checking a pitch
▶ make an aggressive
swing; don’t baby it
T
here’s been a lot
written about how
Aug usta’s g reens
separate the good
putters from the pretend
good putters, but it has the
same effect on short games.
Considering how slopey and
quick the greens are, you
really need to control the ball.
One shot I always hit there
is a pitch that takes one hop,
checks up, and then trickles
out. It lets you land and stop
the ball on the correct tier
instead of trying to guess
how much it will roll out if
you played a standard pitch.
To get that kind of action,
I take my 60-degree wedge,
move the ball back in my
stance and open the clubface
a little (above). The ball
position lowers the flight,
and the open face helps
impart more spin. Then I
make an aggressive move
hitting down on the ball, all
while keeping the clubface
square to where I want the
ball to land (right). Hitting
sharply down on it makes the
ball come off hot, but with a
ton of spin.
lagging it close
▶ be precise
with your leaveE
very year at
Augusta, you’re going
to have at least a few
putts of 40-plus feet
that traverse over a couple
of ridges. The greens are so
fast and severe there, speed
control is crucial to avoiding
bogeys or worse. The reality
is, you’re just not going to
make a fair number of putts.
I’m sure there are greenson your course where two-
putting feels like a victory.
In those low-percentage
situations of holing out, the
attention should be on where
you want to leave the ball for
your next putt. I don’t mean a
zone where you want the ball
to stop. I mean pinpointing
an exact place. That type of
attention to detail will make
it a lot easier to get the result
you want.
So where should you miss?
Ideally, you want the ball
to finish below the hole, so