How to Hit a Golf Ball Over Trees (Video) - by Pete Styles
How to Hit a Golf Ball Over Trees (Video) - by Pete Styles

Now somebody far clever than I am told me that trees are 90% air. But if you've hit the trees as often as I am on the golf course, you'll start to doubt about that. And particularly if you find yourself in a difficult position where you've crossed over the trees, you're maybe on the wrong fairway, you've got to hit back over the top of the trees and get it back on the green. You'll start to question whether that's 90% air that you're looking at as well.

And certainly hitting your golf ball through a tree is a fast way for a very unpredictable result where it could bounce and ricochet every different which way. So your options are do we go under the trees, do we go around the trees or do we go try and go over them? Now if you've ruled out the under and the around methods just because they're not suitable. You're left with trying to go back over the trees. Now the options to go back over the trees generally, you're going to take a plenty of loft in your golf club. So don’t try and get a bit cute and try and hit it a long way. Just get it back over the trees and get it back in play if you can do.

So a nice lofted club to start with. Maybe something like a pitch and wedge or nine-nine. Then play the golf ball a little bit more towards your left instep. Playing the ball toward your left instep will make sure that the club hits the ball with the most amount of loft it can. Anything that's played more towards your right instep is going to de-loft the golf club and force the ball a bit too low. So we're going to play it nicely towards the left instep here. Keeping plenty of loft on the club face. But now as we hit down, it's really important we don’t try and help that ball up even further because that's going to result in a fat or a thin shot which will struggle for height or a distance. So it's still imperative that we make a really good conscious effort to hit right down under the golf ball. So very important, we make a good solid strike, stay down with the ball, don’t get attempts to look up too early. Once you've hit down on the back of the golf ball then have a little sneaky peak up and hopefully the ball is sailing straight over the top.

So to start with, weigh up your options. Can I go under or around? If you've got to go over, take plenty of loft in the club. Play the ball nicely forward in the stance. But then make sure you stay focused on hitting down. And you don’t try and help the ball up. And hopefully when you're in that position behind the trees, using that technique will help you get back on to the right side of the fairway and improve your score.

 2012-05-08

Now somebody far clever than I am told me that trees are 90% air. But if you've hit the trees as often as I am on the golf course, you'll start to doubt about that. And particularly if you find yourself in a difficult position where you've crossed over the trees, you're maybe on the wrong fairway, you've got to hit back over the top of the trees and get it back on the green. You'll start to question whether that's 90% air that you're looking at as well.

And certainly hitting your golf ball through a tree is a fast way for a very unpredictable result where it could bounce and ricochet every different which way. So your options are do we go under the trees, do we go around the trees or do we go try and go over them? Now if you've ruled out the under and the around methods just because they're not suitable. You're left with trying to go back over the trees. Now the options to go back over the trees generally, you're going to take a plenty of loft in your golf club. So don’t try and get a bit cute and try and hit it a long way. Just get it back over the trees and get it back in play if you can do.

So a nice lofted club to start with. Maybe something like a pitch and wedge or nine-nine. Then play the golf ball a little bit more towards your left instep. Playing the ball toward your left instep will make sure that the club hits the ball with the most amount of loft it can. Anything that's played more towards your right instep is going to de-loft the golf club and force the ball a bit too low. So we're going to play it nicely towards the left instep here. Keeping plenty of loft on the club face. But now as we hit down, it's really important we don’t try and help that ball up even further because that's going to result in a fat or a thin shot which will struggle for height or a distance. So it's still imperative that we make a really good conscious effort to hit right down under the golf ball. So very important, we make a good solid strike, stay down with the ball, don’t get attempts to look up too early. Once you've hit down on the back of the golf ball then have a little sneaky peak up and hopefully the ball is sailing straight over the top.

So to start with, weigh up your options. Can I go under or around? If you've got to go over, take plenty of loft in the club. Play the ball nicely forward in the stance. But then make sure you stay focused on hitting down. And you don’t try and help the ball up. And hopefully when you're in that position behind the trees, using that technique will help you get back on to the right side of the fairway and improve your score.