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In this video, Neil Tappin is joined by PGA Professional Alex Elliott to talk through the 7 shots every golfers needs, and how to play them.
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00:00Hello everyone, Neil Tappin here from Golf Monthly and welcome to this video in which
00:07we're going to take a look at the seven shots that every golfer needs. Now these are things
00:10from the tee all the way through to the green that are really going to help you shoot lower
00:14scores. They're not necessarily the flashy shots that everyone wants to hit but they
00:17certainly are the ones that are going to help you get your handicap down so they are well
00:21worth learning. Now the advice in this video comes from PGA Pro Alex Elliott. He'll offer
00:26you everything you need to know and how to play these shots. Guys, if you need to the
00:29Golf Monthly channel, please do hit the subscribe button to make sure that you don't miss any
00:32of our videos. Hit the like button if you like what you're watching. But let's head out now
00:35to the golf course here at West Hill and look at the seven shots that every golfer needs.
00:41If you want to keep your score ticking over, you're going to need to be able to play this
00:48sort of half-pitch shot and it's one that so many golfers struggle with, myself included
00:53Alex. Why is it that people struggle with this shot, do you think?
00:56For me, it's the lack of speed, so it's a lack of commitment and not set up to it correctly.
01:02Anything that we're talking around short game, we've got to be set up to it correctly because
01:06we've not got the speed, we've not got the momentum, we've not got that time to compensate
01:10and hit the shot. Yeah. There's nothing you can do about the fact that you can't put much
01:14speed into the shot. It is what it is. Exactly.
01:16But how do you set up to it properly so that you can take the kind of bad shots out of play?
01:20So straight away, I want to feel as though I grip in the middle, so I have even amounts
01:25of grip at the top and the bottom.
01:27Okay. So shortening the length of the club. And if you think about it, we're looking for
01:30accuracy, we're not looking for distance. So all these things are everything that's going
01:34to help us give control rather than give distance.
01:37Okay, fine.
01:38I like to feel ball in the middle of stance, shoulders parallel to target line, but lower
01:43half slightly open. And this is the best thing for me. I'd encourage a lot of you to make
01:48some one-handed practice swings because it's amazing. Anytime you make a one-handed practice
01:51swing, actually, most people swing it on plane and most people swing it really good. So I
01:56would put my right hand onto my left elbow and just make some practice swings back and through.
02:01Really trying to concentrate on, can I create this L shape? So every time you do this, I've
02:06not even thought about doing this, I've made the club feel light. It's not feeling heavy
02:11and too far around the corner. It's not too far out and in front of my hands. It's not
02:15heavy in each direction. Anytime the club feels light, it's a lot easier for me to control speed.
02:21Can I just ask you, why do you open up your hips? What does that do for you? By opening
02:25your stance up a little bit, what does that do?
02:27It helps us clear that left side. So a lot of people go wrong when it's very scoopy. So
02:33if I was to stand very square on, this would encourage sort of a more scoopy nature to
02:38the motion. So I'd always start with a bit of a routine, club down behind the ball, everything
02:43starts parallel, ball in the middle of the stance, lower half opens, weight goes left,
02:48a little bit of a waggle. Yeah, very nice. And we get a good bit of consistency. We've got
02:58a routine. Anytime we've got a routine, we can trust it. And the one thing you have
03:01to do with this shot is practice.
03:05A stock shot. Alex, it's something that everyone needs, right? Everyone needs a shot they can
03:14rely on, a swing thought that they can have that's really going to just help them get
03:17the ball in play. What's your advice here? I think a stock shot, we've got to have it
03:23where when we're under pressure or when we're not playing our best golf. And if we can get
03:27the ball around the golf course that way, that's our best, best golf. I think it's most impressive
03:31golf. Stock shot that gets us around the course. Okay. So I think most golfers will tend to fade
03:36to slice it. So I think it's working out on the day. Is it more fadey today or is it a little bit
03:41straighter? Because sometimes we have days where we feel better and it becomes a bit more of a
03:44straight shot. So I tend to get five golf balls before I got on the golf course. And maybe these are
03:48my last five before I actually walked the first tee. No real swing thoughts. What I would try and do
03:54here is- No swing thoughts at all? No, I want you to, at this point, we've gone through that process
03:58of working on a swing thought and maybe getting a feel into the swing. What happens if I naturally
04:03make a swing, what ball flight comes out? Because if we can let the ball flight dictate our swing,
04:09then that's a great place to be in. Okay. How many times have we've all done this? No matter the level
04:13of golfer, we've tried so hard to get it into a certain position. We're not really worried about the ball
04:18flight. So for your last five shots, make a swing. Let's see what ball flight comes out.
