In this video, 8-handicap index golfer Jess Ratcliffe gets a one-to-one lesson with Top 50 short game coach and YouTube sensation Dan Grieve to fix her problems when chipping from bad lies in the rough!
We teamed up with adidas golf to create this video.
Location at Woburn Golf Club.
We teamed up with adidas golf to create this video.
Location at Woburn Golf Club.
Category
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SportsTranscript
00:00Hi, I'm Dan Grieve and I've teamed up with Adidas Golf to help three lucky
00:04Golf Monthly readers improve their short game. Let's get started.
00:11Jess, great to have you here at Woven. Welcome. Thank you for having me. And we're going to
00:15discuss this short pitch shot out of the rough because you say you've been having some issues
00:20with it. Tell me a bit more about it. I have. I've just found that when I find myself in a spot like
00:23this and I'm going to gravitate to playing a release two or a soft landing shot, I just
00:29find I can catch it a little bit thin. I don't feel like I get the best connection. And if I do get
00:35away with a connection, it will come out okay, but then really run. So it's not got that soft landing
00:40that I see in your shots, but also that I'd like to have in my game to think, okay, I'm in a bit of
00:45trouble here. And although I've got quite a lot of green to work with, if I then was to think,
00:49actually, I've got this one, how do I get that softness in it? Because I think I can maybe...
00:54And in terms of the lie, because that's the big thing in the rough, so is it when it starts to sit down,
00:57is this what you mean? Yeah, it's sat down a little bit. Just like that, it's just down.
01:00There's a bit of grass going in there. So you're thinking, okay, maybe this is more, I'm having to
01:05play this a little bit steeper possibly. But again, if it's one where you're trying to limit the run
01:10on it a little bit, and maybe I'm being too ambitious of trying to get it close, but it'll
01:14be something like this. And then the ones that I really can struggle with can be when it's also then
01:17on a down slope and you're trying to, again, like match the slope. But I find that if I can get a
01:22little bit too handsy, it will just come out, you know, come out running.
01:25Yeah, that makes sense. Okay. All right. So you're sitting down a bit. We'll go for that back
01:28pin. 25 yards. I've got my 54. You've got 54. Let's see what you've got.
01:32Okay. Decent contact. Popped out pretty nicely. Probably more of a luckier one than I would
01:51normally get when you've got a card in the hand. Here we go. Same sort of line.
02:02Yeah, sort of grabs it a bit, doesn't it? Yeah. That's what I find. I can feel it slows down
02:11and I then don't feel like I've really got to throw it. Yeah, sure. So this is where the
02:15IQ sign is, what I call the golfing intelligence. It really, really comes into its own when you're
02:19reading lies in the rough. Now, what you've got there is you've got quite a big cushion behind
02:23the ball there. So quite right. I think you mentioned coming in steeper. You do need to come
02:27in a little bit steeper there, but you're not really setting up correctly for the shot you're
02:31trying to play. So you're setting up with the majority of your weight actually on your
02:35right side. Okay. Probably about 60% or so. So you're kind of tilting away from the ball.
02:39Now, you hit those okay. You're a good player. You will hit a lot of good shots, but from
02:43this position here and you start trying to release the club too much, it has got thin written
02:48all over it. That's how you hit the thin shot. And just really, you don't get the control
02:52because you probably as well, if you are getting a decent strike, if you're releasing it too
02:56much and your weight's back here, you're going to start entering the rough really about
03:00sort of maybe four, five, six inches behind the ball and that's going to lose spin. So
03:04I think the big thing for you is when the ball starts sitting down a bit, see, I'd be setting
03:08up much more like this. I'd be down the grip. I'd be opening the club face a bit more.
03:12You have it dead square as well. It doesn't help you. So I'd be opening up the face and
03:15I would be, see the width of the stance is wider and I'm leaning forward. I'm really getting
03:19that left foot out and I'm leaning this way. And just by the very nature of setting up
03:23with my chest bone now much further in front of the ball from this setup with a bit of
03:26shaft lean, that's going to encourage me to set the club a bit earlier. But if I was
03:30to set up like you, I kind of want to go wider, which is a shallowing. You want to stand shallowing
03:36and steepening ingredients and when you need to add some in, it takes them out. So basically
03:39you've got to get a little bit steeper. And then you can start to play around with different
03:43releases. I mean, the safer release ones from the rough really is what I call a release
03:47one, which is where basically it finishes here where the butt screw is pointing at the hip.
