7 Epic Shots - And How To Play Them | Golf Monthly
In this video Alex Elliott explains how top hit 7 epic shots at the Belfry.
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00:00 Welcome to the legendary Brabazon course here at the Belfry home of four
00:10 Ryder cups. We've teamed up with Callaway and Alex Elliott and I are going to show
00:16 you how to play seven epic shots.
00:20 We're here at the third hole on the Brabazon it's a reachable par 5 so a
00:29 real tempter Alex has got his tee shot quite a way down but as you can see we've
00:34 just slipped over into the rough here so there's a decision to be made. Alex what
00:40 are you thinking right now? I guess there's two options depending on how
00:43 your games going right now you could have started well you might feel
00:46 confident enough to take this on. Other options you've got here is if your games
00:50 not feeling quite good and sometimes we have those days is we could actually lay
00:54 up down this right-hand side but we've seen people play these shots I want to
00:59 take it on right now as well so we're in the rough now with this ball sat down a
01:04 little bit we've got to sort of use a club that's gonna help us get it in the
01:08 air out the fairway we could probably get away with those long irons the
01:11 four iron potentially something around there but 190 yards out I'm thinking
01:16 hybrid help me get that ball in the air a little bit of help is all I need here.
01:20 Great stuff right so you've decided you're going for it yes we've got the
01:24 hybrid talk us through the technique of how you're going to play this shot. So I
01:28 guess there's sort of a feeling I want people to use it I sort of kind of teach
01:32 along sort of the feeling route so ball positions really key let's make sure
01:37 we've got the ball in the correct position and the feeling through the
01:39 shot I want people to attach this very close to an iron shot let's not try and
01:44 help it in the air let's try and feel that we get a little bit of a downwards
01:47 hit and on a downwards lie as well that's really really important so in
01:51 terms of ball position what I really like to see for golfers of the hybrid is
01:55 a club head inside the left heel probably where they're going to attach
01:58 their longer irons or potentially like a firewood or three wood but then the
02:03 feeling through the hit and I do this for every single shot on the golf course
02:07 make a few practice swings just inside the ball looking where I want to contact
02:12 that ground so I'm really looking to sort of brush that grass in front not
02:16 sort of get a feeling of scooping it up into the air and I mean I think it's
02:22 amazing you see some of the best plays on tour do this they do exaggerated
02:26 feelings relative to their swing thoughts from the coach but also
02:30 relative to the shot that they've got absolutely all right there we go so
02:33 we've got take a hybrid to help you get it up in the air make sure you're aware
02:38 of that ball position and make sure you get down into it with that
02:41 exaggerated feel you've talked us through it I've talked a bit game you've
02:44 talked it up now let's see it in action okay so here we go work for your routine
02:50 take on one of these shots and we all know our playing partners will enjoy it
02:54 just as much as us if we get it on
02:58 oh that looks pretty go a little
03:08 so you're up around the green chip and a pop for a birdie epic shots call for
03:18 epic locations and it does not get any more epic or iconic than the 10th hole
03:25 here on the Brabazon course at the Belfry look at that behind me we can all
03:30 remember Sebi Ballesteros being the first man to knock it on there the
03:33 amazing Ryder Cup moments we've seen you're here you stood on the tee what's
03:39 the thought process about how you're going to tackle this incredible golf
03:42 hole I think first and foremost if you're here you want to have a go don't
03:45 you yes you just want to have a go I think if we look at this logically we've
03:49 got a sort of put it in that category of it's just another drive now I know it's
03:53 not I know it's not but if we're gonna hit our drive our best and give
03:58 ourselves our best opportunity of getting it nail getting it on I think if
04:02 we stick to sort of three simple rules yep good alignment try and put some good
04:08 rhythm on it and in your head really try and hone in on the target rather than a
04:14 wide open fairway so triple track ball what I would do in terms of like my
04:19 routine and actually not just for this hole I'd do this on every single hole
04:23 I'd always stand behind yep and place my lines down towards target so I know
04:31 straight away I'm aligned to where I want to be yep second I'm gonna take my
04:35 stance build my stance around that honing on my target rather than looking
04:41 at wide open space so in this case a very tight front flag and now all I want
04:47 you to picture is can you be balanced yep because this would be very easy for
