LETTER FROM THE TEACHING PROFESSIONAL
AROUND THE GREEN SHOTS FOR THE “ THE SCORING ZONE ”
I hope everyone is off to a great start in the new year , and that all those New Year ’ s resolutions are being chased out there on the golf course ! Last month we went into some ways of improving your mental processes inside of 100 yards , calling these shots inside “ the scoring zone .”
Once we have an outline of the process of how to hit a shot , it ’ s now time to select a shot . This month we will focus on shots inside 20 yards from the edge of the green . These are shots that we all often face as golfers and can often be stroke shaving shots . The goal should be to be able to get the ball close enough to have a oneputt .
The first shot and probably most basic shot we will cover is putting with loft , or “ running it up .” This is a shot that is simply as it sounds , we are going to setup to the ball with a lofted club ( i . e . 8 iron ) and get the ball airborne for a short time , and then have the ball roll most of the ball to the target . This shot often works well when there is a flag that is in the back of the green and you are close to the green , but just far enough away to make putting the ball uncomfortable . This is a shot that is often overlooked because it ’ s not the super high flashy wedge shot that tour players hit , but statistics say that the longer the ball is on the ground rolling toward the flag , the closer the ball ends up to the hole . So , the putting with loft is a high probability shot that beginners and tour players alike use .
The second shot we need to use is a tossing shot . The tossing shot is one where the ball will fly halfway to the flag and roll the rest . This is a shot that would often be played by PGA Tour legend Steve Stricker . This is a shot where the hands are in front of the ball at address , and depending on the lie , ( rough and fairway ) the club will be more upright from the fairway , and more neutral on a shot from the rough . Essentially , we are delofting the golf club , making the ball roll and keeping the weight on your front foot will get the club moving down gently downward like a plane coming in for a landing . These tossing shots are hit often with a wedge either a pitching , gap , or sand .
The next shot we will need is what we ’ ll call a clip it shot . This is a shot that will carry ¾ of the way to the flag , and it also encourages back spin which makes the ball to “ checkup ” or stop . Clip it shots are useful when you need a firm shot sits quickly . This shot is most often hit with either a sand or lob wedge because we need to use the loft of the club and the bounce of the wedge to generate the backspin on the ball .
The shot and final shot and often the most difficult shot we need is a cut under shot . This is a shot most exemplified by watching Phil Mickelson . They are called lob or flop shots . This are shots that are lofted vertically and then fall vertically and stop . A lob wedge is almost always the club of choice for hitting this shot . Usually , the club face will be open which will expose more of the bounce on the sole on the sole of the golf club .
So now we have a total of 5 different shots that we can use inside of 20 yards and with practice and becoming more comfortable in executing the desired result . The next step after we are comfortable hitting these different shots , is to figure out when to hit what kind of shot . Which is exactly what we ’ ll look at in the month of February !
Hopefully we will get that handicap lowered , or shoot that new personal best round in 2022 , and being able to execute short shots inside of 20 yards will dramatically increase your chances and help you shoot lower scores . Cheers to more hole outs and more one putts in the new year !
Ben Johnson
PGA , Teaching Professional
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