backswing to three quarter
10:27front swing.
10:28Yeah, and you should notice that it doesn't look like Alex is really, I think I have a,
10:32certainly I have a tendency to try and hit the ball too hard when I'm doing it.
10:35And then you just create that ball, you create the sort of spinny flight that you're looking
10:39to avoid.
10:40So it's really important, isn't it?
10:41Yeah, and I kind of attach that to gears of a car.
10:45So we'd probably hit our normal shots of nine in kind of gear four out of five, whereas
10:49I try and feel it more in gear three, a little bit smoother, a little bit slower.
10:56Yeah.
10:57Okay, so our next one relates to how to chip from a bad line.
11:00Alex, we have given you a particularly bad line here.
11:03And it's one of those situations that you're going to need to have a shot that helps you
11:06in this scenario, because this can be a real carburetor, can't it?
11:10Yeah, I mean, we've all been late in the round, 16th, 17th, 12th, just missed the green.
11:15We end up in this.
11:16Yeah.
11:17So you need to find a technique that is going to take the duff and the thin and even actually
11:21from a line like this, the double hit out of the equation.
11:24Yeah, that's what I'm worried about right now.
11:26So what are you doing here to escape and get a good contact on the ball?
11:30For me, there's two factors.
11:31It's club selection and how we set out to the ball.
11:34These two things have got to be on point to allow us to, I think, our level of expectation,
11:38we don't expect to get it too close here.
11:39It's like I said before, get it on the green, worst case scenario bogey, not turning that
11:43into a double or a triple.
11:45So I always like to advocate using a more specialist wedge.
11:49So we have wedges that are part of the set sometimes, a bit more of a cavity on the back.
11:53This is more like a specialist wedge, the bounce has got a little bit more bounce on
11:56than a traditional wedge out of the set.
11:59And this just helps us in terms of interaction on the ground.
12:02So my preferred wedge for this is 50 degree, 52 or even 48 could be as long as it's a specialist
12:08wedge will really help us play this shot.
12:10Okay, so fine.
12:13Okay then, how are you changing it from your normal chipping technique?
12:16My normal chipping technique, I would stand a little bit open, I wouldn't be as close
12:20to it, this whole, my sole of the club would be on the ground and I would feel very similar
12:25to a chip and run shot that I would underarm throw it back and through, whereas this set
12:29up changes completely.
12:31I like to feel I get the toe on the ground, I walk a little bit closer to it and I grip
12:36it just short of the steel.
12:39So all I'm trying to feel is that I keep my weight left and I get the toe brushing
12:43the ground.
12:44So ultimately we feel as though the toe is working and scooping this ball up, it's like
12:51pops it up.
12:52Okay.
12:53It's the best way I can describe it, it's like a knife in butter, it's like a sharp
12:55edge getting into that bad lie and popping it out and up.
12:58Okay, go on then, show us how it's done.
13:00So we're in there, I have a few practice swings, I think it's important to have a practice
13:03swing and commit to this because a lot of people would see this and be like, ah, I'm
13:07scared.
13:08So you've got to practice it from time to time, you know, it's very tempting when you're
13:10practicing your chipping just to give yourself a perfect lie and practice those ones that
13:14just spin a little bit on the second bounce, but actually in reality, it's these shots
13:17that are going to really help you out on the course.
13:19These are the ones that keep momentum, you know, if you get up and down for par here
13:22or not even that, you just don't make a card wrecker, then you're going to feel good walking
13:28onto the next tee.
13:29Yeah.
13:30So a few practice swings, just get the toe, interact on the ground, try and feel it's
13:33a more of a wooden motion, no real setting the wrist, I try and feel my thumbs are really
13:38pointing down to the ground, walking in, weight left.
13:42Ah, that's really well played, you know, that got a little shooty bounce, but it's fine.
13:49I mean, from there, I'm more than happy with that shot.
13:54It's a really good shot, it's probably a little bit unlucky actually, so, you know, it's one
13:57of these things, it can be tempting not to practice this shot.
13:59When you are confronted with a situation like this out on the golf course, you'll need technique,
14:03and hopefully Alex's, that he's shown you there, will help you.
14:11Okay, so the next one relates to putting, and in particular putting from long range.
14:15If you can get down in two from this area more often, it's going to make a massive difference
14:20to your momentum and your scoring, and it's just going to help you all round the whole
14:24of your game.
14:25How do you prepare, and then what do you do to make sure that you're getting the ball
14:28consistently right in terms of the distance?
14:31So preparation is key, getting the speed of the greens.
14:33Out on the course, I'm picturing a bin lid around the hole, so not really from this distance
14:38looking to hole it.
14:39If we do, absolutely fantastic.
14:41I think we can get into a bit of trouble trying to hole a put of this length and it going
14:45three to that four feet past.
14:47So what do you do pre-round then to help you get a better judgment for pace?
14:51This might sound quite counterintuitive really, but I don't put towards a hole.
14:54I have two golf balls, what I would do is I'd put into free space, and I'd almost try
14:59and play balls.
15:00I'd try and hit my second ball onto my first, because if I can do that, it's a lot harder
15:04to do that than it is to get it inside that bin lid.
15:07Okay, so why do you take the hole out of the equation then?
15:10So there's no real outcome in terms of something that I can make it relative to the course.
15:14So I'm literally tuning into not actually holing a put, but getting pace.
15:18I think a lot of golfers think they're better at pace than they are at reading the put,
15:23and they don't actually tune into this enough.