04:23Right. Okay. So when you're out on the golf course, Alex, do you not, you play with no swing thought?
04:27You're just focusing on the target and the ball flight. I separate it like this. I have kind of
04:31like a virtual line, which is thinking zone, playing zone. So I'm quite heavily thinking about
04:36technique and swing thoughts right here. As soon as I step over the line, I let the shot dictate the
04:41swing. Right. Okay. Because I use a theory. We all practice to improve our technique. So we've got to
04:46trust that actually improving our technique. Why are we improving our technique? So it becomes an
04:50inherent movement. So I'm keep reminding me what my kind of blue star, my gold star, my blueprint is.
04:57So when I get over here, I trust that what I've done in my routine is going to somewhat come into
05:01my golf swing, but simply shot dictates the swing. Okay. So your stock shot would tend to be a little
05:07fade with it. Yeah, definitely. Yeah. Definitely. Some days it comes out a little bit straighter. So it's for me
05:11just finding out what it is. And I would tend to split these five golf balls up three with a seven
05:16iron and two with driver. Go on then. Hit a couple for us.
05:26There's one. A little bit of a fade. A little fade. So straight away, I've got a little bit of feedback.
05:30But again, no real thoughts. Just seeing what ball flight comes out.
05:40Again, a little bit of a fade. So I'm getting some feedback right now knowing that just out on the
05:44golf course today, I can expect a little bit more of a fade. Yeah. And you can see now that
05:49that's building a picture in Alex's mind. It should be building a picture in your mind of exactly the
05:54sort of shape you'll have. So when you get into the golf course, you can have a positive image in
05:58your mind before you play the shot. And if you can do that, you should be able to get the ball
06:02around the golf course in fewer shots.
06:09OK, so I guess this one, Alex, is on the list because it's one of the most intimidating shots
06:12that people face, isn't it? So having to hit a chip shot over a bunker, it's tricky for anybody.
06:19In this scenario, you've got a little bit more green to work with with the flag. But if the flag was a
06:23little bit closer to the bunker, this would be a very intimidating shot for a lot of people.
06:26How do you play it? I think a lot of people go wrong with this kind of shot straight away is
06:31especially if this flag was a little bit closer is the Phil Mickelson million dollar shot of trying
06:35to land it just over the bunker and take all the risk into play. Right. Yes. I always try and think
06:41if there's not a lot of green between the fringe and the flag over a bunker, try and land it in the
06:44hole. So I always overcompensate and take 10, 15, even 20 foot past the flag. Right. So you're taking
06:50the bunker out. Yeah. I think for a lot of golfers, if we can avoid going in here,
06:54we avoid that card wrecker. Okay. And we can keep our score going.
06:57That also begs the question, how do you avoid hitting it 50 yards over the back?
07:01Definitely. So the setup that I like to use is ball position in the middle of my stance.
07:06Choose my most lofted wedge, which is my 58 degree. I then really want to feel a little bit of separation
07:13between upper and lower. So I feel like my shoulders point towards or parallel with target,
07:17but my lower halves and my feet and my hips are slightly open. If we think in the long game,
07:21everything that we're looking for is to be open at impact and be through to target. Whereas
07:25in the short shot, we've not got the speed. We've not got the momentum for that. So it's almost like
07:30preempting where we want to be. Okay, fine. So I lay the field, just get that split
07:34and almost feel the stance is very, very narrow, ball in the middle, underarm throwing it through
07:40towards target. And really trust that I've got to put the speed in. Now, if I took a really long
07:45backswing, I might tend to deaccelerate into the ball to control the distance that way. Right.
07:50However far back you go is how far through we go. Let's imagine the flag is a little bit closer
07:55to us than it is because with this shot, it would be a slightly more straightforward shot,
07:59but if the flag was a bit closer to us. So again, I would picture landing it into the hole. I wouldn't
08:03open the face too much. I've chosen my most lofted wedge and trust the fact that the loft is going to
08:08come from what club I've taken. Okay. Ball in the middle, weight slightly left.
