Augusta National is one of the longest golf courses on the PGA Tour. As a result, good driving is among the keys to winning The Masters. Take the course’s par 4, 495-yard 10th hole. Named Camelia, this hole is among the toughest on the course, if not the toughest. You need to gain extra distance on the hole’s sloping fairway, if you want to make par or birdie. Drives that go too far right leave a long second shot. Drives that go too far left hit the trees. Drives that miss the slope leave you with an extra long shot into the green.
The 10th hole is typical of what you face at Augusta National. Obviously, driving accuracy (as well as great putting) is a big key to winning the Masters. You must be able to hit both fades and draws from the tee box with pinpoint accuracy if you want to win the tournament. So what other shots would players with any kind of a golf handicap have to know to play at Augusta National Golf Club? Below are two shots experts say you must hit well to win The Masters and golf tips on how to hit them.
The Two Golf Shots The Pros Need At The Masters:
Chipping off tight lies
You probably won’t see tighter lies on a golf course than those at Augusta National. In fact, you could probably base a whole golf instruction session on chipping from tight lies at Augusta. While it is challenging, chipping off tight lies isn’t as difficult as some think. It’s actually similar to playing off hardpan. The main problem is that there is nothing under the ball. Thus, a conventional chip shot won’t work. The club’s bounce will catch the ball before the face and you’ll hit the ball thin. What you need is a sharper strike into the ball.
One way to achieve this is to use the clubface’s toe. This gives you a much sharper edge going into the ball. Using the toe let’s you catch the ball first and pinch it off the lie. Use a normal stance—ball opposite the right heel, weak grip, and shaft leaning forward —but move closer to the ball. That makes the shaft stand up almost vertically. Having moved closer, you can make a normal chipping shot. It takes a little work to master this shot. But with some practice, you’ll learn how the ball comes off the club and to hit the shot with some consistency.
Hitting half wedge shots
Another necessary shot at Augusta is the half wedge shot from about 100 to 125 yards out. Players with medium and high golf handicaps probably face this shot more often than a pro would. They don’t stick their approach shots as often as the pros do. So learning to hit a good half wedge shot can really help your game. It can save strokes and keep a birdie or a par in play. What are the keys to hitting a good half wedge shot?
The biggest is maintaining “quiet hands” during the shot—a fundamental students work hard on in our golf instructions sessions. Let your arms swing back with the rotation of the body core and keep the hands relatively inactive. The other key is shortening your backswing correctly. The club should only go about waist high. The left arm should be parallel to the ground and your body core should be almost fully turned, as with a full shot. Use your normal wedge shot stance. Simply rotate your sternum away from the target and stop at the appropriate height. It should feel like your hands and arms are following your body core and maintaining their “in front” relationship to your sternum.
These two shots are good to know—whether you’re playing Augusta National or your favorite course. Reading golf tips and taking golf lessons on them—along with practicing them—can help you master them. Key shots in your short game arsenal, they can help turn three shots into two, keep a par or a birdie in play, and help you chop strokes off your golf handicap.
