AmatoTips

 UPHILL LIE 1-extra club

Set body perpendicular to the slope. Play ball forward in your stance. Avoid swaying down the slope on the Backswing. Then on the downswing you must force yourself to shift your weight toward the target. Swing arms with less body turn.

DOWN HILL LIE 1-less club

Set body perpendicular to the slope, play ball back in your stance with a little more weight on back foot. Stay down and chase club head down the slope. Swing arms and hands with less turning of your body.

SIDE HILL Ball above feet

Stand closer to ball, weight on toes, and choke down on club, straight posture. .Ball direction will tend to come out more to downhill side, aim a little toward uphill side. Try to keep back foot on ground through impact.

SIDE HILL Ball below feet

Take a wider stance than normal, weight back on heels, get down to shot, flex knees. Hold club as close to end of grip as possible. Ball direction will tend to come out more toward downhill side, aim a little toward uphill side. Try to keep back foot on ground through impact.

PITCHING IN AIR MORE THAN ROLL 60deg.-8 iron

Narrow your stance slightly open to target line. Shoulder and club face square. Position ball just forward of middle in your feet, hands comfortably ahead. Approximately 60 per cent of your weight is on your left side. Flex your knees and push gently toward the target. Take shoulders and arms back together, allow wrist to hinge up. Maintain swing plane to ball and weight on forward foot throughout the swing.

PITCH AND RUN wedge-9 iron

Stand almost square to target line, ball back in stance, weight on forward foot, hands ahead of ball, light grip pressure. Take club back with arms and torso. As you swing through the shot encourage your right arm over your left, therefore toe of club is closing as ball is struck, causing it the ball to run.

LOB HIGH SOFT SHOT pitch, sand or 60.deg

Play only with good lie and cushion under ball. Stand with lower and upper body open to target. (For regular pitch shots, only lower body is open) Aim clubface to right. (Lay open) position ball forward in your stance, weight evenly distributed. Make a slow lengthy arm swing with dead feeling hands as clubface swings thru to high finish.

CHIPPING MORE ROLL THAN AIR sand wedge 6 iron

Narrow your open stance, ball back of center, more weight on forward foot. Strengthen left hand (turn slightly to the right of normal position on grip), showing three knuckles on back of left hand). Keeping weight on left side, take club back with torso and arms, then move forward smoothly with knees and slight turning motion of your body back of left wrist must remain firm as you accelerate thru ball. Follow through must be relatively short.

CHIPPING LIKE YOU PUTT 9-6 iron

Set up same as your putting, but play ball back in your stance, inside right foot. Hands and weight favoring left side and spread your elbows. Club is held almost vertical so the heel is raised off the ground, therefore you must stand closer to the ball. Toe of club will contact ball which helps to deaden and control roll of the chip. Page 2 Compiled by D. Amato

BUNKER GREENSIDE Sand wedge

Set body approximately 30 deg. open to target. Weight evenly distributed. Club face open, square to target. Ball forward in stance, flex knees and shuffle feet into sand. Swing club smoothly back along line of your toes. Hinge wrists. On downswing, enter sand two or three inches behind ball. Accelerate club head through sand. Longer bunker shots hit closer to ball with more speed and longer follow thru.

BUNKER FAIRWAY Irons-Woods

Square stance, shuffle feet into sand. Slightly roll feet inward for stability. Ball back in stance, choke down on grip. Control swing with your arms and shoulders. The less active your legs are, the more chance you have to hit the ball solidly. Above all, concentrate on staying down and pick the ball cleanly.

BUNKER BURIED LIE Sand wedge

Square stance, more weight on forward foot. Toe the clubface slightly in, left of target. Pick club up with a sharp wrist break on the backswing. Swing club head smoothly into sand. Make contact just behind the ball with very little follow through. Allow for plenty of roll on green.

BUNKER DOWN SLOPE Sand wedge

Adjust address position to suit slope. Body perpendicular, shoulders parallel with Slope. Most weight on down slope leg. Widen stance, shuffle feet in sand. Play ball back in stance. Cock wrists up on backswing, chase club down slope, thru sand with short follow through. Ball will come out low, allow for roll.

BUNKER UP SLOPE Sand wedge

Adjust address position to suit slope. Body perpendicular, shoulders parallel with slope. Most weight on down slope leg. Widen stance, shuffle feet in sand. Play the ball forward in your stance. Choke down on grip. Trace contour of slope, back and through the sand to a high finish. Ball will fly high and stop quickly.

PUTTING SET UP

Shoulder-controlled, pendulum-type stroke is the most effective for consistent putting. Take a comfortable wide stance, flex your knees, and feel that your weight favors your left side a little. Elbows relaxed and spread to a point where your upper arms rest lightly on your rib cage. Eyes directly over or slightly inside the ball and target line. The ball itself should be opposite your left eye. Aim putter, forearms, shoulders and eyes parallel to target line. Grip; protect yourself against any unwanted hinging in left wrist. (Right hand player) hold putter so shaft runs high across the palm of left hand, resting against fleshy pad below thumb. Then close your hand draping your left index fingers over the fingers of you right hand. (Right hand player) this is called a "reverse-overlap" grip. Both thumbs are in line on top of putter grip. Grip pressure should be light and tension free through out swing.

PUTTING STROKE

Hands, arms and shoulders form a triangle, which produces a one piece pendulum stroke. Shoulders control the motion from the start to finish while the hands remain passive. Focus on keeping left hand firm thru stroke. With the pendulum stroke the tempo should always remain constant. The length of stroke varies to the length of putt. Do not move head during stroke.