08:13And trust that it's going to land over, roll just past the flag. And I'd always say to every single
08:23person, we'd rather have a 10-foot putt past the flag or even 20-foot putt than be in the bunker
08:28in front of us. Yeah. If you can, devote a little bit of time to that in practice because it's the
08:32sort of shot you're going to need from time to time out on the golf course. And avoiding the bunker
08:36and avoiding hitting it over the back is the only way to keep your score intact.
08:45Okay. So this one is about the punch. Now, a lot of people watching this might think to themselves,
08:49well, you know, I want to master, you know, a normal golf shot before I develop the punch,
08:54but actually it's a shot well worth practicing, isn't it? Because it can teach you an awful lot
08:58about your game. Definitely. I think what are most people looking for with their irons?
09:01Hands ahead of the golf ball, hit the ball and turf. That's everything this
09:06shot sort of tending itself to be. So it can actually have some great benefits technical
09:09wise. Yeah. Okay. So how do you play it? How can people play in the sort of most simple
09:14and effective way? So first off, we've got to think of like, we're trying to lower the ball flight.
09:18So we want a little bit less speed and less spin. So less speed and less spin, a little bit more
09:23gripping down. Yeah. So, so, so by having, when you have more spin, more backspin, it doesn't
09:26matter what level you are. I think a lot of people associate backspin with like tall level. Yeah,
09:30everyone creates backspin. The harder you hit it, the more you create, the higher the ball will go.
09:34That's the basic physics, right? Exactly. Yeah. So shorten the lever. So make,
09:38ultimately making, gripping the golf club closer towards the steel. Ball towards the back of our
09:43stance. So I try and tend to use my reference points as where my buttons are on my shirt.
09:47Yeah. Just to ride my buttons, no specific point really. Start everything feeling like it's working
09:52parallel to target. I then open up the lower half and weight goes left. Why do you open up the lower half?
09:57Now, without going into too much detail, the more you hit down on it, the more lighter this ball is going to
10:01want to squirt a little bit out to the right. So I open up my stance and feel as though
10:06I swing down my feet line and hit down on it that way. Right. Okay. Go on then,
10:09hit one for us then, Alex. So clip down, gripping down more towards the steel. Start with everything
10:14parallel. And that's a really nice point. Open up the lower half, weight goes left, swing down the
10:19feet line and keep the weight left. And I'm really trying to feel like I make a three-quarter back swing
10:26to three-quarter. Yeah. And you should notice that it doesn't look like Alex is really,
10:31I think I have a, certainly I have a tendency to try and hit the ball too hard when I'm doing it.
10:35And then you just create that ball, you create the sort of spinny flight that you're looking to
10:39avoid. So it's really important, isn't it? Yeah. And I kind of attach that to gears of a car.
10:45So we'd probably, you hit our normal Shopster 9 and kind of gear 4 out of 5. Whereas I try and feel
10:50it more in gear 3, a little bit smoother, a little bit slower. Yeah.
10:57Okay. So our next one relates to how to chip from a bad line. Alex, we have given you a particularly
11:02bad line here. And it's one of those situations that you're going to need to have a shot that
11:06helps you in this scenario, because this can be a real carb record, can't it? Yeah. I mean,
11:10we've all been there late in the round, 16th, 17th, 12th, just missed the green and we end up in this.
11:16Yeah. So you need to find a technique that is going to take the duff and the thin,
11:21and even actually from a line like this, the double hit out of the equation.
11:23Yeah. That's what I'm worried about right now.
11:26So what are you doing here to escape and get a good contact on the ball?
11:29For me, there's two factors. It's club selection and how we settle to the ball. I think these two
11:34things have got to be on point to allow us to, I think our level expectation, we don't expect to get
11:38it too close here. It's like I said before, get it on the green. Worst case scenario, bogey,
11:43not turning that into a double or a triple. So I always like to advocate using a more specialist
11:48wedge. So we have wedges that are part of the set sometimes, a bit more of a carity on the back.
11:52This is more of like a specialist wedge. The bounce has got a little bit more bounce on than a
11:56traditional wedge out of a set. And this just helps us in terms of interaction on the ground.
