It’s All Downhill From Here!

For the final 2016 “That’s Golf” scenario we’ve come across a somewhat scary shot that with a little practice can become fairly easy. That would be a downhill, next to the green shot.

To hit this shot, first open the clubface (lob wedge is ideal). Set your feet, hips and shoulders so you are aiming left of the pin and ball position is by your back foot.

To start your backswing, pick the club up quickly with your hands to get an early wrist cock. From there, swing your arms down to maintain the angle between your lead arm and the shaft. I cannot stress enough that your backswing and downswing path must follow your body alignment (left of the flag as shown in photo #1). The idea here is to cut across the angle of the hill to get the ball up quickly in the air.

Go back to photo #1. Do you see how close the practice hole is to the edge of the putting green? You would never find this on the course as it would be highly unfair. However, from a practice standpoint it is ideal. If you practiced this shot enough to where you could get it close almost every time, just how good would your short game be? I always tell my students, when they are practicing their short game, work on the “impossible” shots. Get good at those and everything else is easy!

For more help on this and other “impossible” shots, see your local PGA or LPGA Professional.