Golf Skills for Beginners
Written by PGA Pro, Tom Huttunen
Take a look at the
following image…
What type of shot would
you attempt to play from each of the 3 positions? This is a question which
often leads to confusion for new golfers. Maybe you’ve heard of some of the terms
for shots played around the green from a simple putt to a chip & run or
even a pitch shot. Maybe you haven’t quite gotten your head around the differences
between these shots and why a certain situation would suit playing one over the
other.
*this article does not go into detail on the
various techniques you can use to play these shots
What
are the options?
Let’s take a closer
look at the different shots and when you should be playing them. We will go through
them in order of difficulty. This is something you will need to consider when weighing
up your options…
The Putt:
A putt is, technically
speaking, the simplest shot in golf. There should really be no question in the
players mind if they are going to strike the ball correctly. So long as you
avoid contacting the ground with the putter then you’ll be fine! The question
is simply if you can guess the correct direction and speed that is required to
get the ball to the hole.
It is for this
reason that you should ask yourself, before even considering a different shot, “could
I putt this?” Most of the time the answer will be “well I guess I could!” Even
top professionals will tend to reach for the putter as soon as their ball gets
close to the green. This would include the fringe area (short cut of grass
surrounding the green) and even the fairway provided the course is well
maintained.
The difficulty arises
when you are unable to make a clean contact (no grass between the putter and ball)
due to a poor lie or that you have some form of obstacle in your way (sprinkler,
divot, bunker etc.). Experienced golfers will then go for a more lofted club in
order to lift the ball out of the longer grass or over the obstacle and roll out
towards the hole.
The Chip & Run:
The name does a great
job in describing this shot. The goal is to chip the ball into the air for a
short distance before landing and running out towards the intended target. The
benefit being that the ball will jump over any immediate obstacles and allow
for a better judge of speed when the ball starts to roll on the green.
This shot is slightly
more difficult than a putt in terms of execution. It demands a lower point of
contact on the golf ball in order to propel the ball upwards. Many beginners
struggle with the precision of their strike and end up colliding with the
ground or hitting towards the top of the ball resulting in a poor shot. With a
little practise you will be able to groove your contact point and put this shot
into play.
It is worth
mentioning here that there is no set club that you should use for your chip
shots. This really depends on the amount of green you have between your ball
and the hole. Logic dictates that chipping a ball with less loft (e.g. 7 iron)
will result in more roll out than when chipping with a more lofted club (e.g.
sand wedge). Practising with different clubs will enable you to get better at
guessing which club would suit certain chip & run situations.
The Pitch Shot:
As we attempt to
launch the ball higher and carry more distance through the air, the shot becomes
known as a pitch shot. As with the chip & run, the level of precision is
more demanding as we need to ensure we strike the bottom of the ball. The added
speed required to hit the ball further only serves to exacerbate the difficulty.
Being able to play this shot is a huge advantage as we are often faced with situations
like that pictured above.
The choice of club
for a pitch shot is reduced as we need plenty of loft to get the ball to stop
quickly when it lands on the green. You would be forgiven when faced with a pitch
shot to reach straight for the pitching wedge given the name of the club. However,
in modern times, clubs have generally become stronger in lofts to seduce golfers
into thinking they are hitting the ball further. Therefore, a sand wedge or
even a lob wedge will do a better job of stopping the ball quickly once it
lands.
Make sure you get plenty
of practise hitting this shot from a variety of lies to get a good sense for
how much speed is required to get the ball to fly the desired distance. This
shot should generally be used as a last resort for new golfers until you
develop the skill and confidence to play it properly.
Think back to the original
image with the 3 situations. You should now have a better understanding of the
different shots available to you and which would be more suited to each
scenario…
Practice Game:
Now that you know
which shot to play, why not have a go and test yourself? Go down to your local
short game practice area with a variety of clubs. Drop 4 balls down in random
positions around the green from the fringe up to 20 yards away and play them
out to a hole. A good starting point to aim for would be to get all 4 balls in
the hole in a total of 12 shots. See how you get on!
Hopefully you found
this article useful. Please get in contact should you have any questions or
would like to arrange any tuition. If you are new to golf, then check out our
new StartGolf beginner program
where we take you from complete beginner to ‘course-ready’ in just 10 hours!
Tom Huttunen (B.A. Hons)
PGA Professional
Oulton Hall Golf
Academy
Tel: 07393351211
