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In this video Alex Elliott explains how top hit 7 epic shots at the Belfry.
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00:05Welcome to the legendary Brabazon course here at the Belfry, home of four Ryder Cups.
00:12We've teamed up with Callaway and Alex Elliott and I are going to show you how to play seven epic
00:18shots.
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
00:35the rough here.
00:36So 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.
00:44You 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,
00:53is we could actually lay up down this right hand side.
00:56But, we've seen people play these shots.
00:59I want to take it on right now as well.
01:01So, we're in the rough.
01:03Now, with this ball sat down a little bit, we've got to sort of use a club that's going to
01:07help us get it in the air.
01:09Out of 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.
01:17Help me get that ball in the air.
01:18A little bit of help is all I need here.
01:20Great stuff.
01:21Right, so you've decided you're going for it.
01:23Yes.
01:23We've got the hybrid.
01:25Talk 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.
01:32I sort of kind of teach along sort of the feeling route.
01:35So, ball position is really key.
01:37We need to make sure we've got the ball in the correct position.
01:38And the feeling through the shot, I want people to attach this very close to an iron shot.
01:44Let'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.
01:47And 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
01:55head 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.
02:07Make a few practice swings, just inside the ball, looking where I want to contact that ground.
02:12So, I'm really looking to sort of brush that grass in front, not sort of get a feeling of scooping
02:19it up into the air.
02:21And 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
02:31got.
02:32Absolutely.
02:32All right, there we go.
02:33So, 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 bit gamer.
02:44You've talked it up.
02:45Now let's see it in action.
02:47Okay, so here we go.
02:49Work for your routine.
02:50Take on one of these shots and we all know our playing partners will enjoy it just as much as
02:55us if we get it on.
03:02Oh, that looks pretty.
03:04Go a little.
03:08So, you're up around the green, chipping a puck for a birdie.
03:17Epic shots call for epic locations and it does not get any more epic or iconic than the 10th hole
03:25here 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.
03:38What'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.
03:46You just want to have a go.
03:47I think if we look at this logically, we've got to sort of put it in that category of it's
03:51just another drive.
03:52Now, I know it's not, I know it's not, but if we're going to hit our drive our best and
03:58give ourselves our best opportunity of getting it near or getting it on, I think if we stick to sort
04:03of three simple rules, good alignment, try and put some good rhythm on it, and in your head, really try
04:11and hone in on the target rather than a wide open fairway.
04:16So, triple track ball, what I would do in terms of my routine, and actually, not just for this hole,
04:21I'd do this on every single hole, I'd always stand behind and place my lines down towards target so I
04:31know straight away how my lines are where I want to be.
04:34Second, I'm going to take my stance, build my stance around that, hone in on my target rather than looking
04:41in that wide open space, so 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
04:55because 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
05:07a slice at times.
05:09That suits this perfectly, so let's roll with it, let's go with it, set up, allowing for that shape, taking
05:14it 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
05:18get a friendly bounce 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.
05:33Last thing, be balanced.
05:36Balanced.
05:41Oh, be good.
05:42Oh, 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.
06:00We're on the 17th, another beautiful hole here.
06:04It's a par 5, it's reachable.
06:06Every chance to go for it in two from here, Alex, but just one problem, those branches are overhanging, but
06:12you'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.
06:19So, where the green's set, with it sort of funnelling with those bunkers, it sort of lends itself to that
06:23ball, 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
06:32running 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.
06:41Some 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.
06:53How 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.
07:12So, 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 early in our
07:36arc.
07:36So, aim a little bit left with that body, and then the fifth point, try and put a smooth three
07:41-quarter swing on it.
07:42All these factors help us control angle attack, help us control the loft of the club, and hopefully see that
07:47ball 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
07:57on these shots.
07:58So, pick my target, I'm going to walk in, gripping down that golf club, place that golf club down, ball
08:05slightly back in the stance, weight left, now we're in a position to go.
08:16Very nice. Chasing up in between the bunkers onto the putting surface, you've got an eagle putt.
08:28We're on the 15th, another beautiful hole here. Alex has hit a very, very rare bad shot. You've got yourself
08:34in a little bit of trouble. You're short-sided.
