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00:00My colleagues have dubbed me an average golfer, which means I struggle with the same common
00:05swing faults and strategy mistakes that most high-handyhap golfers around the world struggle with.
00:10So I've travelled to Close House to visit former world number one Lee Westwood
00:14so that he can give me some tips on my game that can also help you to shoot lower scores.
00:31So opening tee shot then Lee, like most high-handyhap, average golfers, I struggle with a bit of a left
00:38-to-right shot shape.
00:38We could probably call it a slice, I assume.
00:42Yeah, see what you've got then.
00:43Have a watch and see what you think.
00:49Not much of a slice there.
00:51On cue, yeah.
00:52And cue the straight one with a touchy fade.
00:55Exactly, yeah, tight little fade.
00:57Just keep doing that.
00:58Little one, that's the tip.
00:59For high-handyhap golfers that are fighting that on the tee, that sort of left-to-right big high slicey
01:06shot,
01:06what are the sort of big red flags that sometimes lead to that?
01:09They normally don't get behind it enough in the backswing and then they try and pull the club through.
01:15Right.
01:15So they're always continuously holding the face open, never allowing it to square and releasing the club.
01:22And is there a sort of a swing thought or a thing that they can do in the swing to
01:27try and rectify that in practice?
01:29I normally think it's synchronizing the arms with the body on the way down.
01:33So most people go with their body too fast.
01:35Okay.
01:36So just wait a little bit at the top and let your arms come down before your body starts doing
01:41anything.
01:41Okay, so just hold that a bit.
01:43Yeah, because the hardest thing in the golf swing, on the way back, your arms separate from your body to
01:47go up.
01:48So at some point you have to reconnect on the way down.
01:51And the easiest time to do that is in the first part of the downswing.
01:54Let them reconnect and then turn.
01:57Most people get to the top and then they go with their body, leaving their arms way behind.
02:01The club never squares up, starts right, goes right.
02:05Let's see how the pro does it.
02:13Shot.
02:14Shot.
02:17That'll do, won't it?
02:18That will do.
02:19Take that.
02:20What you got?
02:21Six iron.
02:23Which is probably what I'd carry at about 145.
02:27Yeah.
02:28I mean, this is going to suit my shape a little bit anyway.
02:30If I can go right.
02:31Yeah.
02:31I'm going to go then pretty much straight over to the right of the flag is roughly where I think
02:35you said that mound was.
02:36Yeah, I'll start it on the flag and let it drift.
02:38Okay.
02:46Might kick around a little bit from there.
02:48Yeah.
02:48So I'm sometimes seeing a couple of things I've seen in my lessons and I think a lot of things
02:52that high
02:53handicap golfers sometimes struggle with in a similar way to me is I've been told alignment is
02:59sometimes a bit of an issue.
03:00Yeah.
03:00And I've been told that my contact, which I think might be a little bit there, was a little bit
03:03heavy.
03:04What do you think?
03:05Yeah.
03:06Yeah.
03:07Yeah.
03:07And maybe a little bit from the inside as well, judging by that divot.
03:11Yeah.
03:11So can we learn a lot from divots on the course then as higher handicap golfers?
03:17Which is a problem with the modern game, right?
03:19Because most people wouldn't go on a grass range now and practice and learn much from the divots.
03:25Yeah.
03:25Most people will be on mats and simulators or on ranges.
03:30So it's almost a lost art, you know, reading your divot to tell you what your swing's doing.
03:35Yeah.
03:36So what's this one going to be able to tell me from mine?
03:39You said slightly from the inside.
03:40Slightly from the inside.
03:41The divot's pointing a little bit right there.
03:42Yeah.
03:43But it's a square divot, so the club face was square.
03:46Okay.
03:46You weren't coming from the inside and kind of dragging it and it would be thin then.
03:50It's quite fat, so you squared the face up.
03:53Yeah.
03:53So you're probably right.
03:55It probably was a bit to do with alignment stuff.
03:56Yeah.
03:57If you make a mistake in the first part with either your posture or your setup or your alignment,
04:01then you've got to make a compensation somewhere else in the golf swing.
04:04Yeah.
04:05Okay.
04:05To make up for that.
04:07And then you've got two mistakes rather than just one.
04:09Yeah.
