Epic Golf Shots And How To Play Them
In this video Alex Elliott explains how top hit 7 epic shots at the Belfry.
Transcript
00:00Welcome to the legendary Brabazon course here at the Belfry, home of four
00:10Ryder Cups. We've teamed up with Callaway and Alex Elliott and I are going to show
00:16you how to play seven epic shots.
00:23We're here at the third hole on the Brabazon, it's a reachable par 5 so a
00:29real tempter. Alex has got his tee shot quite a way down but as you can see we've
00:34just slipped over into the rough here so there's a decision to be made. Alex what
00:40are you thinking right now? I guess there's two options depending on how
00:43your games going right now you could have started well and you might feel
00:46confident enough to take this on. Other options you've got here is if your games
00:50not feeling quite good and sometimes we have those days is we could actually lay
00:54up down this right-hand side but we've seen people play these shots I want to
00:59take it on right now as well. So we're in the rough now with this ball sat down a
01:04little bit we've got to sort of use a club that's going to help us get it in
01:08the air. Out the fairway we could probably get away with those long irons
01:11the four iron potentially something around there but 190 yards out I'm
01:16thinking hybrid help me get that ball in the air a little bit of help is all I
01:19need here. Great stuff right so you've decided you're going for it yes we've
01:24got the hybrid talk us through the technique of how you're going to play
01:27this shot. So I guess there's sort of a feeling I want people to use it I sort
01:32of kind of teach along sort of the feeling route so ball positions really
01:36key let's make sure we've got the ball in the correct position and the feeling
01:39through the shot I want people to attach this very close to an iron shot let's
01:44not try and help it in the air let's try and feel that we get a little bit
01:46downwards hit and on a downwards lie as well that's really really important so
01:51in terms of ball position what I really like to see for golfers of the hybrid is
01:54a club head inside the left heel probably where they're going to attach
01:58their longer irons or potentially like a firewood or three wood but then the
02:03feeling through the hit and I do this for every single shot out on the golf
02:06course make a few practice swings just inside the ball looking where I want to
02:11contact that ground so I'm really looking to sort of brush that grass in
02:15front not sort of get a feeling of scooping it up into the air and I mean I
02:21think it's amazing you see some of the best plays on tour do this they do
02:25exaggerated feelings relative to their swing thoughts from their coach but also
02:30relative to the shot that they've got absolutely all right there we go so
02:33we've got take a hybrid to help you get it up in the air make sure you're aware
02:38of that ball position and make sure you get down into it with that exaggerated
02:42feel you've talked us through it I've talked a big game you've talked it up
02:45now let's see it in action okay so here we go work for your routine take on one
02:51of these shots and we all know our playing partners will enjoy it just as
02:55much as us if we get it on
03:02oh that looks pretty go a little
03:08so you're up around the green chipping a puck for a birdie epic shots call for
03:18epic locations and it does not get any more epic or iconic than the 10th hole
03:25here on the Brabazon course at the Belfry look at that behind me we can all
03:30remember Sebi Ballesteros being the first man to knock it on there the
03:33amazing Ryder Cup moments we've seen you're here you stood on the tee what's
03:39the thought process about how you're going to tackle this incredible golf
03:42hole yes you just want to have a go I think if we look at this logically we've
03:49got a sort of put it in that category of it's just another drive now I know it's
03:53not I know it's not but if we're gonna hit our drive our best and give
03:58ourselves our best opportunity of getting it nail getting it on I think if
04:02we stick to sort of three simple rules yep good alignment try and put some good
04:08rhythm on it and in your head really try and hone in on the target rather than a
04:14wide open fairway so triple track ball what I would do in terms of like my
04:19routine and actually not just for this hole I'd do this on every single hole
04:23I'd always stand behind yep and place my lines down towards target so I know
04:31straight away I'm aligned to where I want to be yep second I'm gonna take my
04:35stance build my stance around that hone in on my target rather than looking at
04:42wide open space so in this case a very tight front flag and now all I want you
04:47to picture is can you be balanced yep because this would be very easy for any
04:52golfer of any level just to give it a little bit more because of the situation