04:52 any golf of any level just to give it a little bit more because of the situation
04:56 and think can I get it there so be balanced and try and not make it more
05:00 than it is and just on shot shape obviously most amateur golfers and
05:04 certainly myself included we play with a fade yeah verging on a slice at time
05:08 that suits this perfectly so let's roll with it let's go with it set up allowing
05:14 for that shape taking it into the hole and if we're honest if we hit a good one
05:17 it does leak a little bit right we might get a friendly bounce off the tree and
05:20 end up on the green well let's see how lucky we're feeling today hopefully very
05:24 so ball down keep checking your target checking your alignment build your
05:30 stance around those lines on the ball last thing be balanced
05:38 that looks pretty good oh if that's the right leg oh there you go
05:52 epic moments epic shots we're on the 17th another beautiful hole here it's a
06:04 par 5 it's reachable every chance to go for it in two from here Alex but just
06:09 one problem those branches are overhanging but you've got to go for it
06:13 right 100% I think this is a great situation risk and a bit of reward here
06:17 or what a reward where the green set with it sort of funneling with those
06:21 bunkers it sort of lends itself to that ball landing short running up towards
06:25 that flag if we can pull it off so with that in mind we've got to play a punch
06:29 shot essentially under these branches and running up onto the green explain
06:34 to us how we do that so the first thing we've got to sort of go for is the the
06:38 lowest lofted club in our back now for some people this may be a six iron some
06:42 people it could be upwards of a three iron we've got a three iron here so I'm
06:46 gonna choose my three iron if you've got a six iron five iron just choose your
06:49 least lofted club so we're going to control a few things here how much we
06:54 hit down on the golf ball and the loft the golf club has an impact also we
06:58 could put speed into that mix as well so we want to feel as though we're gonna
07:02 hit more down and reduce our loft now there's a lot of these things that we
07:06 can do at the address position so let's work through in sort of like a five
07:10 stage map as I kind of like to think it so first off let's grip down that golf
07:15 club it's gonna help us control the speed second we're gonna build our
07:20 stance with that ball towards the back of our stance number three can we get a
07:25 little bit of weight on our left side yep number four I always like to do this
07:29 without going too much into detail we need to make sure that we're bodies
07:33 aiming a little bit left because we're hitting it early in our arc so aim a
07:37 little bit left with that body and then the fifth point try and put a smooth
07:41 three-quarter swing on it all these factors help us control angle attack
07:45 help us control the loft of the club and hopefully see that ball fizz out nice
07:49 and low great stuff let's see it in action let's go so I think as we've
07:54 spoken about throughout this whole series it's having a routine that you
07:56 can stick to on these shots so pick the target I'm gonna walk in gripping down
08:01 on that golf club place that golf club down ball slightly back in the stance
08:06 weight left now we're in a position to go
08:11 very nice chasing up in between the bunkers onto the putting surface you've
08:21 got an eagle putt
08:24 we're on the 15th another beautiful hole here Alex has hit a very very rare bad
08:33 shot you've got yourself in a little bit of trouble you're short-sighted yeah
08:38 there's a big old yawning bunker in front of you what are you gonna do to
08:42 save your par from here well I think there's only one thing to do in the flop
08:45 shot big high flop shot we're thinking Phil Mickelson style 100% like it's
08:51 almost like a lot the hero shot it comes off good you're here if it doesn't it
08:55 can make you look a little bit of a fool so what are you assessing to decide
08:58 whether you can carry that off I think the most important thing to do is I
09:01 always work it from the ball to target like a ball to target line so I'd have a
09:05 look at my lie I think if we're gonna hit this flop shot you want that grass
09:09 just to be cushioning that ball up a little bit on a bear lie we might have
09:13 to look at a different option I then would walk around this bunker and
09:16 probably walk to where I want to land it yep because you get a good
09:19 understanding take this hole here for example we've got a bit of a backstop
09:22 not a lot of green between the fringe and the flag so assessing it going to
09:27 where your target is and you can get a full good understanding of where you
09:30 want to hit that ball to great stuff so we're gonna go for the most lofted wedge
09:34 in the bag how are you how are you setting up for this one if I keep it
09:41 really nice and simple bunker shot is all I'm sort of thinking so I would walk
