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In this video Alex Elliott explains how top hit 7 epic shots at the Belfry.
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00:00Welcome to the legendary Brabazon course here at the Belfry, home of four Ryder Cups.
00:11We've teamed up with Callaway and Alex Elliott and I are going to show you how to play seven epic shots.
00:24We're here at the third hole on the Brabazon.
00:27It's a reachable par five, so a real tempter.
00:30Alex has got his tee shot quite a way down, but as you can see, we've just slipped over into the rough here, so there's a decision to be made.
00:39Alex, what are you thinking right now?
00:41I guess there's two options. Depending on how your game's going right now, you could have started well and you might feel confident enough to take this on.
00:48Other options you've got here is if your game's not feeling quite good, and sometimes we have those days, is we could actually lay up down this right-hand side.
00:55But, we've seen people play these shots. I want to take it on right now as well.
01:00So, we're in the rough. Now, with this ball sat down a little bit, we've got to sort of use a club that's going to help us get it in the air.
01:08Out the fairway, we could probably get away with those long irons, the four iron, potentially something around there.
01:13But, 190 yards out, I'm thinking hybrid. Help me get that ball in the air. A little bit of help is all I need here.
01:20Great stuff. Right, so you've decided you're going for it.
01:23Yes.
01:23We've got the hybrid. Talk us through the technique of how you're going to play this shot.
01:27So, I guess there's sort of a feeling I want people to use here. I sort of kind of teach along sort of the feeling route.
01:35So, ball position's really key. We need to make sure we've got the ball in the correct position and the feeling through the shot.
01:40I want people to attach this very close to an iron shot. Let's not try and help it in the air.
01:45Let's try and feel like we get a little bit of a downwards hit and on a downwards lie as well, that's really, really important.
01:51So, in terms of ball position, what I really like to see for golfers with a hybrid is a club head inside their left heel.
01:57Probably where they're going to attach their longer irons or potentially like a five wood or three wood.
02:02But then the feeling through the hit, and I do this for every single shot out on the golf course, make a few practice swings.
02:08Just inside the ball, looking where I want to contact that ground.
02:13So, I'm really looking to sort of brush that grass in front, not sort of get a feeling of scooping it up into the air.
02:20And I think it's amazing that you see some of the best players on tour do this.
02:25They do exaggerated feelings relative to their swing thoughts from their coach, but also relative to the shot that they've got.
02:32Absolutely. Alright, there we go. So, we've got, take a hybrid to help you get it up in the air.
02:37Make sure you're aware of that ball position and make sure you get down into it with that exaggerated feel.
02:42You've talked us through it.
02:43I've talked a big game here.
02:44You've talked it up. Now, let's see it in action.
02:47Okay, so here we go.
02:48Work for your routine, take on one of these shots, and we all know our playing partners will enjoy it just as much as us, if we get it on.
03:02Oh, that looks pretty.
03:04I'll go a little.
03:08So, you're up around the green, chipping a puck for a birdie.
03:11Epic shots call for epic locations, and it does not get any more epic or iconic than the tenth hole here on the Brabazon course at the Belfry.
03:28Look at that behind me.
03:29We can all remember Seve Ballesteros being the first man to knock it on there.
03:33The amazing Ryder Cup moments we've seen.
03:36You're here.
03:37You stood on the tee.
03:39What's the thought process about how you're going to tackle this incredible golf hole?
03:43I think first and foremost, if you're here, you want to have a go, don't you?
03:45Yes, you do.
03:45You just want to have a go.
03:46So, I think if we look at this logically, we've got to sort of put it in that category of, it's just another drive.
03:52Now, I know it's not, and I know it's not, but if we're going to hit our drive our best, and give ourselves our best opportunity of getting it near or getting it on, I think if we stick to sort of three simple rules.
04:05Good alignment.
04:07Try and put some good rhythm on it.
04:10And in your head, really try and hone in on the target rather than a wide open fairway.
04:15So, triple track ball, what I would do in terms of, like, my routine, and actually, not just for this hole, I'd do this on every single hole, I'd always stand behind and place my lines down towards target.
04:30So, I know straight away I'm aligned to where I want to be.
04:34Second, I'm going to take my stance, build my stance around that, honing on my target rather than looking in that wide open space.
04:42So, in this case, a very tight front flag.
04:46And now, all I want you to picture is, can you be balanced?
04:50Because this would be very easy for any golfer of any level, just to give it a little bit more because of the situation and think, can I get it there?
04:58So, be balanced and try and not make it more than it is.
05:01And just on shot shape, obviously, most amateur golfers, and certainly myself included, we play with a fade, verging on a slice at times.
05:09That suits this perfectly.
05:10So, let's roll with it, let's go with it, set up, allowing for that shape, taking it into the hole.