15:25So then Alex, what are you doing on the course in a situation like this to make sure that
15:29you get that pace right?
15:30What I would do is, similar to what we might do on a long chip and run, I would walk half
15:35the distance.
15:36Make a triangle between me and the hole, walk back, and this gives us a great perception
15:42of distance.
15:43Right, yeah.
15:44So looking at something this way, it makes it sometimes look a little bit shorter than
15:48it actually is.
15:49Yeah, it shortens it a little bit, yeah.
15:50Yeah, and just taking a walk on that journey, you get a little bit of feedback.
15:53Is it uphill?
15:54Is it downhill?
15:55Is it left to right?
15:56Because sometimes, we've all been there.
15:57We've looked at a put from this side.
15:58We've gone to the other side, and we're like, it looks totally different.
16:02Yeah, yeah, yeah.
16:03So it gives us a real good instincts coming to play, and it gives us a real good view
16:06of what the hole and what the put is like.
16:08So as I'm preparing for a put, I'm looking at the hole, I'm making that stroke back and
16:13through, asking myself a question.
16:15Is that enough?
16:16If it's not, take it a little bit further back, a little bit further through.
16:19Really getting some great feedback for hitting that put.
16:22Over the golf ball now.
16:24One look towards the target, pull the trigger.
16:27Yeah, very good.
16:30Now, we've made that stress free.
16:34We're more than happy from 35, 40 feet, walking up to that, tapping it in.
16:37We may even mark it to be sure, but definitely takes stress free.
16:40Put those tips into play, and it should help you whenever you're in this sort of situation,
16:45and you've got a scorecard in your hand, and you need to keep it ticking over.
16:53Okay, so this one is about the chip and run.
16:55Now, I'm sure it's a shot that most of you have played, but how many of you actually
16:58practice it?
16:59I think that's the key point, isn't it, Alex?
17:01Definitely.
17:02It's a shot that technically, there's not an awful lot of difficulty with it, but it
17:07does require practice if you want to consistently get the ball up and down.
17:10Yeah, and I think because it's not a glamorous shot, it's not the shot people see on TV all
17:15the time.
17:16It's like, I don't really want to practice that one too much, but I tend to get a lot
17:19of people, especially on like playing lessons, things like that, using a rule, if you can
17:23put it, let's put it.
17:24So in this situation here, we probably can't put this.
17:26I know the turf's great here.
17:28It's quite a long shot, really, to play, isn't it?
17:29Yeah.
17:30So next resort in my head, I'm going, right, if I can chip it, let's run it.
17:33So yes, I can chip and run this.
17:34Now, I try and think of it in a simple analogy of, if I was going to underarm throw it, and
17:41the strings of the badminton racket here are ultimately my palm or the club face, how much
17:45impetus would I have to put into it?
17:47I know it's a lot easier for me to land it five yards in front of me than 25 yards next
17:53to the flag on a five-pence piece.
17:54Okay.
17:55So when you're planning the shot, how are you figuring out where to land it, how much
18:00to run it, what club to hit, all of those elements?
18:02So I would tend to, on a shot like this, maybe have a little bit of a walk, and especially
18:07because there's a little bit of a raise here, and get to a point and sort of give myself
18:11an angle from the side of, what does this shot look like?
18:15Because from the side, you get a much better perception of distance.
18:17When we're looking this way at something, it looks a little bit shorter.
18:20A little bit shorter.
18:21Yes.
18:22So I tend to get to the side of it, have a little bit of a look, always walk to where
18:25I want to land it on as well.
18:27So you've almost got a reference of, even subconsciously, well, that was about 10 yards.
18:32I know I can back myself to a 10-yard shot, and I think most people watching this would
18:35as well, no matter what your handicap is.
18:37Whereas if I was trying to land it with my 58 off this lie as well, which is just tight.
18:42Fairly tight, yes.
18:43What would be the mistakes that people make with this shot?
18:45I think, like what I said there, is standing to it like a full shot, letting the club work
18:50to around the body, and then I always think, make gravity on your side.
18:55So getting closer to the golf ball, and I use this term lightly, straighter back, straighter
18:59through.
19:00It's never quite straight back, straight through, but it allows you to easily drop the golf
19:04club on the back of the ball, rather than too much around the corner, we're sort of
19:08fighting it and scooping it.
19:11So everything's on your side then, a little bit closer, a little bit easier, and make
19:14it a little bit more wooden.
19:15Okay, go on, let's have a look.
19:16There you go.
19:17Really good.
19:18And I think the point about this shot is, Alex, that it's just, it's one of the safest
19:28shots you can hit.
19:29If you are prone to the odd, you know, chunky chip around the greens or thinning one through
19:33the back, and you're playing in competition, it's just a fairly easy shot to play.
19:37You know, you're not going to make double bogey from this scenario.
19:39No, I would say your worst chip and run is never going to be as worse as your worst lofted
19:44shot.
19:45Yeah.
19:46Okay, so practice that, hopefully you'll improve.
19:47There you have it, that was our list of the seven most important golf shots that every
19:50golfer needs.
19:51Guys, before you go, please do hit the pause button and let us know, firstly, if you think
19:55we've missed anything, if there are any shots that really would help players get around
19:59in as few shots as possible.
20:00And also, if you do use any of these techniques regularly, let us know, we'd be interested
20:04to hear your thoughts.
20:05But that's all now from West Hill, thanks for watching, and we'll see you next time.
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