PRO TALK
ALL TERRAIN PRACTICE
PGA Professional, Sam Truman... Working on your game using nothing more than the slopes you’ll find on the golf course
W
e often rely on training aids and swing videos to try and make changes to our golf swings. We often forget that certain scenarios on the golf course can help us work on different parts of our golf game and help you overcome some annoying tendencies in your long game and your short game. In the following section I’m going to take you through two long game drills and two short game drills. LONG GAME DRILLS Ball above the feet drill: To do this drill you either need to venture onto the golf course and hit some shots off of a ball above the feet lie or use a high tee (orange castle tee). This drill is great to work on the following; if you come down too steep
20
on the golf ball and/or if you struggle with your posture at set up and during the swing (too bent over). With the ball being above your feet it helps you naturally swing the club on a flatter plane on the way back and on the way down helping you to come into the ball in a shallower fashion. Be aware of what it feels like to achieve that motion and then try to replicate it on a flat lie. If you struggle to maintain height at set up and during the swing; hitting a ball from a ball above the feet lie will encourage better retention of posture, otherwise if you lose height at any stage there’s a good chance of striking the ground behind the ball. Ball below the feet: Find a sloping lie where the ball sits below the level of your
Ball below feet
feet. If you struggle with early extension this is a great one for you to try. To maintain solid contact with the ball below the feet you have to stay nicely in posture on the way down into
SURREY GOLF MAGAZINE
