A rough shot

A shot that proves difficult for many golfers is a shot from close to the green where the ball is sitting down in thick grass.

The reason for this being a difficult shot is that it is easy to hit the grass instead of the ball. To limit the chances of this happening some adjustments must be made. First the golfer must realize that the ball will come out of the long grass with either no spin or over spin resulting in the ball rolling farther than normal.

This must be taken into consideration when visualizing where the ball should land. The stance should be open meaning that the body is aimed slightly to the left of the target.

More weight on the left (front) foot.

Hands ahead of club head (grip pointing at left thigh).

Ball back in stance (closer to right foot than normal).

The swing must be adjusted to accommodate the thick grass. To help ensure that the ball is struck first, the club must be swung at a steeper angle so that the club swings down into the ball with minimum contact with the grass.

To encourage this descending blow the club head should swing back outside the line of the target. Since the club will hit the grass, the forward swing will be short. The club must swing through without the club head getting in front of the left arm.

Simply come to a complete stop just past impact and see that the club and left arm are in a straight line. Use a sand wedge or lob wedge for this shot, a little practice and you will be pleasantly surprised at how easily the ball pops up and out of the grass.

Terry Gingell is the Director of Instruction at Eagle Valley Golf Courses. Junior class begins on Friday. For information and to register call Terry, 690-7970.