03:51But if you wanted to release the club a little bit more, you could do, but you've got to do it
03:55from this position, not from this position. That makes sense. So yeah, so this would be me here,
03:59a little bit of hinge. I can pop down and get the height, you see, and I can throw it right
04:04up there towards the pin. Now, if I wanted to come out a bit softer than that, I could do the same
04:09thing and then I can just put a little bit more release into it and you can see that then comes
04:14out softer. Yeah. See, they're the ones that I struggle with, the softer landing out of a tricky
04:19spot like this. Yeah. So to get it out, because it's a bit more advanced, obviously if the lie was perfect,
04:24we just set up for a normal soft landing shot. Okay. In terms of how you're setting up to it,
04:27quite shallow, releasing it. The lie is dictating how you play this shot. The lie is the most
04:32important thing. So we read the lie, we get steeper at address and then from there we can add a bit
04:37of releasing, but I think if you do it from this position, I think you're going to find it a lot
04:40easier. Okay. And 54 is fine. I don't mind a 54, particularly when you've got a bit of green,
04:44but just open the club face a bit. Okay. But when you're playing in the rough here, if you have it square,
04:49the rough is quite thick it, it's going to tend to want to grab it. Yeah. And that's that feeling at the bottom.
04:53I would open it just to give you a little bit of margin. So if it does slip, it's still going to be
04:56square, but also what I would do here just to protect against the rough grabbing it is grip it
05:01a little bit tighter, really in this area here. Okay. You know, in the pad here, the little thing
05:05of going into the hand. So as you're coming through, I really am, I always advocate a light grip in
05:10short game, as you probably know, but in the rough, I really want to, with the left hand here, get tighter,
05:15helps me hold the loft on the club. Okay. Yeah. Set up as well. A bit more on your left.
05:24So a bit open. Yeah. That's it. A bit more this way. Right on the left. Does that feel different?
05:29It does. Yeah. Okay. More that way with the face and you'll be brave. There we go. Okay.
05:32Down the grip a little bit more. Tight here.
05:35Right. That's great. Okay. That is great. Right. That is fantastic. And then to feel
05:42the release, am I going finish, like release one for this one or? Well, I think, I think,
05:47I think we'll try and get it softer. So we'll do a two, but you can do it from this setup. Okay.
05:51You can't do it from the old setup. No. Okay. Perfect. Go to the top, go to the top of the swing.
05:57Okay. Hang on. Just try and get your left wrist a little bit more cupped. Okay. Okay. Now as you come
06:02down, you can come down because of the backswing, you're coming down steeper. You put a little bit
06:06of a late release in there. Okay. Okay. But you've got to stay left the whole time. And cupped.
06:10You must cupped. You do tend to get a bit that way. I do. Yeah. Right. Which then again,
06:15off the fairway light, it's not the end of the world. You can play a low running shot. In the rough,
06:19if you do that, if you flex the wrist and the loft goes down, it's going to tend to grab a lot. Okay.
06:24So that cupping. Yeah. I guess it feels, yeah, like that's not even it, is it? Thumbs are. That's it.
06:31That's it. So to get to there. Yeah, that's it. And then just the golden rule,
06:35when you're in your off like this, you don't hit the ball first. Okay. Okay. You've got to hit
06:38about an inch behind it. Okay. Right. That's great. That's really good. There we go. Right.
06:42Hinge it. Pop it just behind the ball. Right. That came off really soft. Okay. Too soft.
06:49No running it. But that's the type of. That's the one if I've got a tight pin.
06:52Okay. Yeah. You don't want to run if you try and play this high shot. If you wouldn't run,
06:56we're doing more of that front hip release. Okay. Okay. Great there. Don't open it too much.
07:00Don't go crazy. Right. There we go. A little bit of hinge. Get some release at the bottom.
07:05I've done it again. They're coming out lovely. They, I mean, I would,
07:09I will take those because most of the time I'm in a tighter spot than having lots of green.
07:14But don't really, so, so look, if you were just trying to hit that shot 10, 12 yards,
07:18you've just played a world-class shot. Okay. The rest of it, you've got to feel it. Yeah.
07:21It's coming off softer now. So you've got to increase your speed. Okay. Wow. Okay.
07:27Over here. A bit of forward lean of the shot.
07:33Like that. Okay. Okay. Just because of the light. Right. Set it early. Release at the bottom.
07:38Have a bit more chest speed through it this time.
07:45Very good. Now that's what you want. So it's carried. It's landed soft.
07:48That's nice. And it's not running very far.
07:50No, I like that. Yeah, that's very good. You played that really well.
07:53Thank you. I think that's one thing throughout. It's getting confident
07:58with the chest as well. Releasing the chest through it.
