Play Gimme One Thing
ron barrett52 golf digest | issue 4. 2020 Illustration by James Yang“A shallow approach will raiseyour ball flight.”your stance than you normally
play it, stand a little wider and
have a little more tilt to your spine
(away from the tree).
Now comes the fun part: Try to
hit the ball as hard as you can while
staying in your address posture.
Coupled with the adjustments you
made at address, keeping some flex
in your legs when you swing will
shallow your angle into the ball,
which promotes a higher launch.
And hitting the ball harder creates
more spin, meaning the ball will get
up quicker and stay up longer.
Instead of one swing thought,
here are two: Stay down and hit it
hard. —with ron kaspriskechris mayson is a Golf Digest
Best Young Teacher. He’s based at
Maderas Golf Club in Poway, Calif.A
s a golf instructor,
I’m supposed to tell you
that going for the green by
hitting a middle-iron shot over tall
trees is too risky. It’s better to punch
out and play for a one-putt par.
But part of the allure of playing
golf is trying the tough shots,
so I’m shelving the prudent rhetoric
and going to teach you how to
get the ball over the top.
If you’ve attempted this shot
before, only to hit a line drive off
the trunk or a low-hanging branch,
it’s probably because you’re
trying too hard to get the ball up.
Just a hunch, but you’re likely
swinging off your back foot and
you’re catching the ball low on
the clubface. Skull city.
Instead, I want you set up to the
ball so it’s a little farther forward inClearingTr e e sDon’tsurrenderand pitchback outby chris maysonask golf digest
Q My TaylorMade
RSi 2 5-iron is
missing the plate
on the back with
the logo. Does
that make it
nonconforming?
ryan arnold,
agoura hills,
calif.A Although a
missing part or
parts might cause
a conforming
club to become
nonconform-
ing, the badge
you describe
wouldn’t, says the
USGA. Note that
if a player uses a
nonconforming
club, the penalty
is disqualification.
See Rule 4.1a.