Tiger Woods has all the shots in the golfing playbook and his demonstration on how to hit shots from 50 yards and in is somewhat impressive.
So many golfers and coaches will tell you that tournaments or matches are won and lost from the shots from 100 yards and in. For all the big hitters in the game, being accurate and brilliant when it comes to getting up and down is massive.
For Woods, this was never a problem over the years. His creativity was one thing but his execution was also near perfect every time.
Indeed, looking back at a PGA TOUR Superstore clip from last year, it’s obvious why Woods was so good.
Tiger Woods’ advice for golfers wanting to hit 50 yard shots better
Being able to pitch the golf ball or get it up in the air from 50 yards and bring it down soft enough on the greens to have a decent putt is huge at any level.
A lot of amateurs struggle with this and realistically, if the ball goes on the green, they’ll be happy.
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However, Tiger Woods has demonstrated what he does and alongside Fred Couples, showed us how to hit a number of shots around the greens.
“I like to play a slight draw, personally, so I’m always aiming slightly right with the face slightly open and then again, closing it at impact,” Woods explained.
“If I want to hit a cut, the opposite shot, I stand closer to it so I’ll hold it against the grain or the hill so I’ll stand closer to it. What people don’t realise is that I’ll shut the face down a little bit. The face is open for the draw and slightly closed for the cut.
“The draw is slower, more ‘armsy’. But wherever I have the golf ball and where I want to start it out at, is where I point the face.”
Woods then went on in the clip to explain more on his technique, demonstrating what his Dad had told him about hitting the ball higher, and also showing how to sling in a more obvious draw on a lower trajectory.
In a nutshell, Woods shows he is an absolute wizard from this range and in the clip, Fred Couples is clearly impressed by his good friend.
What Tiger Woods said amateurs can do to get out of tough lies
This advice from Woods about the 50 yard shot is all well and good but a lot of amateurs will find themselves in trouble as well.
Throughout a round, any amateur will find the rough, the bushes, or be somewhere they never intended to be, often with a tricky lie to compound their misery as well.
Thankfully for us, Woods has also been on hand to help with that as well.
“145 yards out here and it’s so interesting how different Bermuda can be. I’ve got a ball that’s buried in the rough and I have so much grass between the clubhead and the ball. In this lie, even though I have 145 yards out, I can’t get to the green, Woods said for Golf Digest.
“The ball is sitting so far down that I can’t physically generate enough speed to hit it 120 yards, if I get lucky.
“I have a bunker here between myself and the hole, so the spot I’m looking at with this lie is where is my miss going to be? Right is dead, I have no angle so I’m going to play short left.
“With a lie like this, I’m just playing short left of the green, trust my short game to get up and down and move on.
“I can’t get to the back of the golf ball so I’m just going to hit a little bit further behind it, put a lot of speed into it and hopefully steer it more towards the left.
“I’ve always had really tight hands on the golf club, so that doesn’t change. With a lie like this, yes, I will get a bit steeper on it.
“The ball will be a little bit further back and I’m just hitting straight down on top of it and just try and pop it up towards the left side, I’m not even worried about going at the flag.“
Clearly, Woods is a man who knows what he is talking about with any golf shot and for us amateurs, taking on board his advice can only benefit.
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