08:00Because I think that sometimes I can go slower with that. So the hands take over.
08:06Should we do a, do a front hit release, like a motor of a running shot out of the rough now.
08:10Okay. So you set up exactly the same. Exactly the same.
08:12Nothing changes. Just a touch open.
08:14Shaft lean. Shaft lean. Absolutely.
08:17And now same thing from this setup. You're going to hinge the club a little bit earlier to create,
08:21get the steeper attack through the rough. But this time you're going to finish more like this.
08:25You still turn the chest, but you're finishing more this way. Okay.
08:27So it's a front hit release. And this ball is now going to come out a little bit lower,
08:30but hopefully run to the back pin. Okay.
08:32Right. So when you've got green to work with, have the rough, it's more that finish.
08:35If you've got the shorter one, you've got to go over something. Yeah.
08:37You put more of that second release in. Okay.
08:40So wait on this side. A bit of shaft lean. That's really good there.
08:43Hinge, but front hit release this time. When it's slightly lower, more running shot.
08:47Good. Now watch this all land and watch it run out.
08:51So you just want to run out a little bit more.
08:54Yes. Great shot. You played out brilliantly.
08:56Take these for the course.
08:57You played out brilliant. Yeah.
08:58But what you're understanding is it's one setup.
08:59Yes.
09:00And you just change your swing a little bit,
09:01depending on the slope and how much green you've got to work with.
09:05Yeah. I think that's been the challenge from the get go is I feel if you,
09:08if you don't know this setup in your mind, you think, well,
09:11I'm trying to play this shot, but you're going against the tide almost.
09:14You can't, you know, if you've already scuppered yourself.
09:16Yeah. Now, if we're going for this front pin, okay.
09:19So there's hardly any green, we can still stick to a 54.
09:22It might be easier to a 58, but we'll, have you got a 58?
09:26I have. Yeah.
09:26Let's use a 58. Let's use a great club.
09:29Now here, you're going to play it exactly the same way.
09:32We do need some release into this to soften it.
09:34Okay.
09:34But get super wide now, go even wider.
09:37So I want your hands to get lower, point the loft more up.
09:40So would this feel like I'm more playing a bunker shot?
09:42More bunker shot, 100%.
09:44That's it.
09:44Keep the right leg in.
09:46Again, yeah.
09:46That's it.
09:47Good.
09:47Now set the club nice and early with the wrists.
09:50And you're coming down and it's there.
09:53Okay.
09:53You feel that?
09:54Yeah.
09:54There's not much rotation of the, of the upper body here.
09:57It's more of a hand and arm shot.
09:58Okay.
09:58So set it, release it.
10:01Okay.
10:01Okay.
10:01Nice and narrow in the follow through.
10:08Sharf lean or no?
10:08Yeah.
10:09No, you're good there.
10:09Okay.
10:10Come on, just feel it now.
10:14There you go.
10:14Oh, the great shot.
10:15Go in.
10:16Oh, wow.
10:17What a great shot.
10:18So there's no such thing's a bad lie.
10:19No.
10:20It's IQ.
10:21Yes.
10:21And think about how you need to change that angle of attack and release.
10:24So you've got some solutions there for different lines.
10:25Yeah.
10:26Brilliant.
10:26And it's just so easy to practice.
10:27And when you do practice that, I would just throw the balls over your shoulder in a row.
10:30Yeah.
10:31And just look at each one and react to it.
10:32Let's see.
10:33And then you just learn how to do subtle differences in your, in how you set your weight and how you
10:37put the angle of attack into it.
10:38Well, that's good.
10:39Brilliant.
10:39Thank you, Dan.
10:39Lots of work on it.
10:40It's a great part of the game.
10:41There's no such thing's a bad lie.
10:42Okay.
10:42Nope.
10:42Nope.
10:43I know that now.
10:44All right.
10:44Pleasure.
10:45So before coming to today, I would say the main struggle for me was getting out the rough.
10:50Okay.
10:50And having that soft landing shot, I'd always try and bring a bit of softness to it,
10:55but either thin it massively, especially if I'm on a down slope or get it out.
10:59Okay.
11:00But just not be able to control the run out.
11:02So I really wanted to focus on those tricky shots, which I like to try and practice and can often
11:06find myself in on the course as well.
11:08And so for me, really working with Dan on that in the session
11:12means now that I'm leaving with confidence.
11:14If I do find myself in those not quite position Zed, I think he calls it, but those really tough
11:20ask lies where you can't quite get to the back of the ball.
11:23There's that tuft of grass there.
11:25I'm going to feel a lot more confident walking into that shot and hopefully get a good result as well.