Hitting Over Trees

Video Transcript

If you’re in a situation where you’re caught in the trees, there are only a few ways out. You can go under, you can go around them, or you can go over them. If you’re going over, it’s usually a more risky shot. Make sure you have a good lie, that’s the first thing you have to take into consideration. Because if the lie is bad, you’re going to have to go under or around. But if you got a good lie and you’ve got an opening in the trees going over is not a bad play if you’ve got the golf swing to do it. Make sure you get the right golf club in your hand to get over the tree. Once again, when I pick out the club I’m going to use, if I think I can get a 7-iron over the tree, I’ll take an 8-iron just to make sure. If I think it takes a 5-iron to get over the tree, I’ll pick a 6-iron just to make sure. Here’s a little tip I learned from Hank Kuehne, the US Amateur Champion. Using the trees one day, he laid down his club and stood on it and the angle that the club shaft came up was the angle that he felt like the trajectory of the ball would take off at. So here’s an 8-iron, I’m stepping on the face the shaft is up at an angle, it should be just right for getting over this tree in front of me. Put the ball a little forward in your stance, hands back just a little bit. It’s primarily a hands and arms swing with a lot of release of your hands to add loft to the club. Right up over the tree and on the green.

Hank Haney
Hank Haney Golf Ranch
2791 S. Stemmons Freeway
Lewisville, TX 75067
Tel: 972-315-5300

Hank Haney is the instructor to PGA Tour Pros Tiger Woods and Mark O'Meara. He is listed as one of Golf Magazine's Top 100 Teachers and Golf Digest's #4 instructor in the world.

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