04:56and think can I get it there so be balanced and try and not make it more
05:00than it is and just on shot shape obviously most amateur golfers and
05:04certainly myself included we play with a fade yeah verging on a slice at time
05:08that suits this perfectly so let's roll with it let's go with it set up allowing
05:14for that shape taking it into the hole and if we're honest if we hit a good one
05:17it does leak a little bit right we might get a friendly bounce off the tree and
05:20end up on the green well let's see how lucky we're feeling today hopefully very
05:24so ball down keep checking your target checking your alignment build your stance
05:31around those lines on the ball last thing be balanced
05:41that looks pretty good oh if that's the right leg oh there you go
05:52epic moments epic shots we're on the 17th another beautiful hole here it's a
06:04par 5 it's reachable every chance to go for it in two from here Alex but just
06:09one problem those branches are overhanging but you've got to go for it
06:13right 100% I think this is a great situation risk and a bit of reward here
06:17or a lot of reward where the green set with it sort of funneling with those
06:21bunkers it sort of lends itself to that ball landing short running up towards
06:25that flag if we can pull it off so with that in mind we've got to play a punch
06:29shot essentially under these branches and running up onto the green explain
06:34to us how we do that so the first thing we've got to sort of go for is the the
06:38lowest lofted club in our back now for some people this may be a six iron some
06:42people it could be upwards of a three iron we've got a three iron here so I'm
06:46gonna choose my three iron if you've got a six iron five iron just choose your
06:49least lofted club so we're going to control a few things here how much we
06:54hit down on the golf ball and the loft the golf club has an impact also we
06:58could put speed into that mix as well so we want to feel as though we're gonna
07:02hit more down and reduce our loft there's a lot of these things that we
07:06can do at the address position so let's work through in sort of like a five
07:10stage map as I kind of like to think it so first off let's grip down that golf
07:15club it's gonna help us control the speed second we're gonna build our
07:20stance with that ball towards the back of our stance number three can we get a
07:25little bit of weight on our left side yep number four I always like to do this
07:29without going too much into detail we need to make sure that we're bodies
07:33aiming a little bit left because we're hitting it earlier in our arc so aim a
07:37little bit left with that body and then the fifth point try and put a smooth
07:41three-quarter swing on it all these factors help us control angle attack
07:45help us control the loft of the club and hopefully see that ball fizz out nice
07:49and low great stuff let's see it in action let's go so I think as we've
07:53spoken about throughout this whole series it's having a routine that you
07:56can stick to on these shots so pick the target I'm gonna walk in gripping down
08:01on that golf club place that golf club down ball slightly back in the stance
08:06weight left now we're in a position to go
08:16very nice chasing up in between the bunkers onto the putting surface you've
08:21got an eagle putt
08:28we're on the 15th another beautiful hole here Alex has hit a very very rare bad
08:33shot you've got yourself in a little bit of trouble you're short-sighted yeah
08:38it's a big old yawning bunker in front of you what are you gonna do to save
08:42your par from here well I think there's only one thing to do in the flop shot
08:45big high flop shot we're thinking Phil Mickelson style 100% like it's almost I
08:52call that the hero shot it comes off good you're here if it doesn't it can
08:55make you look a little bit of a fool so what are you assessing to decide whether
08:58you can carry that off I think the most important thing to do is I always work
09:02it from the ball to target like a ball to target line so I'd have a look at my
09:06lie I think if we're gonna hit this flop shot you want that grass just to be
09:09cushioning that ball up a little bit on a bear lie we might have to look at a
09:13different option I then would walk around this bunker probably walk to
09:17where I want to land it yep because you get a good understanding take this hole
09:20here for example we've got a bit of a backstop not a lot of green between the
09:24fringe and the flag so assessing it going to where your target is and you
09:28can get a full good understanding of where you want to hit that ball to great
09:31stuff so we're gonna go for the most lofted wedge in the bag how are you
09:36how are you setting up for this one if I keep it really nice and simple bunker
09:43shot is all I'm sort of thinking so I would walk through a routine so I'd
