GET ALL BALL TO PUT IT BACK IN PLAY ven good tee shots on a firm-and-fast course can keep rolling or carom off hard turf into dicey situations adjacent to the fairway. At Pinehurst, you can find yourself in one of the sandy native areas that border our holes. On your course, you might end up in a hardpan lie. From these spots, you next shot requires the best contact possible to escape. Here’s how to get it. Play the ball about 3cm further back in your stance than normal, grip down on the club, and set your weight so its slightly favouring your front leg. It might help to focus on a spot just in front of the ball ( above ). All these adjustments should get you to pick it clean. When you swing, it’s okay if E
your backswing and finish are shorter than normal so that you don’t lose your balance and mishit it. Just remember to commit to the follow-through. “Clean contact is huge, but I found it just as important to pick an imaginary window to hit the ball through to really narrow my focus on getting back in play,” MacClurg says. Sometimes your ball might end up in an even worse spot, like in the wiregrass found at Pinehurst. When facing a lie like that, ask yourself, What’s my chance of getting it out? Hacking out can be an injury waiting to happen, so please think safety before scorecard. If you have a shot, don’t be a hero. Just grip down, shorten your swing and punch it out.
54 GOLF DIGEST SOUTH AFRICA
JUNE 2024
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