5 Steps To Up And Down

By Jeff Ritter, Director, Pala Mesa Advanced School

1.      Swing Length

A key to any well-executed golf shot is a golf club that smoothly accelerates through the impact area.  The key to acceleration, as well as maintaining a consistent rhythm is matching the length of the swing on both sides of the ball.  It’s important when learning finesse shots to experience and understand that the length of the backswing dictates how far the ball will travel.  Practice to targets such as towels, starting close then working farther out.  See how in order to increase your distance, you must gradually grow your swing longer.  Consistent practice to specific targets will really help you dial in the exact swing size you need on the course.

2.      Small Muscle Relaxation

Small muscles are considered the muscles of the hands and arms.  Far too often, players tense up these muscle groups in finesse situations.  Remember, finesse shots are “soft” controllable shots around the green, so you need “soft” hands to get the results that you want.  Imagine a scale running from 3 to 10, where 10 is the tightest.   Find a hand and arm pressure of about 3, to build small muscle relaxation.

3.      Body Motion

The body plays a vital role in finesse shots.  In order to be consistent you must allow your body to turn, or pivot in response to the swinging club.  The key is determining the proper amount.  As a drill, toss some balls underhanded to the green close range.  Notice how in a rhythmic throw, your arm will swing as your legs and feet help a little.  Take this same feeling to your golf swing.  Keep in mind, the amount of body on the backswing is minimal compared to the amount on the follow through.

4.      Rhythm

Rhythm is the glue that holds your swing together.  Picture the rhythm of a swinging pendulum on a grandfather clock.  One, two, tick-tock, back, through!  In practice, count out a rhythm as you swing to build a smooth repeatable pace.

5.      Ball Position

In the finesse game, creating different contacts and trajectories requires different ball positions.  When faced with a finesse situation, imagine the kind of flight you want to create, and then select the appropriate shot, club and corresponding ball position.  As a general rule, play the ball more toward your back foot on lower shots.  Conversely, play the ball in the center for shots that need height.  A bunker shot will be played a little forward of center to ensure that the club contacts the sand first, which is a basic principle of sand play.