05:15And if we're honest, if we hit a good one and it does leak a little bit right, we might get a friendly balance off the tree and end up on the green.
05:21Well, let's see how lucky we're feeling today.
05:23Hopefully very.
05:25So, ball down, keep checking your target, checking your alignment, build your stance around those lines on the ball.
05:34Last thing, be balanced.
05:40Oh, that looks pretty.
05:43Be good.
05:44Oh, if that's the right length.
05:47Oh, he's right over the top of it on the green.
05:51There you go.
05:52Epic moments, epic shots.
05:54We're on the 17th, another beautiful hole here.
06:04It's a par 5, it's reachable.
06:05Every chance to go for it in two from here, Alex, but just one problem.
06:10Those branches are overhanging, but you've got to go for it, right?
06:13Oh, 100%.
06:14I think this is a great situation, risk and a bit of reward here, or a lot of reward.
06:19The way the green's set, with it sort of funneling with those bunkers, it sort of lends itself to that ball, landing short, running up towards that flag, if we can pull it off.
06:27So, with that in mind, we've got to play a punch shot, essentially, to get it under these branches and running up onto the green.
06:34Explain to us how we do that.
06:35So, the first thing we've got to sort of go for is the lowest lofted club in our bag.
06:40Now, for some people, this may be a 6-iron.
06:42For some people, it could be upwards of a 3-iron.
06:44We've got a 3-iron here, so I'm going to choose my 3-iron.
06:47If you've got a 6-iron, 5-iron, just choose your least lofted club.
06:51So, we've got to control a few things here.
06:54How much we hit down on the golf ball, and the loft the golf club has at impact.
06:58Also, we could put speed into that mix as well.
07:01So, we want to feel as though we're going to hit more down and reduce our loft.
07:04Now, there's a lot of these things that we can do at the address position.
07:07So, let's work through in sort of like a five-stage map, as I kind of like to think it.
07:13So, first off, let's grip down that golf club.
07:15It's going to help us control the speed.
07:18Second, we're going to build our stance with that ball towards the back of our stance.
07:23Number three, can we get a little bit of weight on our left side?
07:26Yep.
07:27Number four, I always like to do this without going too much into detail.
07:31We need to make sure that we're bodies aiming a little bit left, because we're hitting it earlier in our arc.
07:36So, aim a little bit left with that body.
07:38And then the fifth point, try and put a smooth three-quarter swing on it.
07:42All these factors help us control angle attack, help us control the loft of the club,
07:47and hopefully see that ball fizz out nice and low.
07:50Great stuff. Let's see it in action.
07:52Let's go.
07:52So, I think, as we've spoken about throughout this whole series, it's having a routine that you can stick to on these shots.
07:58So, pick my target.
07:59I'm going to walk in, gripping down that golf club, place that golf club down, ball slightly back in the stance, weight left.
08:08Now we're in a position to go.
08:09Very nice. Chasing up in between the bunkers, onto the putting surface, you've got an eagle putt.
08:22We're on the 15th, another beautiful hole here.
08:31Alex has hit a very, very rare bad shot.
08:34You've got yourself in a little bit of trouble.
08:36You're short-sided.
08:38There's a big old yawning bunker in front of you.
08:41What are you going to do to save your par from here?
08:43Well, I think there's only one thing to do, isn't there?
08:45Flop shot.
08:46Big, high flop shot.
08:48We're thinking Phil Mickelson style here, aren't we?
08:49Oh, 100%.
08:50Like, it's almost like the hero shot.
08:53If it comes off good, you're a hero.
08:55If it doesn't, it can make you look a little bit of a fool.
08:57So, what are you assessing to decide whether you can carry that off?
09:00I think the most important thing to do is, I always work it from the ball to target, like a ball to target line.
09:05So, I'd have a look at my lie.
09:06I think if we're going to hit this flop shot, we want that grass just to be cushioning that ball up a little bit.
09:11On a bare lie, we might have to look at a different option.
09:14I then would walk around this bunker, probably walk to where I want to land it.
09:18Because you get a good understanding, take this hole here for example, we've got a bit of a backstop, not a lot of green between the fringe and the flag.
09:25So, assessing it, going to where your target is, and you can get a full good understanding of where you want to hit that ball to.
09:31Great stuff.
09:32So, we're going to go for the most lofted wedge in the bag.
09:36How are you setting up for this one?
09:39If, I keep it really nice and simple.
09:43Bunker shot is all I'm sort of thinking.
09:45So, I would walk through a routine.
09:47So, I'd place that club down with the face open on the ground.
09:51I would then take my hold.
09:52If you look at that there, Kit, like, my hold to me is relatively neutral.
09:56But, relative to the club face, the club face is really, really open.
10:00And then place that club down behind the back of the golf ball.
