Leone’s Lessons: Most of the time when you’re practicing, you
are trying to hit the ball straight. Next time you’re on the range
try hitting some low hooks and slices.
What a Masters tournament! So many great shots in a weekend! More important, how many great recovery shots!
These recovery shots aren’t luck. Touring pros practice them all the time. Let’s take two of the most memorable recovery shots of the week.
Thursday on the ninth hole at Augusta National Golf Club, Tiger Woods had to hit a 40-yard low hook around the trees from 180 yards out. The result? He pulled it off and went on to birdie the hole.
The other was Phil Mickelson’s shot on No. 13 Sunday. He drove his tee shot into the trees on the right — and not only was it in the trees, it was sitting in some pine straw. Mickelson took a 6-iron and punched it out over Ray’s Creek onto the green and made birdie — the shot of the tournament.
These are risky shots, and I’m not saying you should try this every time, but wouldn’t it be fun to try? When was the last time you played a round of golf without hitting an errant shot off into the trees?
Question: Do you know how to recover from theses situations? Better yet, do you practice these shots? Probably not.
Most of the time when you’re practicing, you are trying to hit the ball straight. Next time you’re on the range try hitting some low hooks and slices.
To hit a low hook, choke down an inch and move the ball back in your stance. Depending how much you want the ball to hook, close the club face and accelerate through the ball. The key is to hold the follow through, not allowing the hands to finish any higher than the waist. Conversely, to hit a low fade, take the same stance as a hook but open the face. The ball will tend to fly higher when hitting a fade. The only adjustment would be to club down; instead of hitting a 5-iron, hit a 4.
Keep experimenting with these shots and have some fun.
