You now find yourself near the green but unfortunately there is a tree in front of you, blocking your way. What would you do here? You could certainly try to push the ball forward with a low punch shot but what if there was a greenside bunker blocking your way as well? It now looks like you are going to have to try and send your golf ball high over the tree and onto the green.
Use the tips below to review how to confidently hit a high golf shot over a tree.
We’ll cover how successfully hitting the ball high over a tree requires you to resist natural tendencies that might see you trying to will the ball into the air. Indeed, golfers in this situation will often position the ball forward in their stance, place their weight back and try to scoop the ball in the air. What happens as a result of the golf swing error is a thin or fat shot onto more trouble.
Key Objective
Get the ball high in the air as soon as possible
Avoid mishits such as thin or fat shots
Use Most Lofted Club
In order to send the ball on a very high trajectory over a short distance you will need to use one of your most lofted clubs. We are talking here about wedges.
If you are close enough to the green you might want to select your most lofted club which in many cases might be your lob wedge.
Usually with a loft of more than 56 degrees, your lob wedge is built to send the ball very high and very quickly. That means that you will be able to clear that tree blocking you from the green.
Ball in the Center of your Stance
Resist the urge to position the ball forward in your stance in order to add more loft in your club.
Indeed, placing the ball forward in your stance results in your club hitting the ball later in the swing arc which theoretically adds more loft to the club.
But it also invites the possibility of hitting the ball thin where the leading edge of the club will strike the ball on the side. It can even invite the opposite of a thin shot in the dreaded fat shot.
Instead, position the ball in the center of you stance, as you normally should whenever using a wedge with a full swing.
Body Weight Forward
The final tendency to resist is that of placing your weight towards your back foot.
Combined with placing the ball forward, moving your weight back is a tendency golfers make in order to try and swoop from underneath the golf ball. This scooping swing error might work for very specific shots in a fluffy lie but it is a high risk shot best attempted only when conditions allow.
Position your weight forward instead of moving it back.
Trust the Loft in your Club
Finally, it’s now time to make it all happen. Now that your setup and address position is perfect you can now execute your golf swing and hit the ball.
And the swing thought to remember here is to hit down on the ball. Again, don’t try to scoop or will the ball into the air by flipping your wrists and trying to flop the shot.
Instead, trust the loft in your club and trust that it is sufficient and able to send the ball high and quick. Perform your confident swing and watch the ball fly over the tree and onto the green.
Tips for Tree Trouble
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