It's inevitable that even the best player
is going to find an awkward lie from time to
time. In addition to the scoring benefits of
getting "back in play," there are
other issues to consider. One of those is that
some of golf's most common injuries happen
when trying to hit out of deep rough or
awkward situations. Here, Steve Calechman of
CorePerformance.com takes a look at exercises
to prepare you for any situation, and Laird
Small fo the Pebble Beach Golf Academy
provides some on course strategy.
In the Gym...
Incorporate lateral squats into your
warm-up, quadruped posterior rocking into
your injury prevention routine, and cable chops
and rotational lifts into your strength session.
Lateral squats
You’ll open up the hip muscles and
mimic the extremes of a tough lie and having
to put weight on your front leg, says Anthony
Slater, general manager at Core Performance
Center. Do 2-3 sets of 8 reps as part of your
workout and 1 set of 6-10 reps as movement
prep on the day of a round.
Quadruped posterior rocking
This low-intensity, mobility exercise
will allow you to work your hips independently
from your spine, take stress off your lower
back, and help with balance, all necessary for
dealing with uneven lies, says Slater. Do 2 sets
of 10 reps before you put on your golf shoes.
Half-kneeling stability chops
Chops will challenge your balance by
forcing you to maintain pillar strength while
managing a resistance. They'll also help you
improve the stability needed to channel
more energy into the ball, Slater says. Do 2-3
sets of 8-10 reps.
Standing rotational lifts
You’ll work balance while also
transferring power through your hips.
“You can put more onto the ball, even if
you don’t make the perfect
connection,” Slater says. Do 2-3 sets of
8-10 reps.
On the Course...
1. There’s a reason that
you’re in the rough. You made a
mistake. Don’t compound it by trying a
ridiculous, odds-defying rescue shot. As much
as it hurts, put the ball back in play, take a
stroke if you must, and move on. “You
want to minimize the mistake,” says
Laird Small, director of the Pebble Beach Golf
Academy.
2. Next, consider club selection. You
need loft to extricate yourself from this mess,
more loft than you think is necessary. If you
usually use a 5-iron, go with an 8 or 9. The
combination of standing more vertically and
the heavier head will chop through the turf
better. Play the ball back in your
stance—the club will have to go through
less grass and can meet the ball sooner and
with more force, Small says.
3. Finally, know your target depending on
the lie:
When in a greenside bunker, aim for the
sand in order to carry the ball out on a gritty
cushion. Keep the ball at mid-stance with your
weight on your front leg to not hit the sand
too early and to be able to hit down. Do this
and you’ll avoid hitting the lip or
sending the ball over the green and probably
straight into another bunker, since
that’s how courses are laid out, Small
says.
When you’re in the rough off the
green, you’re not looking at a
complicated stroke. You want the club to
brush the turf. Think of a child’s swing
set—back and through without over-
acceleration. Have a narrower stance to stay
quiet with your weight on your forward leg and
your shoulders parallel to the ground. Take a
few practice swings and let the club do its job
to launch the ball, Small says.
* * *
Steve Calechman is a contributing writer
for CorePerformance.com. Along with being a
contributing editor for Men’s
Health magazine, he’s
written for Natural
Health, Philadelphia,
The Old Farmer’s
Almanac, The Robb Report,
and Women’s
Health magazine.