09:46 through a routine so I'd place that club down with the face open on the ground I
09:51 would then take my hold if you look at that there kit like my hold to me is
09:55 relatively neutral yeah but relative to the club face the club face is really
09:58 really open and then place that club down behind the back of the golf ball
10:02 and for a lot of people now it would be a bit of a scary situation that club
10:06 face looks like it's pointing a little bit to the right but we'll correct that
10:08 in a second so then take a nice wide stance with the ball just favoring the
10:14 left half yep and then this is the key thing here you sitting down a little bit
10:18 and getting the weight a little bit left actually will get that loft pointing
10:22 somewhat to target I want you to actually work through a different sort
10:27 of feeling in release I want you to imagine there's a little smiley face on
10:30 that club face as you're swinging through can you point it back at you
10:34 rather than most people would release a club like this we want to feel a little
10:39 bit more of an element of this make sure you take a few practice swings get used
10:44 to the lie as well you've got to get used to that club working through the
10:48 grass picture how much force you've got to put into it because I think the hard
10:53 thing for most amateur golfers and club golfers is it requires a lot more
10:56 speed than you think yeah so place your club down take your hold ball up in your
11:02 stance sit down a little bit mirror that loft back at you
11:08 very soft catch it on the right level and that is a very makeable par putt
11:22 it's the tricky 16th now we've got an approach but it's a difficult one we all
11:28 know how tough it is to be good from fairway bunkers you're in one right here
11:33 Alex that pin is tucked what are you going to do I think again it's like
11:38 we've had in this whole series have a little bit of a formula for these big
11:41 epic shots so first and foremost have a look at the lie because if this is not
11:46 lying well we can get a bit of a clump of sand behind it sometimes even get a
11:49 fried egg here we've got to take our punishment and just just take it out the
11:53 bunker and use a most lofted club then I'd have a look at the side profile how
11:57 quick have I got to get this ball up over the lip because how many times do
12:03 we think yeah you know what I can get a six iron get a five iron out of it leave
12:07 it in the bunker double bogey staring us back in the face so we go lie we look at
12:12 the side profile I then choose a club so I've got 135 here this is probably a
12:17 comfortable nine iron for me but I'm gonna go wedge I'd rather get this ball
12:22 out come up short and I've got a chance of making a bogey at worst if I again if
12:26 I leave it in here we're talking making some big scores so then take a nice
12:32 normal hold I wouldn't change too much on that I tend to go with my wedges
12:36 anyway in the middle and an even amount of grip at the top of the bottom normal
12:41 ball position and this is where it differs from what we would have as a
12:44 traditional bunker shot we usually screw our feet right into the sand we're
12:49 staring a fat shot so I think we want to sort of make sure we've got a compacted
12:55 bit of sand under us so we've got a stable base so our final point is then
12:59 pick out a little bit of a mark in front of the ball make sure the legs stay a
13:02 little bit quieter through the shot and really focus on trying to hit down on
13:07 the ball not get it in the air and just one other point are we doing anything
13:11 with the ball position here to encourage that we make sure we get contact on that
13:15 little white sphere before the side you might want to put it a little bit
13:18 further back in your stance I mean with a wedge traditionally you're gonna have
13:21 it sort of towards the back of your stance anyway if you're on a bit further
13:25 away taking more like a 7-iron 8-iron you might want to put it half a ball to a ball
13:29 back in your stance brilliant let's see you take it on if you can get it close
13:32 to that pin that really is an epic shot it's a tight flag so a little bit of
13:36 digging keep the legs nice and quiet
13:40 beautiful contact
13:45 a little bit short but I've not turned in this situation into a double bogey
13:51 give yourself a chance to save your part
13:55 here we are on the 18th tee at the Brabazon it's a beautiful golf hole but
14:05 what an intimidating shot sometimes you just have to take it on and when there's
14:10 water lurking short and you know the more you bail out the more difficult
14:15 that second shot is going to be this is one of those moments isn't it Alex
14:19 definitely like you said there you bail out right you're probably laying up for
14:23 your second here yeah so how are we going about hitting that absolute bomb
14:28 off the tee well we've got to stand up and deliver that's first and foremost
14:31 and we'd go with driver here definitely so I would tend to have in my golf game