04:09Okay.
04:10So we're fighting it from the start.
04:12So if alignment's a problem, if I'm, for example, setting up again now to retake that shot,
04:16the golf ball's there and I'm trying to align myself, is there something that I can do in terms
04:20of a regular sort of pre-shot strategy in terms of getting the alignment a little bit more accurate?
04:25Because at the moment I'm sort of looking down the line from behind and then walking
04:29in and thinking that I've got it right just by sort of putting the club down from here.
04:32And then you're already aiming right there.
04:34Yeah.
04:34I can see that.
04:35So how can I pick?
04:36The best way is to pick something on the ground about three or four feet in front.
04:39Yep.
04:40Like a blade of grass or an old divot or, you know, something like that.
04:44So for example, that's probably just slightly left of the flag, is it?
04:47Yeah. So if you were to set up and aim just to the right of that.
04:51Yep.
04:53Then that would be a much better line to start with,
04:54which negates one of those problems I've created for myself before I've even hit the golf ball.
04:58Yeah. And I also feel like it starts on the range.
05:01You know, most people go on the range and they'll just get a bucket of 50 balls.
05:05And then they'll just stand there, pull the ball across, hit it, pull the ball across, hit it.
05:10I will never do that.
05:11I'll put the ball on the ground and then I'll stand behind it, get behind it, line up, walk in,
05:18set up to it.
05:18So all the time I'm grooving it and I'm drilling myself on where to.
05:23Yep.
05:23And it'll probably take me three or four times longer to hit 50 balls than it would an amateur.
05:30Yeah.
05:30Because I'm grinding in what I'm going to do on the golf course.
05:34Whereas people that go to the range, they're just kind of just hitting balls for the sake of hitting
05:38balls and getting it out of the way, you know, and saying I've been in it 50 balls practice.
05:42Whereas it's not really meaningful practice.
05:48I thought it was going to fly.
05:50So Lee, this is a shot that terrifies me because my short game, I probably could describe as
05:55inconsistent at best. And I think the thing I struggle with most here, and I think maybe most
05:59high handicap golfers is knowing one, what type of short game shot to play when you're around the
06:04green like this with nothing really in front of you and a direct route to the pin.
06:09And which club to take to execute that shot. So, I mean, if that was you with this shot
06:13or you looking through the eyes of the average golfer, what would you recommend?
06:18I would put it.
06:19Yeah.
06:20So I'd suggest that you put it as well.
06:21Okay. Is that just because there's no danger and it's sort of...
06:25Yeah. There's nothing in your way.
06:27If you take out a, let's say a sand wedge or a lob wedge, you know, you've got to factor
06:34in then spin
06:35and what it's going to do when it lands on the green. There's just more variables
06:40if you're going to chip it. Whereas you know what it's going to do if you put it.
06:45Yeah. And does the lie underneath the ball dictate that at all? Would anything around
06:50that change your mind?
06:51Yeah. If it was a bit thicker than rough or if it was maybe sat in a little hole,
06:55you might want to chip and run it.
06:56Yep.
06:57Something like that to get it in the air. Because obviously you don't want it
06:59bouncing up in the air and, you know, not really running forward. But this here,
07:04the fringe is pretty consistent. It's fairly short. The grass is actually running and laid down that
07:11way because you can see it's a little bit shiny. Yep. So it's laid down in your favour as well,
07:16which will, you know, allow it to roll a bit smoother. There's not silly breaks on the greens,
07:23you know, it's just a gentle break from the right hand side. So you, you know,
07:27you've got nothing to kind of chip it over a hill or anything to take that out of play.
07:33What you've got to remember is it's going to curve before it gets to that point.
07:36Right. So the line you start on is further right than that.
07:39Right.
07:39But it's not massively further right than that. Because when you hit the putt,
07:43the fastest it's travelling is at the start. Yep.
07:47So it doesn't swing as much when it's moving fast. All the curving will be done as it slows down
07:51and has gone over that point. Yep.
07:54Which is something that people don't factor in.
07:56Okay. So you've now got to picture in your mind. Yep.
08:00Where you want to start it. Okay.
08:02To get it rolling over that green, that light green spot. Okay.
08:05And that's where you develop feel and things like that. Yep. Okay.
