One of the things all of us are “guilty” of is hitting poor shots because we are trying to hit the ball higher or lower. That causes us to try to change our swings and approach to the ball and ends up often with a poor shot. Even for low handicap players, we just do not get enough practice time to have a full range of shots/swings with each club. Heck, it’s hard enough to get one swing that is reasonably reliable.

But in any round of golf, there are a number of times where you do need to hit the ball lower or higher to negotiate the wind, trees, or what have you. So, let’s examine a much easier way to achieve the goal, using the geometry of the clubs in your bag, instead of trying to “manufacture” some kind of “custom” swing that you really haven’t practiced.

To begin, let’s look at the high shot. The easiest way to get the ball to fly higher is to use a more lofted club, right? But if you are behind a tree, for example, and you need an 8-iron loft, but can’t get an 8-iron all the way to the green, you have other options. The easiest is to just take a 7-iron and lay the face open a few degrees and aim a few yards left of your target. This will give you the loft of an 8-iron, but the longer shaft will give you distance more like a 7. You can even lay open a 6-iron and possibly get the results you need. The key to hitting this shot is to make sure you grip the club with the face open the desired amount, so that it will return to that open position at impact without you having to manipulate your hands. If you do that, your hands will return to their natural position through impact and the face will square. Laying the face open a bit is a very good way to hit high soft approach shots when you are playing firm greens, too.

On the other hand, let’s say a breeze is in your face and you want a lower shot. Too often, golfers try to hit a “punch” shot, and what ends up happening is that you hit down on the ball a bit more and pinch it cleaner, implying more spin and end up with an up-shooter that dies in the wind. A much easier way to lower the trajectory of any iron is to simply take one more club and then grip down one-half inch, so that it’s effective length is the same as the shorter club you were contemplating. Because you have the stronger club in your hands, you will tend to swing smoother, imparting less spin, so that the shot will bore into the wind much better.

Both of these shots can be learned quickly with just a little bit of practice on the range, and it can be fun. During these sessions, try hitting shots with the face open varying amounts and gripping down varying amounts to watch what happens to trajectory and distance. I think you will learn a lot about this game by doing that, and your arsenal of shots to hit more greens will increase dramatically.