10:03And for a lot of people now, it would be a bit of a scary situation.
10:05That club face looks like it's pointing a little bit to the right, but we'll correct that in a second.
10:10So, then take a nice wide stance with the ball just favouring the left half.
10:14And then, this is the key thing here.
10:17You sitting down a little bit and getting the weight a little bit left actually will get that loft pointing somewhat to target.
10:24I want you to actually work through a different sort of feeling in release.
10:28I want you to imagine there's a little smiley face on that club face.
10:31As you're swinging through, can you point it back at you?
10:34Rather than most people would release a club like this, we want to feel a little bit more of an element of this.
10:41Brilliant.
10:42Make sure you take a few practice swings.
10:43Get used to the lie as well.
10:45You've got to get used to that club working through the grass.
10:49Picture how much force you've got to put into it.
10:52Because I think the hard thing for most amateur golfers here and club golfers is it requires a lot more speed than you think.
10:58So, place your club down.
11:00Take your hold.
11:01Ball up in your stance.
11:03Sit down a little bit.
11:05Mirror that loft back at you.
11:09All right.
11:10Very high.
11:12Very soft.
11:12And soft.
11:13Catch it on the right level.
11:15And that is a very makeable par putt.
11:23It's the tricky 16th now.
11:25We've got an approach, but it's a difficult one.
11:28We all know how tough it is to be good from fairway bunkers.
11:32You're in one right here, Alex.
11:33That pin is tucked.
11:35What are you going to do?
11:37I think, again, it's like we've had in this whole series.
11:39Have a little bit of a formula for these big epic shots.
11:42So, first and foremost, have a look at the lie.
11:45Because if this is not lying well, we can get a bit of a clump of sand behind it.
11:48Sometimes even get a fried egg here.
11:50But we've got to take our punishment and just take it out of the bunker and use the most lofted club.
11:55Then I'd have a look at the side profile.
11:57How quick have I got to get this ball up over the lip?
12:00Because how many times do we think, yeah, you know what?
12:04I can get a six iron and get a five iron out of here.
12:07We leave it in the bunker.
12:08Double bogey staring us back in the face.
12:11So, we go lie.
12:12We look at the side profile.
12:13I then choose a club.
12:15So, I've got 135 here.
12:17This would probably be a comfortable nine iron for me.
12:19But I'm going to go wedge.
12:20I'd rather get this ball out, come up short, and I've got a chance of making a bogey at worst.
12:26Again, if I leave it in here, we're talking making some big scores.
12:31So, then take a nice normal hold.
12:33I wouldn't change too much on that.
12:35I tend to go with my wedges anyway in the middle and an even amount of grip at the top and the bottom.
12:40Normal ball position.
12:42And this is where it differs from what we would have as a traditional bunker shot.
12:46We usually screw our feet right into the sand.
12:49We're staring at a fat shot.
12:51So, I think we want to sort of make sure we've got a compacted bit of sand under us.
12:56So, we've got a stable base.
12:58So, our final point is then pick out a little bit of a mark in front of the ball.
13:01Make sure the legs stay a little bit quieter through the shot.
13:04And really focus on trying to hit down on the ball, not get it in the air.
13:09And just one other point.
13:10Are we doing anything with the ball position here to encourage that we make sure we get contact on that little white sphere before the sand?
13:17You might want to put it a little bit further back in your stance.
13:19I mean, with a wedge, traditionally, you're going to have it sort of towards the back of your stance anyway.
13:23If you're on a bit further away, taking more like a 7-iron, 8-iron, you might want to put it half a ball to a ball back in your stance.
13:30Brilliant.
13:30Let's see you take it on.
13:31If you can get it close to that pin, that really is an epic shot.
13:34It's a tight flag.
13:35So, a little bit of digging.
13:37Keep the legs nice and quiet.
13:42Beautiful contact.
13:46Just a little bit short.
13:48But, I'm not turning this situation into a double bogey.
13:51Give yourself a chance to save your partner.
13:53Here we are on the 18th tee at the Brabazon.
14:03It's a beautiful golf hole, but what an intimidating shot.
14:08Sometimes, you just have to take it on.
14:10And when there's water lurking short, and you know the more you bail out, the more difficult that second shot is going to be.
14:16This is one of those moments, isn't it, Alex?
14:19Definitely.
14:19Like you said there, you bail out right, you're probably laying up for your second here.
14:24Yeah.
14:24So, how are we going about hitting that absolute bomb off the tee?
14:28Well, we've got to stand up and deliver.
14:30That's first and foremost.
14:31And we'd go with driver here, definitely.
14:33So, I would tend to have, in my golf game, and as I go through a round, have sort of three different tee heights.
14:40My low one, if it's a little bit of a chippier one, into the wind.