08:11That was pretty good. Straight over that light green spot.
08:16Touch firm, but. Yep.
08:18You'd do well to get a chip inside that distance, wouldn't you?
08:21Yes.
08:22You're giving yourself eight, nine feet straight up the hill.
08:25So far. Yep.
08:31Now that's it.
08:34Not used to the speed of these.
08:41Oh, just pace. Just pace.
08:45Good putt though. Thank you.
08:54A bit on the bottom, wouldn't it, I think.
08:56Yeah.
08:58When you practice, do you put an alignment stick down on the ground?
09:01I don't typically.
09:03Yeah.
09:03Yeah.
09:04Not many people do and you should really.
09:05I noticed you then when you set up to the ball, you set up pretty good with your hips and
09:10your feet.
09:11But then your shoulders were like this.
09:13I see. Right. Okay.
09:14So it takes the, when you take it away, take the club away with open shoulders, it sends the club
09:19out.
09:19Right.
09:20And then when you're coming down, your shoulders are already set open.
09:23So they follow that path this way.
09:25So then you're pulling across the ball and that's why you get a slice.
09:28Right. Okay.
09:29This arm got out a little bit this way.
09:32Yep.
09:33In front of this left one.
09:35So like this and your shoulders are left.
09:37Yep.
09:37And that'll encourage you to go that way and that way.
09:40Whereas you want it the other way around really.
09:42You want your forearms, your shoulders square, your forearms sitting fairly square,
09:47almost a little bit under this way to allow the club to set properly here.
09:52Right. Okay.
09:58Nice shot.
10:04Yep.
10:18Nice shot.
10:21Bunker play is an area that I do struggle with.
10:23And I know that a lot of high handicap golfers will also struggle with.
10:26So in terms of picking.
10:28To be honest with you, I struggle with this one.
10:30Yeah.
10:30Yeah.
10:31Yeah.
10:31It's rightly so one of the hardest shots in golf, right?
10:34Probably the hardest.
10:35Yeah.
10:35So how would you approach playing this?
10:39Well, you can look at it one of two ways.
10:42You could either hit a sand iron.
10:43Yeah.
10:44Try and pick it off the top.
10:45Yeah.
10:45Or you could use something a little bit longer.
10:48Okay.
10:48Maybe a pitching wedge or even a nine iron.
10:51The trouble with a nine iron is you've got this lip in front of you.
10:53So you've got to think, what am I trying to achieve?
10:56What's the kind of risk reward of it all?
10:59Yep.
11:00Am I better off just trying to get it somewhere in the middle of the green there and two putting?
11:04Probably yes.
11:05I think so.
11:06Yeah.
11:07Rather than playing the glory shot with a sand iron.
11:10Okay.
11:13Caught the bank, but kind of got away with it.
11:17You've got it on the green, which is a pretty good result from there, right?
11:20Yep.
11:21Yep.
11:21Definitely.
11:21I'll take that.
11:22Yeah.
11:23I mean, you've left yourself a pretty tricky pot.
11:25Yeah.
11:27I'll not lie.
11:27Tricky bunker shot and then a tricky pot.
11:29So it's all going well, Lee.
11:31So this is again, just trying to leave it within that sort of, as you said, that zone.
11:36If I leave it within nine, 10 feet, then that's a good result.
11:39Yeah.
11:43Easy.
11:44It should start coming a little now.
11:46It's a bit firm.
11:47Oh, wow.
11:49Yeah.
11:49The trouble is, you see, once it gets on top, you can see how shiny the grass gets.
11:54Yep.
11:54So it goes from going into the grain in the first 40 feet here to down grain in the,
12:00once it gets over the top.
12:01Okay.
12:04Yep.
12:04Well done.
12:13Chop.
12:16So I noticed you were teeing up there on the left hand side.
12:21Yeah.
12:22Am I right in thinking that somebody with my shot shape, teeing up on the right hand side
12:26is a sensible decision for playing to the shape that you feel you've got?
12:31Yeah.
12:31If you're going to play with that fade.
12:32Yeah.
12:34So you were saying about set up here.
12:35So your shoulders are open.
12:37So you're saying just close them off a bit.
12:39Yeah.
12:40So feel like your right arm sits down more.
12:42Like that, relax.
