How To Pitch From Muddy Lies

Golf Monthly

In this video, Dan Grieve, head professional at Woburn Golf Club, explains how to pitch from muddy lies.

Transcript

00:00 (upbeat music)

00:02 - Hi, I'm Dan Greave, head professional here at Woburn.

00:07 And we've got a beautiful, wet summer's day here at Woburn.

00:11 And we are gonna talk about the muddy lie,

00:14 which I know for a lot of you amateur golfers

00:16 is a real difficult shot because it's so difficult

00:19 to get that contact, to get that ball first contact

00:21 from these lies is really tough.

00:23 So it's really all about setup.

00:24 So if we get the setup right, like all lies,

00:27 it becomes a lot easier.

00:29 So you've seen some of the other videos,

00:30 we talked a lot about the bounce

00:31 and how the bounce is really your friend.

00:33 And for almost all short game shots, that's the case.

00:36 Apart from this one, where it really becomes your foe.

00:39 So we need to make sure we're using more of the leading edge

00:42 more of the sharp leading edge to make sure

00:44 we can get that contact into the back of the ball.

00:46 When we start using too much of the bounce off these lies,

00:48 the club just goes into the turf

00:50 and the ball just goes the other two in front of you.

00:52 So like all short game shots,

00:53 it's critical that we get the setup right.

00:55 So if we look at this face on,

00:57 you'll see that the book, the key here is the ball position.

01:00 So we need that ball position to be just back of center.

01:03 And let's make sure that the chest bone

01:05 is a good couple of inches there in front of the ball.

01:07 'Cause that really dictates the low point in the swing.

01:10 A lot of club golfers I see,

01:11 they get way behind it from these sort of lies.

01:13 So it brings a low point back

01:15 and it's very easy to hit the ground first.

01:17 So the key there is ball position, just back of center.

01:20 Let's make sure that the chest bones are ahead

01:22 and shoulders nice and level as well.

01:24 When you start tipping this right shoulder,

01:26 also makes the low point appear too far behind the ball.

01:28 So nice level shoulders,

01:30 get the chest bone in front of the ball.

01:32 And the key here is that leading edge getting into the back

01:36 and really think about your finish.

01:37 When you have a long finish,

01:38 you tend to release more of the bounce.

01:41 When you have a short finish,

01:42 so a curtailed finish with a little bit more pace,

01:45 it just allows the hands to stay a little bit more

01:47 ahead of the club head and get that ball first.

01:49 So let's see if we can play once,

01:51 a little bit like this.

01:54 (upbeat music)

01:56 So nice ball first contact.

02:07 It will go lower, the ball will be fairly hot,

02:10 but that's the sacrifice you're making

02:11 to get the quality of that strike.

02:12 Okay, this is a really tough shot here, okay,

02:15 but it is real life, we do get it sometimes.

02:17 So really wet muddy lie to a tight pin.

02:20 So the pin there is only about four yards on.

02:23 Now of course there's options here,

02:24 and really I probably would advise most of you

02:26 to play a low shot there with maybe with an eight or nine,

02:29 running it into the bank,

02:30 try and take some pace off the ball.

02:31 But sometimes maybe you can't do that,

02:34 it might be a bunker there for example.

02:35 So you've got to try and play the higher shot.

02:37 So one of the things you can do

02:39 is get the club selection right.

02:40 I've got my high toe 60 degree low bounce lob wedge here.

02:45 And what I really like about this wedge

02:46 is how it's really shaved down on the toe.

02:48 So the bounce really is measured in the middle of the sole

02:50 and the toe there is shaved down.

02:52 So I can use that to my advantage here.

02:54 So I'm gonna set up with the toe lower than the heel.

02:58 I'm gonna face a little bit open,

03:00 really put that toe down and address it slightly out

03:02 the toe of the club as well.

03:04 I'm gonna stand quite a bit way to the left here.

03:07 So a good sort of 30 degrees open with my feet,

03:10 and I'm gonna swing the toe across the ball.

03:13 And I can hit just before it,

03:15 and the toe will nip under it

03:17 and hopefully hit it nice and high.

03:19 So let's give that a go.

03:20 So high hands, toe down,

03:23 and we're gonna work across the ball.

03:25 Got a nice high shot and hopefully up and down.

03:30 So really tough shot made easy by using the right club

03:34 and the right technique.

03:35 (upbeat music)

03:38 (upbeat music)

03:40 (upbeat music)

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