As the dog days of summer settle in for an extended stay, greens are becoming baked and hard – and hard to hold.
Golfers of all abilities face similar frustrations. Excitement turns into dismay the instant a well-struck approach shot bounces off the putting surface.
A repertoire of greenside recovery shots may be needed to rescue the round. Trouble is, most golfers don’t practice their short game nearly enough, say three of the area’s top teachers: Ed Oldham of The Ranch Country Club, Lana Ortega of the McGetrick Golf Academy and Trent Wearner of Meridian Golf Learning Center.
“Golfers should keep in mind that a score comes down to the short game most days,” Wearner said.
Ortega encourages her students to always practice their short game before heading to the range.
“In a round of golf, you only hit your driver 14 times, maybe,” she said. “But probably 65 percent of your shots are going to be within 100 yards of the green.”
For high-handicappers, facing a fast, downhill chip from the rough ranks high on the intimidation scale. Rather than pull out a wedge, Ortega recommends the high-handicapper or beginning golfer employ a fairway or utility wood.
“It’s kind of a cool shot; it makes the player think, ‘Hey, I know something a little different here,”‘ Ortega said.
Middle-handicappers, as a rule, feel fairly comfortable when chipping a ball onto a green, even out of the rough, Oldham said. They often shudder, however, at the thought of playing a sand shot.
Golfers should realize that the sand wedge is their friend, Oldham said. It’s the one club in the bag that does much of the work. The sole of the clubhead was designed to keep the club out of the sand; it’s the same principle that has the tips of your skis turned up so they don’t go into the snow.
“During my clinics, I’ll hit bunker shots with one hand, showing students how easy it is to hit them when you’re set up correctly,” Oldham said.
As for low-handicappers, not enough use the flop shot around the green, Wearner said. “I’d say only about half, and I’m always surprised by that,” he said. “They’ve kind of learned one method around the greens and they tend to stick with it.
“But the flop shot will enhance their versatility and in certain situations enable them to knock it a little closer.”
That, after all, is the essence of golf.
Tom Kensler can be reached at 303-820-5456 or tkensler@denverpost.com.
Greenside recovery shots
FOR THE HIGH-HANDICAPPER
Using a utility club or fairway wood
“When faced with a fast, downhill chip from around the green or when the ball sits against the collar, the utility wood is often a safer play. Grip down because it’s a long club. For right-handers, your right hand actually will be on the shaft, below the grip. Stand a little closer to the ball so the shaft is almost vertical. Play the ball about an inch back of center, which positions your hands slightly ahead of the ball to make the forward swing more of a descending angle. Just like with a chip, the hands should lead the way on the forward swing and keep the left wrist from breaking down. Take a swing appropriate for the length of shot you need. It should come out rolling like a putt.
“When you use a wood to ‘putt it,’ the grass will slow down the ball before it starts a roll toward the hole. It’s easier to kind of putt it onto the green with a wood rather than using a wedge and maybe chunking or blading it.”
LANA ORTEGA, director, McGetrick Golf Academy
FOR THE MIDDLE-HANDICAPPER
Don’t bury your round in the sand
“The average person is not going to hit 100 bunker shots a day, so I try to keep it simple. Open up the clubface, but do that without turning the hands, so use a weak grip. For a right-hander, the hands are turned to the left on the club. That exposes even more of the trailing edge. I might have the player open their stance just slightly.
“Dig into the sand with your feet, but only an inch or so. On the swing, I’m not going to encourage a tremendous out-to-in swing. It’s going to be something that has more of a relationship to the target. You want to put the ball forward and make sure you hit the sand a couple of inches behind the ball. I’ll use the term, ‘Lay the club on its back’ – expose the trailing edge to the sand. One fault the average players have is they don’t tend to make a big enough swing.”
ED OLDHAM, head golf professional, The Ranch Country Club
FOR THE LOW-HANDICAPPER
Don’t forget to flop
“This shot comes in handy when you don’t want the ball to roll very much. Your lie has to be pretty decent. You’ll want to use a lob wedge, 60 or 58 degrees, or maybe a sand wedge with not a lot of bounce on it.
“Take a wider stance than you’d use for a traditional chip shot and lean the handle back slightly, away from the target. You want your clubface to be a little open, with the ball a little forward in relation to your feet. Your weight can favor your back foot a bit, and you want a little bit of an open stance. Use a weaker grip, where both hands would be turned to the left, for a right-handed player. And you should have a light grip pressure. That allows your swing to hinge with your wrist on the back swing. Then on the forward swing, the wrist kind of stops at your left thigh or belt buckle, and the hands flip on past.”
TRENT WEARNER, instructor, Meridian Golf Learning Center
