Major moments in golf make big impressions. Usually, they’re tied to major tournaments, like The Masters or the PGA Championship. The stakes are higher in these tournaments, the pressure more intense, and the routine more critical. Winning one of these tournaments can make an unknown player a household name. Winning also fattens the pro golfer’s purse with extra cash.
Major moments in these tournaments usually come down to someone hitting a great shot. Watch these shots being made can be instructive. They can give weekend golfers trying to cut their golf handicaps golf tips on how to handle key situations—like trying a chip or pitch they’ve never tried before. Below are three key shots made at three major championships over the last 10 years. All three helped secure victories for the player making them. The shots can also serve as interesting golf lessons.
Tiger Woods/2005 Masters
Tiger made this incredible chip from just off the green on the par 3, 16th hole. It’s nothing you would have seen in a typical golf instruction session. The shot required incredible touch and imagination. But it propelled Tiger to the title. He missed the green with his drive, setting up a tough short chip. To make it, Tiger used a high-lofted wedge and set the ball back in his stance. By keeping his hands quiet through the shot, he forced the ball to travel up the grooves on his clubface, maximizing spin on the ball.
The golf lesson here is how Tiger went about hitting—a shot he’d never hit before. Give yourself extra planning time when you hit a shot you’ve never hit before. Break it down into parts and then analyze each part. Start by sizing up your lie, which determines the type of swing to make. Then choose your target by deciding where you want the ball to stop. Where the ball stops determines where you’ll make your next shot. In case you’ve forgotten, Tiger drained his putt.
Karrie Webb/2006 Kraft Nabisco Championship
Webb sank a dramatic 116-yard full wedge shot on the 18th hole to win the title. Wedge shots—whether full or partial—require consistent tempo to execute well. Practice tells you what tempo to use, but you need to rehearse that tempo before hitting the shot. The golf lesson here is that you can hit three different shots the same length using the same tempo. Here’s some golf tips on how to do this:
(1) Slide your hands down the club to shorten the club and use your normal swing, which will shorten your shot. (2) Slide your hands way down the grip and shorten your swing to alter the length of the shot. And (3) slide your hands down the shaft a couple of inches, play the ball back in your stance, and abbreviate your follow, producing a low, spinning wedge shot.
Geoff Ogilvy/2006 U.S. Open
This championship at Winged Foot is better remembered for Phil Mickelson’s collapse than anything else. But Ogilvy wouldn’t have won without help from a tenacious short game down the stretch. His short game set up the win for him. Ogilvy’s most notable shot was a 30-foot chip that he drained for a par on the 17th hole. To make it, Ogilvy trusted his swing to hit the right spot on the green. Here’s some additional golf tips on how Ogilvy made this dramatic shot.
The golf lesson here is to first run through your pre-shot routine, then commit to the shot. Oglivy’s pre-shot routine included picking out a spot on the green as his target. With rough between his club and the ball, he knew he had to get as much club on the ball as possible to control the shot. He set up with his weight on his front foot, kept a smooth tempo, accelerated through the rough, and used a classic “y” shaped swing to hit the shot. In addition, he kept a firm left wrist at impact to ensure solid contact.
Reviewing these dramatic shots described can be instructive. Some times they require players to hit shots they’ve never hit before. Other times, it requires golfers to adapt to a strange situation. And then there are times golfers must execute the fundamentals perfectly to make a shot. Knowing how to do all three things on-demand helps cut your golf handicap.
