What Should I do if I Am Between Clubs? (Video) - by Dean Butler
What Should I do if I Am Between Clubs? (Video) - by Dean Butler

So the question, what should you do if you’re in between clubs? The correct answer is that to take an extra club in and [grid] just slightly down. Imagine your face with your shot, the 8-iron, I think I’m going to get there. 7-iron is going to be too big. So, you’re better off taking the club, the higher club just going down the grid because that gives us a little bit more control than just take the distance off. Remember, it’s better to be slightly longer than shorter. And if you’re always going for the yardage to the center of the green, you’ve always got – if you do go a little bit longer, at least you’ve got the same proportion of green at the back of the flag than at the front. And most of the trouble, when you think about it, most of the trouble in the golf course is at the front. That’s where the bunkers are, that’s where the lake is, and so on.

So, when you’re in between clubs, I would always say, “Go for the extra club, just go down a little bit.” And by going down a shaft a little bit, it’s going to shorten the – that’s going to reduce the width for the swing. What’s the width? So, if I set up with my hands on the top of the club and swing back, I’ve got a big wide arc. If I actually go down that is an exaggeration so you can see it better, and go down, down here, then all of a sudden, you can see the width of the swing is now decreased quite dramatically. And that’s going to change the distance. So, to play these shots, when you’re in between clubs, first of all, don’t play a club and be indecisive and think, “Oh, I’m not sure how to play this.” So, what happens if you don’t commit? You either get over the ball and then come in and decelerate and make a right hash of it or you come in and you get your foot on the gas pedal and hit it too hard and get a flyer. So, take an extra club, go down, set yourself up. And from there, just a nice three quarter swing, nice, easy tempo. You don’t have to force it because you’ve got extra club. And from there, I would say that you’re going to get the vast majority of golf shots now where you were rather than gambling too short, too big. So, you’ve got – as I always said to all my pupils, if you’ve got the information, go and use it. Just do a little bit of practice on this. It is not as hard as you think. It is more psychologically that the battle. Down one inch, set yourself up, three quarter back swing. And from there, just play the golf shot. Lots of control in this shot by the way. So, maybe you want to play this shot into the wind; good technique, confidence, practice. 2014-05-14

So the question, what should you do if you’re in between clubs? The correct answer is that to take an extra club in and [grid] just slightly down. Imagine your face with your shot, the 8-iron, I think I’m going to get there. 7-iron is going to be too big. So, you’re better off taking the club, the higher club just going down the grid because that gives us a little bit more control than just take the distance off. Remember, it’s better to be slightly longer than shorter. And if you’re always going for the yardage to the center of the green, you’ve always got – if you do go a little bit longer, at least you’ve got the same proportion of green at the back of the flag than at the front. And most of the trouble, when you think about it, most of the trouble in the golf course is at the front. That’s where the bunkers are, that’s where the lake is, and so on.

So, when you’re in between clubs, I would always say, “Go for the extra club, just go down a little bit.” And by going down a shaft a little bit, it’s going to shorten the – that’s going to reduce the width for the swing. What’s the width? So, if I set up with my hands on the top of the club and swing back, I’ve got a big wide arc. If I actually go down that is an exaggeration so you can see it better, and go down, down here, then all of a sudden, you can see the width of the swing is now decreased quite dramatically. And that’s going to change the distance.

So, to play these shots, when you’re in between clubs, first of all, don’t play a club and be indecisive and think, “Oh, I’m not sure how to play this.” So, what happens if you don’t commit? You either get over the ball and then come in and decelerate and make a right hash of it or you come in and you get your foot on the gas pedal and hit it too hard and get a flyer.

So, take an extra club, go down, set yourself up. And from there, just a nice three quarter swing, nice, easy tempo. You don’t have to force it because you’ve got extra club. And from there, I would say that you’re going to get the vast majority of golf shots now where you were rather than gambling too short, too big. So, you’ve got – as I always said to all my pupils, if you’ve got the information, go and use it. Just do a little bit of practice on this. It is not as hard as you think. It is more psychologically that the battle. Down one inch, set yourself up, three quarter back swing. And from there, just play the golf shot. Lots of control in this shot by the way. So, maybe you want to play this shot into the wind; good technique, confidence, practice.