Follow Bubba's lead, practice recovery shots
By SwingFix.com staff
Golf can be a lot of fun when you’re hitting the driver long and straight and your approach shots are finding the green more often than not.
But inevitably there are going to be days where your ball-striking is off and you’re left scrambling to try to shoot a good score.
Learning how to play recovery shots and grind out a good number even when you don’t have your “A” game are important aspects to becoming a better player.
And as is the case with all facets of this game, practice will help your cause.
Obviously devoting significant practice time to your short game will help you scramble and save shots, but practicing recovery shots is also a great idea.
Take a page out of Bubba Watson’s book and save some time at the end of your next range session not to work on your swing but just to hit shots. Hit punch shots, low hooks, high cuts … hit balls out of divots, hit shots off of bare lies or out of bad lies in the rough if that’s a possibility.
If you’ll spend some time working on shots like these, as opposed to just hitting full 8-irons off of perfect lies, you’ll be more prepared for the unappealing situations that you’re bound to see during a round of golf.
Another great way to challenge yourself, if you have the time and it’s a possibility where you play, is to go out and play nine holes by yourself and play what amounts to a one-man scramble. What that means is that for every shot you’ll play two balls, but after you hit those shots instead of playing the better of the two, go play the worse of the two shots and continue that for nine holes.
You’re almost certain to find yourself in some tough spots, you’ll be faced with difficult shots and you’ll have to figure out ways to recover, which is great for your game, both physically and mentally.
Try these approaches to practicing and you’ll be better prepared for adversity when you play.