Tip-Of-The-Month May ’10: Shaping The Ball Around Trouble
TIP-OF-THE-MONTH: MAY ’10 – SHAPING THE BALL AROUND TROUBLE
Most golfers, including professionals, find themselves in different predicaments each round. How the golfer handles these situations will determine the level of success of the round. Golf is obviously a very challenging game. It can feel easy at certain times when you hit that perfect shot, or you have that great round, but a golfer’s overall success can be measured by how good their mishits are and how they recover from them.
More often than not, you won’t hit the ball as good as you can so it important to still be able to score well when you’re not playing your best. A few ways to score better when you’re not playing your best are to improve your short game, have better course management, and learn how to get the ball out of trouble more effectively. Today, I’m going to cover the latter by teaching you how to shape the ball around trouble.
Making the golf ball curve probably comes naturally to most. Especially making it curve left-to-right (slice for righties). Believe it or not, using that shot can get you out of trouble about half of the time. Curving the ball the other way, right-to-left, will cover the other half. Shaping the ball in one direction is pretty easy for most, but being able to curve it the opposite way can be more of a challenge.
When you’ve hit an errant shot into the trees or behind a tree, you will generally have two options: shape the ball around the tree or pitch out. Pitching out is safe and relatively easy, but it doesn’t advance the ball very far and limits your chance of a good score on that hole. Being able to curve the ball in either direction will improve your score. Here’s how to do it:
Shaping the ball left-to-right:
- Align the clubface to where you want the ball to land
- Align your feet left of the tree/obstacle where you want the ball to start (your stance should feel open)
- Take your normal grip with the clubface still open
- Ball position will be up in your stance
- Swing along your toe line
- Try to hold the clubface open through impact
Shaping the ball right-to-left:
- Align the clubface to where you want the ball to land
- Align your feet right of the tree/obstacle where you want the ball to start (your stance should feel closed)
- Take your normal grip with the clubface closed
- Ball position will be back in your stance
- Swing along your toe line
- Feel like your rotating the clubface over more than usual through impact
Keys:
- Use a lower lofted club when curving the ball left-to-right. Opening the clubface adds loft so the ball will go higher. It’s very difficult to curve a 9-iron or any wedge.
- When curving the ball right-to-left, use a higher lofted club as the club is being delofted by closing it at address. I would recommend using a 6-iron or higher when curving the ball in this direction. Trying to hook a 3 or 4-iron will most likely cause a shot that rolls on the ground.
- Most importantly, allow for deflection when aligning your feet. When opening and closing the clubface to curve the ball, the ball will deflect off the clubface in that direction. The more you open or close the face, the more the ball will start in that direction. Example: If a tree is 15 feet in front of you, and you need to curve the ball left-to-right 25 yards you will open the face. Don’t aim one foot left of the tree. Aim at least 5 feet left as the ball will deflect off the face to the right at impact. Remember, the #1 goal when you get into trouble is to get out of impact. Try not to compound the problem by staying in trouble.
Learning to shape the ball around trouble is challenging and takes practice, but it’s also a lot of fun. The biggest error I see when teaching this is golfer’s not opening or closing their clubfaces enough. It’s very odd looking down and seeing the clubface 10-15 degrees open or closed, but this is where it has to be to get the ball to curve enough around trouble. Practice this the next time you go to a driving range and you’ll be surprised how much you can curve the ball intentionally.
Thanks for reading and have fun!
About
KYLE VOSKA, PGA PROFESSIONAL
I grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio and graduated from St. Michael’s, St. Xavier, and Miami University. After graduating from Miami with a Finance degree, I moved to Florida to pursue my professional golf dreams. After a few successful years and a couple of difficult years, I stopped playing full-time. After a year of caddying on the LPGA Tour for Young Jo, Kim Williams, and Angela Stanford, I moved back home to Cincinnati. Currently, I live near Sharonville with my lovely wife, Lindsay, our kids, Maclin and Ellie, and our dog, Nora.
Teaching golf for over a year in Florida and having taken and watched many lessons from PGA Certified Master Teaching Professional Carl Rabito, becoming a golf instructor was something I really wanted to do. Fortunately, I was able to find a home at Sharon Woods Golf Course in Cincinnati, my old home from the 90′s, to further this new career path. As I enter my 6th season as a golf professional, I’m excited how my role is taking shape. I assist in managing and supervising a staff of nearly 40 while teaching golf lessons to over a 100 students. Hopefully, someday I’ll have the opportunity to mentor some future golf professionals like myself.
Email: kvoska@hotmail.com
ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
- PGA Member – June, 2009
- 2008 PGA National Assistants Champion
- 43 Professional Tournament Victories
- 2010 Southern Ohio PGA Section Player-of-the-Year
- 2010 Southern Ohio PGA Southwest Chapter Player-of-the-Year
- 2009 Cincinnati Chapter Match Play Champion
- 2009 Southern Ohio PGA Assistant’s Champion
- 2001 and 2010 Southern Ohio PGA Open Champion
- 2000 PGA Buick Open Contestant
- 1998 Miami Athlete-of-the-Year
- 2-Time NCAA Division I All-American
- Mid-American Conference Sportsman and Player-of-the Year (1998)
- 2-Time Cincinnati Met Amateur Champion (1997, 1998)
- Cincinnati Met Amateur Medalist and Runner-Up (1996)
- NCAA low scoring average on Par 3′s (2.91) in 1998
- Low competitive round – 62 (3 times): Four Bridges CC (’01), Oasis CC (’09), and Juniper Hills GC (’02)
- Low non-competitive round – 61: Browns Run CC – White tees
- Won a 54-hole Developmental Players Tour event by 9 shots shooting 19 under par with no bogies (64,64,69)
- 4 career Holes-in-One and 3 career double eagles
MY PGA MENTORS:
Tom Bach – Head Professional at Sharon Woods Golf Course
George Long – Kenwood CC PGA Professional/Head Pro at The Mill Course (17 Years)
Carl Rabito – PGA Certified Master Teaching Professional (Top 100 Instructor)
Mike Bender – 2009 PGA National Teacher-of-the-Year (Top 100)
Craig Shankland – 2001 PGA National Teacher-of-the-Year (Top 100)
Jim Suttie, Ph.D - 2000 PGA National Teacher-of-the-Year (Top 100)
Bill Madonna – Bill Madonna Golf Academy (Top 100)
Andrew Park – The David Leadbetter Golf Academy
Chris Toulson – Jim McLean Golf School at Doral
As you can see, I’ve been very fortunate to have learned from some of the best PGA Professionals in the country. I feel privileged to pass on the wealth of knowledge I’ve gained from spending time with these great gentlemen.