09:47place that club down with the face open on the ground I would then take my hold
09:52if you look at that there kit like my hold to me is relatively neutral but
09:56relative to the club face the club face is really really open and then place
10:00that club down behind the back of the golf ball and for a lot of people now
10:04it'll be a bit of a scary situation that club face looks like it's pointing a
10:07little bit to the right but we'll correct that in a second so then take a
10:10nice wide stance with the ball just favoring the left half yeah and then
10:15this is the key thing here you sitting down a little bit I'm getting the weight
10:19a little bit left actually we'll get that loft pointing somewhat to target I
10:24want you to actually work through a different sort of feeling in release I
10:28want you to imagine there's a little smiley face on that club face as you're
10:32swinging through can you point it back at you rather than most people would
10:36release a club like this we want to feel a little bit more of an element of this
10:41make sure you take a few practice swings get used to the lie as well you've got
10:45to get used to that club working through the grass picture how much force you've
10:51got to put into it because I think the hard thing for most amateur golfers
10:54and club golfers is it requires a lot more speed than you think yeah so place
10:59your club down take your hold ball up in your stance sit down a little bit mirror
11:05that loft back at you
11:09very high very soft catch it on the right level and that is a very makeable
11:16par putt it's the tricky 16th now we've got an approach but it's a difficult one
11:28we all know how tough it is to be good from fairway bunkers you're in one right
11:33here Alex that pin is tucked what are you going to do I think again it's like
11:38we've had in this whole series have a little bit of a formula for these big
11:41epic shots so first and foremost have a look at the lie because if this is not
11:46lying well we can get a bit of a clump of sand behind it sometimes even get a
11:49fried egg here we've got to take our punishment and just just take it out the
11:53bunker and use a most lofted club then I'd have a look at the side profile how
11:57quick have I got to get this ball up over the lip because how many times do
12:03we think yeah you know what I can get a six iron get a five iron out of there
12:06leave it in the bunker double bogey staring us back in the face so we go
12:11lie we look at the side profile I then choose a club so I've got 135 here this
12:17is probably a comfortable nine iron for me but I'm gonna go wedge I'd rather get
12:21this ball out come up short and I've got a chance of making a bogey at worst if I
12:26again if I leave it in here we're talking making some big scores so then
12:31take a nice normal hold I wouldn't change too much on that I tend to go with
12:36my wedges anyway in the middle and an even amount of grip at the top and the
12:39bottom normal ball position and this is where it differs from what we would have
12:44as a traditional bunker shot we usually screw our feet right into the sand we're
12:49staring a fat shot so I think we want to sort of make sure we've got a compacted
12:55bit of sand under us so we've got a stable base so our final point is then
12:59pick out a little bit of a mark in front of the ball make sure the legs stay a
13:02little bit quieter through the shot and really focus on trying to hit down on
13:07the ball not get it in the air and just one other point are we doing anything
13:11with the ball position here to encourage that we make sure we get contact on that
13:15little white sphere before the side you might want to put it a little bit
13:18further back in your stance I mean with a wedge traditionally you're gonna have
13:21it sort of towards the back of your stance anyway if you're on a bit further
13:25away taking more like a seven iron eight iron you might want to put it half a ball
13:29to a ball back in your stance brilliant let's see you take it on if you can get
13:32it close to that pin that really is an epic shot it's a tight flag so a little
13:36bit of digging keep the legs nice and quiet
13:42beautiful contact
13:46a little bit short but I'm not turning this situation into a double bogey give
13:51yourself a chance to save your part here we are on the 18th tee at the
14:02Brabazon it's a beautiful golf hole but what an intimidating shot sometimes you
14:09just have to take it on and when there's water lurking short and you know the
14:13more you bail out the more difficult that second shot is going to be this is
14:17one of those moments isn't it Alex definitely like you said there you bail
14:21out right you're probably laying up for your second here yeah so how are we
14:25going about hitting that absolute bomb off the tee well we've got to stand up
14:29and deliver that's first and foremost and we'd go with driver here definitely
