I know all of us have been in the situation where we have hit
the ball in the trees and have to knock it out back into the
fairway.
I know all of us have been in the situation where we have hit the ball in the trees and have to knock it out back into the fairway. But when we try to hit the ball back into the fairway the same way we got it to go into the trees, the ball flies to high and ends up hitting the tree again.
The solution is to set up for a low shot under a tree the same way you would for a chip shot. Lean most of your weight on to your front leg. Keep your feet much closer together. Place the ball position in the middle or slightly behind the middle of your stance and choose a mid to low lofted club such as a 4-5-6 iron.
With the ball back, it will cause you to hit the ball lower and thus stay under the branches and not up into them. With weight staying forward during the entire swing, take a 1/2 swing and drive the ball on the downswing. This will also keep the shot low and thus attain the result you are after which is simply to get the ball back in the fairway.
Measure the length of the shot and how hard you want to swing it to get back into the fairway. It doesn’t do you any good to hit your shot so hard that it skips across the fairway and into the same type of trouble on the other side of the fairway.
Remember when all else fails take a lesson. You’ll be surprised how much we can help.
To schedule a lesson with PGA-certified instructor Don DeLorenzo, call Gilroy GC at 848-0490.
