Creativity is a godsend on the golf course. It can extricate you from serious trouble and save you a ton of strokes at the right time. But it’s not something you can develop by reading about it. Nor is it something you can learn at a golf lesson or a long golf instruction session. You can only learn it by putting yourself in a position where you’re forced to use your imagination to make shots.
One way to do that is to hit balls from the practice range using every other club�like hitting only your even numbered clubs or only your odd numbered clubs. Pick out a spot on the range and aim for it using the different clubs. Doing that not only enhances accuracy with your irons, it also challenges your imagination. You’ll have to come up with creative ways of making the shot.
In addition, try playing a practice round while using just your even- or odd-numbered irons. This forces you to get creative on the course, just like it does on the practice range, but on the course you’re under more pressure. You need to make the shot to save yourself strokes. For example, you may have to hit your 6-iron the same distance as your 5-iron or your 4-iron just as far as your 3-iron.
Practicing Trouble Shots
One way to make up for a lack of creativity is to determine your own most common trouble shots and then work on them before hand. Try different ways of executing them. That way you’ll know how to hit them when they crop up during a round. Maybe it’s a shot from deep rough. Or, maybe it’s a shot from under a tree. By becoming proficient at these shots, you’ll save yourself a lot of aggravation, cut strokes from your scores, and keep your golf handicap in check.
In addition, try practicing the more troublesome shots all golfers face when on the course, such as the downhill chip, the plugged sand shot, and the backhanded shot. These shots don’t come up often, but when they do, they can cost you strokes. If you’re serious about lowering your golf handicap, you’ll master as many of them as you can. Here are three:
Downhill Chip Shot
The downhill chip shot is one of the most difficult chip shots in the game. It really tests your ability to chip down on the putting surface. Your mind-set is the key with this shot. Your not going to hit this shot high because the ground has already determined that the shot must be hit low. Keep that in mind and plan accordingly.
Making solid contact is the most important aspect of this shot. Use your basic chipping technique with one adjustment�angle your shoulders with the slope. This helps you swing with the slope. Also, on a downhill chip, you’ll make a higher backswing and a lower follow through.
Plugged Bunker Shot
This is not a difficult shot to get out of the bunker. But it is a difficult shot to get near the hole. Understand that since the ball is in a hole, it will come out fairly low and with little spin. Little spin will cause the ball to roll when it lands on the green. The key to this shot is closing the face of the your sand wedge as much as you can. Then strike the sand as close to the ball as you can. Make sure you get the sand out of the bunker.
Backhanded Shot
This shot comes in handy when you can’t take your normal stance because of a tree, a bush, a severe slope, or when your only option is standing on the opposite side of the ball. Since this is a difficult shot to hit for distance, resign yourself to just getting the ball out of trouble and in position to hit. To make the shot, flip your 7-iron around and stand very close to the ball, with your back to the target and punch the ball out. Take lots of practice swings and avoid hitting your ankle.
Creativity is a great thing on the golf course. It can get you out of trouble and save strokes. But it’s not something you can be taught during a golf lesson or a long golf instruction session. It’s something you only learn by placing yourself in a position where you’re forced to use your imagination. The more times you do it, the more you’ll enhance your creativity. Sooner or later, your improved creativity will have an impact on your golf handicap.
Jack Moorehouse is the author of the best-selling book “How To Break 80 And Shoot Like The Pros.” He is NOT a golf pro, rather a working man that has helped thousands of golfers from all seven continents lower their handicap immediately. He has a free weekly newsletter with the latest golf tips, golf lessons and golf instruction.
