Playing Your First Golf Round - Part 6 - "Around the Green" By Mike D'Auria At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

In parts one thru five of “Scheduling and Playing your First Golf Round” we discussed scheduling your tee time, the first tee, hitting the ball in the fairway, some rules of etiquette, and approaching the green. The green, which as noted earlier is the tightly mowed area of grass that surrounds the flagstick and cup, is a most important area of the golf course because almost half of your golf score will be determined by how well you do with your chipping, putting and bunker or sand play on or around the green.

You have now hit your approach shot and you are on or near the green. The strategies utilized here will greatly effect how well you will score. If you are near the green and have a clear opening to the flag then you have a few options in your approach. You can either use a more lofted club such as a pitching, lob or sand wedge or you can utilize what is called the bump and run technique with a less lofted club such as the 7, 8, or 9 iron. The more lofted clubs are harder to hit and achieve consistent results with accuracy and nearness to the cup after the shot. The professional golfer will use this method and these clubs proficiently because of the hours of practice that he has put in to perfect the feel with each individual club. When you have reached a certain level of expertise then you will know which club will work the best for you under any given shot requirement. In my opinion the bump and run, especially for the beginning golfer, will give you the best odds for getting closer to the pin if you are on the fringe or have a clear approach to the flagstick. The key to a consistently successful shot here is practice as is the key with most any part of the game.

The method I would recommend for the beginner is to set up your body and alignment as if you were going to putt, maybe a bit open to the hole ( which means your right shoulder will be slightly forward of alignment to your left - for right handed golfers and opposite for left handers ) and lean your weight toward your left side ( for right handed golfers - the right side for left handed golfers ), and set the ball slightly right of center toward your right foot ( again for right handed golfers ), close the clubface a bit and hit the ball as if you were hitting a putt but with a slightly more descending blow and be sure to follow thru about as far as you took the club back. Whether you use a 7, 8, or 9 iron will depend on distance and elevation of the green to the flag. If the green is sloping uphill you will want to use a less lofted club such as the 7 iron to ensure additional roll after the ball lands to get up the incline of the green nearer to the flag as the ball comes to a stop. If you have less green to work with or the green is sloping downhill you will want to use a more lofted club such as the 9 iron or pitching wedge so the ball will stop faster after it lands on the green. As stated earlier the proper club selection for you will only come with practice and playing time. One other tip I will offer that I found works well for me is to keep your head down until well after the ball is struck and allow minimal body movement as it is not required for this type of shot. The hips may rotate slightly open toward the target but that is about it. Practice, Practice, Practice will make perfect. Have fun and Happy Golfing to All ! Part 7 - Other greenside shots and The Putt.

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