14:44My medium one, which I sort of class as my fairway finder.
14:47And then, what I call is my bombs away tee height.
14:51I love it.
14:51So, what I look for here is, as I'm addressing the golf ball, is actually having half a ball above the face.
14:59I tend not to have this.
15:01I sort of have a quarter, usually on my fairway finder shot.
15:04So, first and foremost, half a ball above the face, and then I want to address the ball, ball up in the stance.
15:10That's really, really key.
15:11And just remind yourself, check what you could do nice and simply.
15:15Address it in the middle of your stance with your feet together.
15:17Just turn your left toe out, move your right foot away.
15:20I know right away I've got that ball in the correct position.
15:23Next point, can I make sure my shoulders are actually feeling as though they're parallel to my feet line.
15:31A lot of golfers, ball up in the stance, sort of get a little bit this way.
15:34And all this is going to encourage, sort of, this notion.
15:37If you think about it logically, if you get behind it, we've got a better chance of this upwards hit.
15:42And finally, I call it, like, my gears sort of theory.
15:46Most of the drives that I hit, sort of fairway finder, sort of gear four in our car.
15:50This one, we've got to step up.
15:52We've got to go gear five.
15:53So, we've got to feel like we've got to be balanced, but we give it just that little bit more.
15:58Absolutely.
15:58Well, this is a new tee box here for the British Masters.
16:03You are the first person to hit a ball off it.
16:05So, no pressure.
16:07I feel it.
16:08Let's give it the bombs away.
16:09So, walk in, right shoulder back.
16:12Gear five with some balance.
16:19There's a bit of turn on that as well.
16:22So, the line here is trying to start it at the bunker.
16:24And if you do get it to turn on that left edge, you're absolutely in the perfect position.
16:29Perfect.
16:29So, aggressive off the tee, committing to it, nailed it.
16:33And now you've set yourself up for that iconic approach into the 18th here at the Belfry.
16:42Here we are in the fairway then at the 18th.
16:48And what an epic shot you are faced with right now, Alex.
16:52We've got the plaque down there from Christy O'Connor's magical two-iron in that Ryder Cup.
16:58Fortunately, two-iron isn't one of the options we need today with all the technology at our disposal.
17:04We've got a few options here.
17:05You can go hybrid, long iron, perhaps even a lofted fairway wood.
17:10What are you going to do from this position?
17:12I'm going to go three-iron.
17:14Notoriously a probably difficult club for most club golfers.
17:17For a couple of reasons, really.
17:20If I don't quite get it, I know I've got the cover over the water.
17:24And if I hit my Sunday best, I'm not going to go long.
17:27So, that middle of the road sort of club for me there.
17:29I feel if I went a little bit longer, back edge, downhill chip.
17:33Don't like the fancy of that one.
17:34No, you don't want that.
17:35Using that long iron, though, that brings the microscope onto your ball striking.
17:40As amateurs, we can often struggle when we get into those long irons.
17:43Yeah, I think we look down on it, we don't see a lot of loft on the club.
17:48Nine times out of ten, get a little bit thinny in that right shot.
17:50And that's certainly in a lot of wet trouble right here.
17:53So, I think if we just think of three simple things, and these can be thought of off the golf ball.
17:59Number one, ball position.
18:02Number two, can we feel that club is travelling a little bit lower through impact,
18:06rather than trying to scoop this ball up high.
18:09And the final one sort of ties into that second one.
18:13And I would simply make some movements.
18:15I mean, if we look at all the top tour players, we've mentioned this in the series before,
18:18of having a feeling to take into a shot.
18:21Most club golfers, a little bit fadey.
18:23So, I would really try and feel we have this sort of long right arm feeling,
18:28and this released down towards target.
18:31So, make some little practice motion, just like this, without a golf club.
18:36And you're getting a great feeling.
18:37And nine times out of ten, this will probably send it dead straight.
18:40All right, we've got the pin tucked away there on the top of the three tiers.
18:45Yeah.
18:45This is your moment.
18:46I feel the pressure.
18:47Show us something epic.
18:49Come on, you've got this.
18:50Walking in, ball position.
18:52I want to feel it's a club head, and sort of on the right edge of this club head here,
18:56on the heel side, inside my left heel.
18:59Down, mirror that feeling.
19:03Hit it away.
19:03Oh, what a strike that is.
19:09If that is the right club.
19:11That is all over it.
19:12It's up there on the back tier.
19:14I think you might have about six foot.
19:16That is a truly epic golf shot.
19:19There we have it.
19:22That is how to hit seven epic shots here at the Belfry.
19:27I hope you enjoyed those tips from Alex.
19:29Next time you're on the course and you're faced with one of those situations,
19:33do what he said, and you'll have some epic shots of your own.
19:37Thanks for watching.
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