How To Get It Close From 40 Yards and In

I get so many questions about the short game stroke but when I teach I see that it is the alignment skills, (or lack thereof) and club face control that most golfers should be focusing on. As you get closer to the hole your aim and alignment becomes crucial being that the ball will not fly far enough to recover from faulty alignment with a big banana ball fade or round house draw.

The first thing to do is make a decision on where you want to land the golf ball. Judging the bounce and roll should be handled first.

Then stand back behind the golf ball and get your belly, the golf ball and your target area, (where you decided you wanted to land the golf ball) in a straight line. Then set the golf club face pointed directly at your target. Once your golf club face is set go ahead and align your body. I use an open stance meaning my front foot is dropped back slightly being that I hope not to move my body very much during the swing.

Once you have everything in alignment swing the golf club as if you were trying to lob the ball under handed to the target. Your challenge is to swing the golf club with just the right enough of force to move the ball in the air to your target landing area. If you guessed right as far as landing area and predicted roll the rest should take care of itself.