A hard shot no doubt. But with the right club and strategy, success will prevail.
Join me as I assess and play this tricky shot.
Yep, that’s right. My ball landed on this hard pan surface. The good news: I’ve got a nice opening with a straight shot to the green.
I’ve got 157 to the pin, my 5 iron typically, but in this scenario I am going with my hybrid. The sole of the club will work better on this hard pan lie and promote ball-first contact.
Following my usual pre-shot routine, I walk in from behind the ball aiming my clubface to an intermediate target in line with my final destination. The ball is below my feel just slightly, so the ball flight will have a slight left-to-right curve. With that in mind, I must modify my land spot to left of the flag, not the flag itself.
I’ll play the ball center, which is back of where I would normally play my hybrid to encourage ball-first contact.The key to the success of this shot is to swing at 80 percent to maintain balance. The tendency is to swing hard and come out of the shot early, sending the ball scurrying down the FW.
Swinging at 80 percent allowed me to stay in it to win it.