You're Correct!

Many golf courses around the world feature holes which require a high soaring shot over trees to reach a target.

This could be because of an errant tee shot, a slight misjudgement in course management or simply because of an evil course architect! There are a number of ways to get the ball traveling higher through the air but altering technique will allow golfers to increase height whilst maintaining distance. Use this technique to hit the ball higher.

• First of all, be realistic about the challenge you face. Look at the tree height and don’t bite off more than you can chew.
• Once the club has been selected, take a normal stance and alignment to your target.
• Move the ball slightly further forward in your stance. If you are hitting an 8 iron which is normally positioned central in the stance, move the ball an inch further forward.
• Moving the ball further forward will allow the club to come into the ball on a slightly shallower plane, increasing the amount of loft available at impact.
• Also at address, rather than leaning the shaft towards the target and pushing the hands forward, keep the hands level with the ball.
• When striking through the shot, try to stay behind the ball. Shifting the weight onto the front foot will cause a steep angle of attack and a low ball flight.

Although it may be tempting, don’t go for every shot over the trees, especially if you are uncomfortable or not confident about what the result will be. If this is the case, pick the safest route and don’t rack up a huge score.

A steep angle of attack will create a greater amount of back spin; however, the initial starting trajectory will be lower. Don’t be tempted to think that to hit the ball up you should strike down. Altering the technique to produce a shallow swing plane will lift the ball higher than simply producing more back spin.

If you are attempting to hit a shot over trees you need to clear the branches but also achieve enough distance to reach your target. Simply hitting the highest lofted club may not allow this to happen. Practice the above technique to achieve the best combination of height and distance.

As the ball is moved forward in the stance and the dynamic loft increased at impact, to hit the ball high shaping the shot becomes much more difficult. Although a high fade could work very well, players are better suited to focus on purely hitting a high shot rather than shaping the ball as well.