12:44I want to be able to stick a club through there.
12:47Yeah.
12:48Okay.
12:49Widen your stance a touch.
12:50So you've got a bit of stable base.
12:52Flexing your knees like you're getting ready to go.
12:56Shoulders again.
12:59It's better.
13:00It's a better start line.
13:01Yeah.
13:01Good.
13:02Straight away.
13:03Those, there's a number of adjustments there, isn't there?
13:04Yeah.
13:05Straight away before I've even touched the goal.
13:07There's a few basics that you don't do.
13:09Yeah.
13:10So, so you've got to pay more attention to those.
13:12Yeah.
13:12So setting up and focusing on that setup position, especially here off the tee,
13:16high handicap golfers, if they were practicing, as you said, with the alignment stick and working
13:20on those fundamentals, that's going to help them to shave shots off really quickly.
13:23Yeah.
13:23Put the foundations in place for the rest.
13:26So this is, this is interesting because I think this is an area as well that I've previously
13:31struggled with because the ball's going to be below my feet here, isn't it?
13:34Because of the slope.
13:35Yeah.
13:35Which you fade it anyway.
13:38Yeah.
13:38So it'll increase the amount of fade on it.
13:44There you go.
13:48Better, better strike.
13:50Yeah.
13:51So with a, with this type of bunker shot then, Lee, am I right in thinking that
13:57sort of I've previously been taught to get hands up into sort of a good wrist hinge early?
14:03Yeah.
14:03And then sort of throw the club through underneath the sand.
14:07Yeah.
14:07But this is a really poor area of my game.
14:10Short bunker shots, getting out first time and not leaving myself in.
14:14So what should I be doing here in terms of...
14:16It starts off with the setup.
14:18Yep.
14:18You want your weight more in your left side than you've got it.
14:21Yep.
14:21Okay.
14:22So.
14:23So getting right over onto that left foot.
14:25But yeah.
14:25And then you want your ball position further forward.
14:28Okay.
14:29Because you've bumped your weight forward.
14:30Yep.
14:31Right.
14:32Really lean it in.
14:33There you go.
14:34Open the face.
14:36Yep.
14:36That's it.
14:37And now play it like you said before.
14:44There's not enough sand.
14:45You've got to take plenty of sand.
14:47Okay.
14:49There you go.
14:51We're out.
14:52Yeah.
14:53So generally, if you drop, if it drops off the face like that.
14:56Yeah.
14:57It means you've pulled the club face across it like that.
14:59You've taken all the speed out of the club head.
15:02So like I said before,
15:05set way in your left side.
15:06You see, when I said set way in your left side,
15:08you went like this.
15:10Right.
15:10Really set hard into your left side there like that.
15:13Open your left foot up,
15:14because you want to be turning out the way.
15:17But instead of dragging it like this,
15:19let the club do this.
15:24And then you'll get it coming out higher and further.
15:28You see how I've made a big splash there?
15:30Yep.
15:31You lent, pulled across.
15:33Yep.
15:34And your divot was really narrow and thin.
15:36Okay.
15:36And long.
15:37Whereas mine's big, like a dinner plate.
15:41Yep.
15:42And that's because you've pulled through like that,
15:44rather than letting the club come this way.
15:46And then you see, when you let it go like that,
15:48you see how much bounce you allow on the club.
15:50Yep.
15:51And that'll stop it from digging.
15:52See how it's stayed shallow?
15:54Yep.
15:54But I've taken a lot of sand,
15:56because I've used the characteristics of the club
15:59like they were meant to be used.
16:01Yep.
16:01So the worst thing you can do in a bunker
16:04is try and help it out.
16:06Most people think they're helping it out by
16:08getting it in like that quick.
16:09So you either thin it like you did.
16:11Yep.
16:11Or it drops off the club face.
16:14Yep.
16:14Whereas what you want to do is feel like
16:16the club's almost pointing back like this at impact.
16:20That's why mine came out high, but still went a long way.
16:23Well, there you have it.
16:24Lee Westwood has given me some fantastic advice
16:26that I know is going to improve my game.
16:28And I'm certain it's going to help you to shoot lower scores.
16:31Don't forget to like this video
16:32and subscribe to the Golf Monthly YouTube channel.
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