ABBREVIATED-SWING LIE: STRIP DOWN YOUR ACTION

Whenever a tree or some other immovable object is too close and you fear you might strike it, it’s going to have a psychological effect on how you play the ball. It looks like Daniel Berger had enough clearance from this tree off the ninth hole to make somewhat of a normal swing, but a lefty wouldn’t have been as fortunate.

When facing a lie where you have to manufacture some sort of abbreviated swing to advance the ball, or the lie is suspect as it is here for Daniel, you’ve got to strip down your swing to ensure you hit the ball solidly. Footwork is the first thing to adjust: Your lower body should feel like it’s relatively quiet throughout the swing, like you’re flat-footed. You also can see that Daniel has gripped down on the club quite a bit. That’s also an adjustment for more control.

Other things to consider are to take an extra club and swing at less-than-full pace. Again, all of this is to make sure you hit it as cleanly as you can. Daniel appears to be making a steep downswing into the ball, and he’s playing it farther back in his stance than normal. Both of those adjustments will help you get ball-first contact — anything less than that and the shot will go nowhere.

IN-JAIL LIE: AIM SMALL

There’s a lot going on in this photo of Rory McIlroy trying to knock it down toward the second green with a fairway wood (below). What I want to focus on is the escape aspect of his play. You’ve likely encountered opportunities where not only can you get the ball back in play, you also can pick up some yardage. It comes with a catch, however. You’ve got to put the ball through a “window”, and if you miss that opening, you’re probably playing your next shot from a worse spot than you’re currently in.

So how do the pros make these thread-the-needle shots look so easy? For starters, their swing thought isn’t: Don’t hit the tree. Players like Rory are very conscious of their shot’s starting point. They see it beforehand and commit to making it happen.

The mistake you might make is to try to guide the ball through the opening. You have to instead select a very small window, and then make a full swing that isn’t steery in appearance. Don’t look up too quick. Finish the swing. One more thought: Try picturing a bull’s eye between the obstacles in front of you and put all your focus on it, not where you don’t want the ball to go.

OFF-BALANCE CHIPPING LIE: SIMULATE IT FIRST

Around the greens you sometimes have to make adjustments to your stance and swing to get the ball on the putting surface. That was nearly the case for Jordan Spieth on the par-5 15th when he had to play from a steep bank next to the hole’s famous pond (right). Jordan was lucky that he didn’t have to stand with his right foot way lower than his left, but it’s worth discussing what to do when one foot is dramatically higher than the other.

Getting your feet in a position where you feel balanced is important, but so is trying to simulate the shot you’re about to hit. Experiment with different stances, trying to identify the one that feels most comfortable. When you have it, step away from the ball, find a spot where you can closely recreate the scenario, then make practice swings to get a feel for the shot. Now step back in and hit the shot with this newfound familiarity. Jordan’s not trying to do anything fancy here — nor should you. Take your chances that your putter can bail you out rather than going for the hero short-game shot.