08:38There's a big old yawning bunker in front of you. What are you going to do to save your par
08:42from here?
08:43Well, I think there's only one thing to do, isn't there? Flop shot. Big, high flop shot.
08:47We're thinking Phil Mickelson style here, aren't we?
08:50Oh, 100%. It's almost like the hero shot. If it comes off good, you're a hero. If it doesn't, it
08:55can make you look a little bit of a fool.
08:56So, 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
09:03ball to target line.
09:05So, I'd have a look at my lie. I think if we're going to hit this flop shot, we want
09:08that 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, because you get a
09:19good understanding.
09:19Take this hole here, for example. We've got a bit of a backstop, not a lot of green between the
09:24fringe and the flag.
09:25So, assessing it, going to where your target is, and you can get a full good understanding of where you
09:30want to hit that ball to.
09:31Great stuff. So, we're going to go for the most lofted wedge in the bag.
09:35How are you setting up for this one?
09:40I keep it really nice and simple. Bunker shot is all I'm sort of thinking.
09:45So, I would walk through a routine. So, I'd place that club down with the face open on the ground.
09:51I would then take my hold. If you look at that there, Kit, my hold to me is relatively neutral,
09:56but relative to the club face, the club face is really, really open.
09:59And 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.
10:09So, then take a nice wide stance with the ball, just favouring the left half.
10:15And then this is the key thing here. You sitting down a little bit and getting the weight a little
10:20bit 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?
10:34So, rather than most people would release a club like this, we want to feel a little bit more of
10:40an element of this.
10:41Brilliant.
10:42Make sure you take a few practice swings. Get 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 and club golfers is it requires a lot more speed
10:57than you think.
10:58So, place your club down, take your hold, ball up in your stance, sit down a little bit, mirror that
11:05loft back at you.
11:09Now that's very high.
11:12Very soft.
11:12Banded soft.
11:13Catch it on the right level and that is a very makeable par putt.
11:23It's the tricky 16th now. We'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?
11:36I 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, because if this is not lying well, we can get
11:47a bit of a clump of sand behind it.
11:48Sometimes even get a little fried egg here.
11:50We'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, I can get a six iron and get a
12:05five iron out of here.
12:07We leave it in the bunker.
12:08Double bogey staring us back in the face.
12:10So, we go lie, we 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.
12:30So, 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
12:39and 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 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.
12:57So, 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 and really focus on trying to hit down
13:06on 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
13:15little 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 7-9, 8-9, you might want to put
13:28it 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.
13:59Here 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
14:15is 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.
14:23Yeah.
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
14:39three 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
14:59the 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.
15:07And then, I want to address the ball.
15:09Ball up in the stance.
15:10That's really, really key.
15:11And just remind yourself, check what you could do nice and simply.
15:14Address it in the middle of your stance with your feet together.
15:17Just turn your left toe out.
15:19Move your right foot away.
15:19I know, right away, I've got that ball in the correct position.
15:24Next point, can I make sure my shoulders are actually feeling as though they're parallel to my feet line?
15:30A lot of golfers, ball up in the stance.
15:33You 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 that my gears sort of theory.
15:46Most of the drives that I hit, sort of, fairway finders, 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.
15:55Yeah.
15:56But 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.
16:13Gear five with some balance.
16:19Oh, there'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.
16:44Here we are in the fairway then at the 18th.
16:47And 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 would.
17:09What are you going to do from this position?
17:12I'm going to go three-iron.
17:14Notoriously, probably a difficult club for most club golfers.
17:18For a couple of reasons, really.
17:20If I don't quite get it, I know I've got the cover over the water.
17:23And 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 like 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.
17:44Yeah, I think we look down on it.
17:45We 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,
17:56and 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?
18:10And 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,
18:17we've mentioned this in this 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.
18:30So, make some little practice motion just like this without a golf club
18:35and 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'm feeling the pressure.
18:47Show us something epic.
18:49Come on, you've got this.
18:49Walking in, ball position.
18:52I want to feel it's a club head
18:54and 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.
19:02Hit it away.
19:07Oh, 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.
19:21There 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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