14:36 and as I go through a round I've sort of three different tee heights my low one
14:41 if it's a little bit of a chippier one into the wind my medium one one which I
14:45 sort of class as my fairway finder and then what I call is my bombs away tee
14:50 height so what I look for here is as I'm addressing the golf ball he's actually
14:57 having half a ball above the face I tend not to have this I sort of a quarter
15:02 usually on like my fairway finder shot so first and foremost half a ball above
15:06 the face and I want to address the ball ball up in the stance that's really
15:10 really key and just remind yourself check what you could do nice and simply
15:14 address it in the middle of your stance with your feet together just turn your
15:18 left toe out move your right foot away I know right away I've got that ball in
15:22 the correct position next point can I make sure my shoulders are actually
15:27 feeling as though they're parallel to my feet line a lot of golfers ball up in
15:32 the stance sort of get a little bit this way and all this is going to encourage
15:35 sort of this motion if you think about it logically if you get behind it we've
15:40 got a better chance of this upwards hit and finally I call that my gears sort of
15:45 theory most of the drives that I hit sort of fairway finders sort of gear 4
15:49 in our car this one we've got to step up we've got to go gear 5 so we've got to
15:54 feel like we've got to be balanced yeah but we give it just that little bit more
15:57 absolutely well this is a new tee box here for the British Masters you are the
16:03 first person to hit a ball off it so no pressure I feel it let's give it the
16:08 bombs away so walk in right shoulder back gear 5 with some balance
16:17 a bit of turn on that as well so the line here is trying to start at the
16:24 bunker and if you do get it to turn on that left edge you're absolutely in the
16:28 perfect position perfect so aggressive off the tee committing to it nailed it
16:33 and now you've set yourself up for that iconic approach into the 18th here at
16:37 the Belfry here we are in the fairway then at the 18th and what an epic shot
16:50 you are faced with right now Alex we've got the plaque down there from Christy
16:54 O'Connor's magical to on in that Ryder Cup fortunately to on isn't one of the
17:00 options we need today with all the technology at our disposal we've got a
17:04 few options here you can go hybrid long iron perhaps even a lofted fairway wood
17:09 what are you going to do from this position I'm gonna go three iron
17:13 notoriously a probably difficult club for most club golfers and for a couple
17:19 of reasons really and if I don't quite get it I know I've got the cover over
17:23 the water and if I hit my Sunday best I'm not gonna go long so that middle of
17:28 the road sort of club for me there I think if it went a little bit longer
17:30 back edge downhill chip don't like the fancy that one no you don't want that
17:35 using that long line though that brings the microscope onto your ball striking
17:40 as amateurs we can often struggle when we get into those long irons yeah I
17:44 think we look down on it we don't see a lot of loft on the club nine times out
17:48 of ten get a little bit thinny in that right shot and that's certainly in a lot
17:52 of wet trouble right here so I think if we just think of three simple things and
17:56 these can be thought of off the golf ball number one ball position number two
18:02 can we feel that club is traveling a little bit lower through impact rather
18:07 than trying to scoop this ball up high and the final one sort of ties into that
18:12 second one and I would simply make some movements I mean if we look at all the
18:16 top tour players we mentioned this in the series before of having a feeling to
18:19 take into a shot most club golfers a little bit faded so I would really try
18:24 and feel we have this sort of long right arm feeling and this released down
18:30 towards target so make some little practice motion just like this without a
18:35 golf club and you're getting a great feeling and nine times out of ten this
18:39 will probably send it dead straight we've got the pin tucked away there on
18:43 the top of the three tiers yeah this is your moment I think the pressure show us
18:48 something epic come on you've got this walking in ball position I want to feel
18:53 it's a club head and sort of on the right edge of this club head here on the
18:56 heel side inside my left heel down mirror that feeling hit it away
19:05 oh what a strike that is if that is the right club it's up there on the back to
19:14 you I think you might have about six foot that is a truly epic golf shot there
19:21 we have it that is how to hit seven epic shots here at the Belfry I hope you
19:27 enjoyed those tips from Alex next time you're on the course and you're faced
19:31 with one of those situations do what he said and you'll have some epic shots of
19:36 your own thanks for watching
19:40 you
19:42 you
19:44 you
19:46 (upbeat music)