Golf Tips: Practice Tough Lies

The practice routines of most amateur golfers will result in almost no benefit and no improvement of their scores or shots.  Those routines typically consist of loosening up, then hitting a full bucket of drivers.  While hitting big long drives is a fun part of the game, driving is a fraction of the round.  Think about it.  A typical par-72 course has at most 14 driving holes.  A player who shoots bogey golf will hit a driver one sixth of the total shots! Now that you're ready to put the driver away and practice some other beneficial shots, what are some good ideas or plans for the range?  First let's think about what happens on the course.  The only guaranteed good lie (the way the ball sits on the ground) is on the tee.  From that point on there is no guarantee the ball will be sitting perfectly, even if it is in the fairway.  There may be divots in the fairway, or uneven areas which put the ball above or below our feet. Next time you practice on the range, trie a bunch of different lies and situations to prepare for those unpredictable situations on the course.  Throw some balls down in the deeper grass outside of the closely mown grass of the driving range. Practice hitting shots buried deep in grass.  Practice hitting shots where the ball sits above and below your feet. When practicing get creative with all the possible situations you may find on the course so when those unpredictable bad lies happen, you'll have confidence you can succeed and pull off the right shot.