14:33so I would tend to have in my golf game and as I go through a round have sort of
14:39three different tee heights my low one if it's a little bit of a chippier one
14:43into the wind my medium one one which I sort of class as my fairway finder and
14:48then what I call is my bombs away tee height so what I look for here is as I'm
14:55addressing the golf ball he's actually having half a ball above the face I tend
15:00not to have this I sort of have a quarter usually on like my fairway
15:04finder shot so first and foremost half a ball above the face and I want to
15:08address the ball ball up in the stance that's really really key and just remind
15:12yourself check what you could do nice and simply address it in the middle of
15:16stance with your feet together just turn your left toe out move your right
15:19foot away I know right away I've got that ball in the correct position next
15:24point can I make sure my shoulders are actually feeling as though they're
15:29parallel to my feet line a lot of golfers ball up in the stance sort of
15:33get a little bit this way and all this is going to encourage this motion if you
15:37think about it logically if you get behind it we've got a better chance of
15:42and finally I call that my gears sort of theory most of the drives that I hit
15:47sort of fairway finders sort of gear 4 in our car this one we've got to step up
15:51we've got to go gear 5 so we've got to feel like we've got to be balanced yeah
15:55but we give it just that little bit more absolutely well this is a new tee box
16:00here for the British Masters you are the first person to hit a ball off it so no
16:06pressure I feel it let's give it the bombs away so
16:09walking right shoulder back gear 5 with some balance a bit of turn on that as
16:21well so the line here is trying to start it at the bunker and if you do get it to
16:25turn on that left edge you're absolutely in the perfect position perfect so
16:29aggressive off the tee committing to it nailed it and now you've set yourself up
16:35for that iconic approach into the 18th here at the Belfry here we are in the
16:45fairway then at the 18th and what an epic shot you are faced with right now
16:51Alex we've got the plaque down there from Christy O'Connor's magical to on in
16:56that Ryder Cup fortunately to on isn't one of the options we need today with
17:02all the technology at our disposal we've got a few options here you can go
17:05hybrid long iron perhaps even a lofted fairway wood what are you going to do
17:11from this position I'm gonna go three iron notoriously a probably difficult
17:15club for most club golfers and for a couple of reasons really and if I don't
17:21quite get it I know I've got the cover over the water and if I hit my Sunday
17:25best I'm not gonna go long so that middle of the road sort of club for me
17:29there I think if we went a little bit longer back edge downhill chip no you
17:34don't want that using that long line though that brings the microscope onto
17:39your ball striking as amateurs we can often struggle when we get into those
17:43long irons yeah I think we look down on it we don't see a lot of loft on the
17:46club nine times out of ten get a little bit thinny in that right shot and that's
17:51certainly in a lot of wet trouble right here so I think if we just think of
17:55three simple things and these can be thought of off the golf ball number one
17:59ball position number two can we feel that club is traveling a little bit
18:05lower through impact rather than trying to scoop this ball up high and the final
18:10one sort of ties into that second one and I would simply make some movements I
18:15mean if we look at all the top tour players we've mentioned this in the
18:17series before of having a feeling to take into a shot most club golfers a
18:22little bit faded so I would really try and feel we have this sort of long
18:26right arm feeling and this released down towards target so make some little
18:32practice motion just like this without a golf club and you're getting a great
18:37feeling and nine times out of ten this will probably send it dead straight
18:40all right we've got the pin tucked away there on the top of the three tiers yeah
18:45this is your moment I think the pressure show us something epic come on you've
18:49got this walking in ball position I want to feel it's a club head and sort
18:54of on the right edge of this club head here on the heel side inside my left
18:58heel down mirror that feeling hit it away
19:07oh what a strike that is if that is the right club that is all over it it's up
19:13there on the back tier I think you might have about six foot that is a truly epic
19:18golf shot there we have it that is how to hit seven epic shots here at the
19:26Belfry I hope you enjoyed those tips from Alex next time you're on the course
19:31and you're faced with one of those situations do what he said and you'll
19:35have some epic shots of your own thanks for watching