Attack Soft Lies and Pine Straw like Fairway Bunkers, Golf (Video) - by Pete Styles
Attack Soft Lies and Pine Straw like Fairway Bunkers, Golf (Video) - by Pete Styles

So now, let us look at one of these shots where you haven’t hit the ball perfectly down the fairway, you put yourself into a little bit of trouble here. You are either in the leaves or the pine straw between the trees or you’ve hit the ball into a very wet spot on the golf course where it is a little bit soggy and a very wet lie. You can actually play these two shots the same way.

The ideal thing here is you cannot hit the ball heavy. You have to try and take ball first, almost try and play it clean, definitely cannot hit the ground early before the golf ball because the pine straw or the wet grounds can cause you problems. Play this like a fairway bunker shot where you have to take the ball cleanly, otherwise the sand would cause you problems.

So, as you are setting up, firstly, if you think about the wet shore, the one in the wet ground, there might be a claim for a casual water-free drop. As you’re setting up to the golf ball, if water is visible on the surface or it puddles up around your feet, call one of your playing partners over. Mention that you are looking for a casual water free drop and you should be able to drop it in the nearest point of relief as long as it is not near the hole.

When you are in the pine straw, you cannot necessarily take relief, but what you can do is clean the pine straw or the leaves away a little bit as long as it doesn’t affect the ball. So, if you move a piece of pine straw and the ball moves, that is going to be a penalty. You can be carefully moving the pine straw away from around your feet, lose impediment that would be okay.

Then, as you set up to play the shot, because your feet will probably sink a little bit, maybe be slightly lower than the ball that might be raised up, just try and choke down on the golf club a little bit. Just to assume that the length of the golf club is going to get shorter; therefore, you are not going to hit the ground too much.

Then, as you make your stroke, avoid trying to lift the ball up into the air because again that would result in a heavy shot where you hit early. Try to make sure you hit down, ball and turf or ball and pine straw. You can hit the turf, you can hit the pine straw but it must be on the far side. So, it is not bad having a good practice swing, but make sure your practice swing is not too near the ball, particularly in the pine straw because if you make a practice next to the ball as normal that could disrupt where the ball sits and again it is penalty shots for that.

So, step back a little bit, make a practice swing, trying to swing into your left-hand side so you are taking plenty of turf after the golf ball then go into the ball, gripping down, shifting into your left-hand side, making sure there is no leaning back and scooping. Hopefully, if you can follow those rules that would definitely help you in the wet lies and in the pine straw as well.

 2012-04-30

So now, let us look at one of these shots where you haven’t hit the ball perfectly down the fairway, you put yourself into a little bit of trouble here. You are either in the leaves or the pine straw between the trees or you’ve hit the ball into a very wet spot on the golf course where it is a little bit soggy and a very wet lie. You can actually play these two shots the same way.

The ideal thing here is you cannot hit the ball heavy. You have to try and take ball first, almost try and play it clean, definitely cannot hit the ground early before the golf ball because the pine straw or the wet grounds can cause you problems. Play this like a fairway bunker shot where you have to take the ball cleanly, otherwise the sand would cause you problems.

So, as you are setting up, firstly, if you think about the wet shore, the one in the wet ground, there might be a claim for a casual water-free drop. As you’re setting up to the golf ball, if water is visible on the surface or it puddles up around your feet, call one of your playing partners over. Mention that you are looking for a casual water free drop and you should be able to drop it in the nearest point of relief as long as it is not near the hole.

When you are in the pine straw, you cannot necessarily take relief, but what you can do is clean the pine straw or the leaves away a little bit as long as it doesn’t affect the ball. So, if you move a piece of pine straw and the ball moves, that is going to be a penalty. You can be carefully moving the pine straw away from around your feet, lose impediment that would be okay.

Then, as you set up to play the shot, because your feet will probably sink a little bit, maybe be slightly lower than the ball that might be raised up, just try and choke down on the golf club a little bit. Just to assume that the length of the golf club is going to get shorter; therefore, you are not going to hit the ground too much.

Then, as you make your stroke, avoid trying to lift the ball up into the air because again that would result in a heavy shot where you hit early. Try to make sure you hit down, ball and turf or ball and pine straw. You can hit the turf, you can hit the pine straw but it must be on the far side. So, it is not bad having a good practice swing, but make sure your practice swing is not too near the ball, particularly in the pine straw because if you make a practice next to the ball as normal that could disrupt where the ball sits and again it is penalty shots for that.

So, step back a little bit, make a practice swing, trying to swing into your left-hand side so you are taking plenty of turf after the golf ball then go into the ball, gripping down, shifting into your left-hand side, making sure there is no leaning back and scooping. Hopefully, if you can follow those rules that would definitely help you in the wet lies and in the pine straw as well.