12:02So my preferred wedge for this is 50 degree, 52, or even 48 could be, as long as it's a specialist wedge,
12:08will really help us play this shot. Okay. So fine. Technically then, how are you changing it from
12:15your normal chipping technique? So my normal chipping technique, I would stand a little bit
12:18open. I wouldn't be as close to it. This hole, my sole of the club would be on the ground. And I would
12:24feel very similar to a chip and run shot that I would underarm throw it back and through. Whereas this
12:29setup changes completely. I like to feel I get the toe on the ground. I walk a little bit closer to it,
12:35and I grip it just short of the steel. So all I'm trying to feel is that I keep my weight left
12:41and I get the toe brushing the ground. So ultimately we feel as though the toe is working
12:49and scooping this ball up. It's like it pops it up. Okay. It's the best way I can describe it. It's
12:53like a knife in butter. It's like a sharp edge getting into that bad lie and popping it out and up.
12:58Okay. Go on then. Show us how it's done. So we're in there. I have a few practice swings. I think it's
13:01important to have a practice swing and commit to this because a lot of people would see this and
13:06be like, ah, I'm scared. Yeah, and probably also to practice it from time to time. You know,
13:09it's very tempting when you're practicing your chipping just to give yourself a perfect lie
13:13and practice those ones that just spin a little bit on the second bounce. But actually,
13:16in reality, it's these shots that are going to really help you out on the course. These are the ones
13:19that keep momentum. You know, if you get up and down for par here or not even that, you just don't make a
13:25card wrecker, then you're going to feel good walking onto the next tee. Yeah. So a few practice swings,
13:30just get the toe, interact on the ground, try and feel it's more of a wooden motion,
13:35no real set in the wrist. I try and feel my thumbs are really pointing down to the ground. Walking in,
13:41weight left. Oh, that's really well played. Do you know, that got a little shooty bounce,
13:49but it's fine. I mean, from there, I'm more than happy with that shot. It's a really good shot.
13:54It's probably a little bit unlucky, actually. So, you know, it's one of these things,
13:57it can be tempting not to practice this shot. When you are confronted with a situation like this
14:01on the golf course, you'll need the technique. Hopefully, Alex's, that he's shown you there,
14:05will help you.
14:11Okay, so the next one relates to putting, and in particular, putting from long range.
14:15If you can get down in two from this area more often, it's going to make a massive difference to
14:20your momentum and your scoring, and it's just going to help you all round the whole of your game.
14:24Alex, how do you prepare, and then what do you do to make sure that you're getting the ball
14:28consistently right in terms of the distance? So, preparation is key, getting the speed of the
14:32greens. Out on the course, I'm picturing a bin lid around the hole, so not really from this distance
14:38looking to hold it. If we do, absolutely fantastic. I think we can get into a bit of trouble trying to
14:43hold a put of this length and it going three to that four feet past. Yeah, yeah. So, what do you do
14:48pre-round, then, to help you get a better judgment for pace? This might sound quite
14:51counterintuitive, really, but I don't put towards a hole. I have two golf balls. What I would do is
14:56I'd put into free space, and I'd almost try and play balls. I'd try and hit my second ball onto my
15:02first, because if I can do that, it's a lot harder to do that than it is to get it inside that bin lid.
15:06Okay, so why do you take the hole out of the equation, then?
15:09So, there's no real outcome in terms of something that I can make it relative to the course. So, I'm
15:15literally tuning into not actually holding a putt, but getting pace. I think a lot of golfers think
15:19they're better at pace than they are at reading the putt, and they don't actually tune into this
15:24enough. So, then, Alex, what are you doing on the course in a situation like this to make sure that
15:29you get that pace right? What I would do is, similar to what we might do on a long chip and run, I would
15:34walk half the distance, make a triangle between me and the hole, walk back, and this gives us a great
15:41perception of distance. Right, yeah. So, looking at something this way, we can make it sometimes
15:46look a little bit shorter. Yeah, it shorts it a little bit, yeah. Yeah, and just taking a walk
15:51on that journey, you get a little bit of feedback. Is it uphill? Is it downhill? Is it left to right?
