Short game practice area dublin

To encourage this, set up with the ball about halfway between the middle of your stance and your left heel.

In other words, more forward than you might first think. Once you are happy at address — again, let comfort dictate the distance between your feet — focus on swinging within yourself. You should rarely use that club for a pitch of more than 60 yards.

A little practice will soon give you a feel for how far you can hit the ball with a variety of backswing lengths. So set up this time with your sternum directly above a point about an inch behind the ball. In other words, above the area of sand you want the sole of the club to enter the sand as you skim it through.

Again, you want to leave it there throughout the swing. When you get that right, the ball flies out high and soft. Good bunker technique revolves around a good set-up position. For me, that involves letting the length of the shot I am playing dictate how far left I aim my body at address and how much I open the clubface.

The simple rule of thumb that I follow is that for every degree I open the clubface, I open up my body by the same amount. So, for a standard greenside shot, a line along my feet will be aimed roughly 30 degrees left of the flag, the clubface opened until the leading edge is aligned 30 degrees right of the flag — as we have illustrated here left.

If I want the ball to go further than normal, I square up both my stance and the clubface. This drill will help you work your wedges back and forth with consistency. This descending blow allows for the ball to elevate into the air with backspin. Backspin and height are two elements of the pitch shot that are key to playing them well.

The height allows you to fly the ball over ground obstacles to the hole and the backspin gives you a chance to stop the ball fairly quickly after the ball lands on the green. The chip shot is probably the easiest short game shot of them all, but again, still can be a little tricky.

The biggest problem that amateur golfers have with the chip shot is that they decelerate through impact. Decelerating through impact does a lot of different things, none of them good. You want to allow gravity to naturally let the club fall through impact. This will improve contact, consistency, spin, and control. So, in order to get a good feel for letting the club accelerate through the ball, try hitting some chip shots with only one hand. You can try hitting these shots with each hand on its own.

The point of this drill is to practice the right tempo and force through impact. I learned this lesson recently where I conceded to a last-minute request from the club to build an additional bunker to practice long irons toward the body of the range. I cringed on opening day when I witnessed what I can only describe as the golf equivalent of a food fight with golfers in each bunker blading shots towards one another.

The bunker was quickly filled in — lesson learned! Variety — All great golf courses have a variety of looks and shot requirements. Why should a short game area be any different? At a minimum, a practice complex should replicate shots one might expect to hit with regularity on the neighbouring course. If space and budget allow, add design features that cater to the needs of different types of players. For example, at Bay Hill we built an elevated ledge adjacent to one of the bunkers with our resident Tour players in mind.

Alternatively, we made sure to include a few generous upslopes to hold shots and create confidence for new golfers. In total we built four greens and seven bunkers, every one of them unique in size, shape, and style. Beauty — Form should follow function… to a point. Features should all relate to one another and tie together a cohesive and believable landscape.

A good architect will ensure the contours flow naturally through the entire frame to complete the composition. Additionally, if there are native trees within the envelope of the subject property, save them to anchor the short game area and give it the appearance of age. Short Game Areas. Hours of Operation. Practice Range. North Putting Green This putting green is conveniently located between the Clubhouse and the first tee.

Southern Putting Green This putting green is located between Bunkers, the 10th tee and the 18th green. Lesson, Jr. Gift Cards The perfect gift for your special golfer! Buy Online Now! Recent Blog Topics.