Playing to Hard Greens

While watching the WGC-Cadillac Thursday it have become obviously apparent that even the pros have trouble gambling to hard vegetables. In some ways it turned into reassuring to see them getting dissatisfied over true pictures that did not end up accurate -- after all, we have all been there.

Still, it got me considering the first-rate way to play tough veggies. We'll start on the green and paintings our manner back.

Obviously the putter is your pleasant friend while you're on a difficult inexperienced or simply off the threshold. Since it is hard to get any spin on the ball while you hit it, it makes putting a safer wager than chipping.

Moving back from the green a bit... I found a new tip from Butch Harmon on the Golf Digest site about how to hit high pitches that land softly. Essentially it's about using your lead hand to control the club face -- turning your knuckles up at impact to keep the face open and hit it high, turning them down toward the ground for a running shot.

Even if you do not control the membership like Butch indicates, specializing in lead hand manage makes experience. That's the hand that is farthest away from the club head, so it lets in the pinnacle to swing most freely. The membership behaves maximum like a pendulum that way; after you get the feel of the swing's rhythm, it is less difficult to hit any high shot appropriately. (And recollect that each one high shots, whether or not flops or full approach shots, are a piece less difficult if you have a bit grass beneath the ball.) But you will have to practice if you need to hit a decent flop shot -- there's no brief fix.

When you have to hit an method from the fairway -- specially if there is a bunker or pond within the way -- you have to make a few alternatives. Again, as the pros at Doral proved, even the fine gamers have problem with difficult greens whilst you have got to hold a hazard. We mere mortals want some hints.

You may also have seen Victor Dubuisson roll the ball round a the front bunker early within the spherical, which the announcers referred to as a hyperlinks shot. Victor proven three ideas you may use:

1. the bump-and-run shot, popular on links courses but you'll need a reasonably firm fairway to make it work
2. choosing your approach angle -- if you can go around trouble, you have more options
3. using the terrain to your advantage -- Victor didn't fire straight at the green, he aimed for a slope at the side

If you simply have to go over a hazard, you might consider laying up short so you can use a wedge to attack the green. More loft equals a higher shot, making it a bit easier to stop the ball. Also, because the shot is shorter, you don't need as much club head speed so the ball won't run so far after it lands.

One other opportunity except landing the ball short of the green and bouncing it on -- a dicey situation if the green is tough but the fairway is gentle -- is to hit a better shot. You set up with the ball more forward on your stance -- an inch beforehand of your everyday position is probably enough -- open the club face and attempt to hit a excessive cut. You need to try to seize the ball right at the lowest of your swing arc. Again, you'll need a piece of cushion beneath the ball to drag that one off.

Of course, sometimes getting an amazing end result on hard greens is just a depend of success, irrespective of what you do. But as a minimum you may console your self with the knowledge that the professionals have the equal problem -- they simply get paid for having it. ;-)