15:56Because, sometimes, we've all been there. We've looked at a putt from this side, we've got on the
15:59other side, and we're like, it looks totally different. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, it gives us a real good
16:04instincts come into play. It gives us a real good view of what the hole and what the putt is like. So, as I'm
16:09preparing for a putt, I'm looking at the hole, I'm making that stroke back and through, asking myself
16:14a question, is that enough? If it's not, take it a little bit further back, a little bit further
16:18through, really getting some great feedback for hitting that putt. Over the golf ball now, one look
16:24towards target, pull the trigger. Yeah, very good. Now, we've made that stress-free, we're more than happy
16:34from 35, 40 feet, walking up to that, tapping it in. We may even mark it to be sure, but definitely
16:40takes stress-free. Put those tips into play, and it should help you whenever you're in this sort of
16:44situation, and you've got a scorecard in your hand, and you need to keep it ticking over.
16:53Okay, so this one is about the chip and run. Now, I'm sure it's a shot that most of you have played,
16:57but how many of you actually practice it? And I think that's the key point, isn't it, Alex?
17:01Because it's a shot that technically, there's not an awful lot of difficulty with it,
17:07but it does require practice if you want to consistently get the ball up and down.
17:10Yeah, and I think because it's not a glamorous shot, it's not the shot people see on TV all
17:15the time. It's like, I don't really want to practice that one too much. But I tend to get
17:19a lot of people, especially on playing lessons, things like that, using a rule, if we can put it,
17:23let's put it. So in this situation here, we probably can't put this. I know the turf's great here.
17:27It's quite a long shot, really, to play, isn't it?
17:29Yeah. So next resort in my head, I'm going, right, if I can chip it, let's run it. So yes,
17:33I can chip and run this. Now, I try and think of it in a simple analogy of, if I was going to
17:39underarm throw it, and the strings of the badminton racket here are ultimately in my palm or the club
17:44face, how much impetus would I have to put into it? I know it's a lot easier for me to land it five
17:49yards in front of me than 25 yards next to the flag on a five-pence piece.
17:54Okay. So when you're planning the shot, how are you figuring out where to land it,
17:59how much to run it, what club to hit, all of those elements?
18:02So I would tend to, on a shot like this, maybe have a little bit of a walk.
18:05Yeah.
18:06And especially because there's a little bit of a raise here and get to a point and sort of give
18:11myself an angle from the side of what does this shot look like? Because from the side,
18:15you get a much better perception of distance. Yeah.
18:17When we're looking this way at something, it looks a little bit shorter.
18:20A little bit shorter.
18:21Yeah. So I tend to get to the side of it, have a little bit of a look,
18:24always walk to where I want to land it on as well. So you've almost got a reference of,
18:29even subconsciously, well, that was about 10 yards. I know I can back myself to a 10 yard chart. I think
18:34most people watching this one as well, no matter what your handicap is. Whereas if I was trying to
18:38land it with my 58 off this lie as well, which is tight.
18:41Fairly tight, yeah. What would be the mistakes that people make with this shot?
18:45I think like, like, like what I said there is standing to it like a full shot,
18:49letting the club work to around the body. Okay.
18:51And then I always think, make gravity on your side. So getting closer to the golf ball,
18:57and I use this term lightly, straighter back, straighter through. It's never quite straight
19:00back, straight through, but it allows you to easily drop the golf club on the back of the ball,
19:05rather than too much around the corner. We're sort of fighting it and scooping it.
19:10Okay. So everything's on your side,
19:11then a little bit closer, a little bit easier and make it a little bit more.
19:15Wooden. Okay. Go on. Let's have a look.
19:21There you go. Really good. And I think the point about this shot is, Alex, that it's just,
19:27it's one of the safest shots you can hit. You know, if you are prone to the odd,
19:30you know, chunky chip around the greens or thinning one through the back,
19:33and you're playing in competition, it's just a fairly easy shot to play. You know,
19:37you're not going to make double bogey from this scenario.
19:39No, I would say your worst chip and run's never going to be as worse as your worst lofted shot.
19:44Yeah. Okay. So practice that. Hopefully you'll improve. There you have it. That was our list
19:48of the seven most important golf shots that every golfer needs. Guys, before you go, please do hit
19:53the pause button and let us know. Firstly, if you think we've missed any, if they think there are any
19:56shots that really would help players get round in as few shots as possible. And also, if you do use
20:01any of these techniques regularly, let us know. We'd be interested to hear your thoughts. But that's
20:06all now from West Hill. Thanks for watching and we'll see you next time.
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