Instruction
How to plan your escape when faced with trouble
The average 18-hole score for amateurs continues to stay near 100 for numerous reasons. One thing that shouldn’t be getting in the way? Decision making. Amateur golfers seem to make the incorrect decisions time and time again. I’ve conducted numerous golf schools, clinics and hundreds of playing lessons, and I continue to see the same mistakes.
Let’s use trouble shots for example. Most often I see amateur golfers make poor decisions when trying to get out of trouble. They most often choose the incorrect escape plan by either choosing the wrong club, the wrong route and/or the wrong type of shot.
Let’s go further and use the punch shot from the trees as an example. Most amateurs would select the wrong route, with a club that has too much loft and execute the wrong type of swing.
Look at the picture below. How do you go about choosing the correct escape plan?
The first thing you have to do is choose a route. From the looks of this situation, the shot must be focused around a low trajectory. You have to eliminate any possibility or thought about hitting a lofted shot because there is only trouble in the air.
You can see I have shown three different options. I think it’s imperative to look at three options and choose the best/smartest one.
Option 1: Conservative, but smart. Branches are higher and trees are farther apart, which means there’s less of a chance to “connect with wood.” The only downfall to this option is that you may actually lose yardage rather than move the ball toward the hole.
Option 2: Slightly more risky. This one is more of a gamble than the first option due to the low-hanging trees, but you can pick up some distance. There is also a wider area of fairway available.
Option 3: Both risky and aggressive. There’s a very narrow gap to hit through with the lowest over-hanging branches. You can pick up the most yardage, but this shot could also be the most problematic.
Let’s choose Option 2, as it allows you to gain some yardage, but guarantees a clear view at the hole for your next shot.
Next, you must choose the correct club to hit along with the proper swing to make. Since we know that the goal is to hit a low-trajectory shot, we can eliminate all options between the lob wedge and 6 iron. For most of us that means we are left with a 5 iron and a 4 iron. You can use either. Now, in order to hit a low shot, you must set up correctly and make the appropriate swing.
Here’s how to do it
1. Place your feet closer together with the ball centered to slightly back in stance.
2. Choke down on the club an inch or two for control.
3. Take a half swing with a low follow through.
Now that you know what to do, swing away with some confidence and get the ball back into play!
So let’s review. Next time you find yourself in a difficult situation, follow these steps below to come up with your own escape plan:
- Determine your options and possible trajectories of the ball flight.
- Choose the option that allows you to advance the ball forward, but guarantees a clear view at the hole for your next shot.
- Choose the appropriate club to hit the intended shot. Don’t use a lofted club to hit a low shot. I promise it won’t work.
- Set up correctly to hit the anticipated shot.
- Make the correct swing. Don’t always take a full swing, and control the length of your swing for different types of shots.
There may be no more painful affliction in golf than the “yips” – those uncontrollable and maddening little nervous twitches that prevent you from making a decent stroke on short putts. If you’ve never had them, consider yourself very fortunate (or possibly just very young). But I can assure you that when your most treacherous and feared golf shot is not the 195 yard approach over water with a quartering headwind…not the extra tight fairway with water left and sand right…not the soft bunker shot to a downhill pin with water on the other side…No, when your most feared shot is the remaining 2- 4-foot putt after hitting a great approach, recovery or lag putt, it makes the game almost painful.
And I’ve been fighting the yips (again) for a while now. It’s a recurring nightmare that has haunted me most of my adult life. I even had the yips when I was in my 20s, but I’ve beat them into submission off and on most of my adult life. But just recently, that nasty virus came to life once again. My lag putting has been very good, but when I get over one of those “you should make this” length putts, the entire nervous system seems to go haywire. I make great practice strokes, and then the most pitiful short-stroke or jab at the ball you can imagine. Sheesh.
But I’m a traditionalist, and do not look toward the long putter, belly putter, cross-hand, claw or other variation as the solution. My approach is to beat those damn yips into submission some other way. Here’s what I’m doing that is working pretty well, and I offer it to all of you who might have a similar affliction on the greens.
When you are over a short putt, forget the practice strokes…you want your natural eye-hand coordination to be unhindered by mechanics. Address your putt and take a good look at the hole, and back to the putter to ensure good alignment. Lighten your right hand grip on the putter and make sure that only the fingertips are in contact with the grip, to prevent you from getting to tight.
Then, take a long, long look at the hole to fill your entire mind and senses with the target. When you bring your head/eyes back to the ball, try to make a smooth, immediate move right into your backstroke — not even a second pause — and then let your hands and putter track right back together right back to where you were looking — the HOLE! Seeing the putter make contact with the ball, preferably even the forward edge of the ball – the side near the hole.
For me, this is working, but I am asking all of you to chime in with your own “home remedies” for the most aggravating and senseless of all golf maladies. It never hurts to have more to fall back on!
Over the last couple of decades, golf has become much more science-based. We measure swing speed, smash factor, angle of attack, strokes gained, and many other metrics that can really help golfers improve. But I often wonder if the advancement of golf’s “hard” sciences comes at the expense of the “soft” sciences.
Take, for example, golf instruction. Good golf instruction requires understanding swing mechanics and ball flight. But let’s take that as a given for PGA instructors. The other factors that make an instructor effective can be evaluated by social science, rather than launch monitors.
If you are a recreational golfer looking for a golf instructor, here are my top three points to consider.
1. Cultural mindset
What is “cultural mindset? To social scientists, it means whether a culture of genius or a culture of learning exists. In a golf instruction context, that may mean whether the teacher communicates a message that golf ability is something innate (you either have it or you don’t), or whether golf ability is something that can be learned. You want the latter!
It may sound obvious to suggest that you find a golf instructor who thinks you can improve, but my research suggests that it isn’t a given. In a large sample study of golf instructors, I found that when it came to recreational golfers, there was a wide range of belief systems. Some instructors strongly believed recreational golfers could improve through lessons. while others strongly believed they could not. And those beliefs manifested in the instructor’s feedback given to a student and the culture created for players.
2. Coping and self-modeling can beat role-modeling
Swing analysis technology is often preloaded with swings of PGA and LPGA Tour players. The swings of elite players are intended to be used for comparative purposes with golfers taking lessons. What social science tells us is that for novice and non-expert golfers, comparing swings to tour professionals can have the opposite effect of that intended. If you fit into the novice or non-expert category of golfer, you will learn more and be more motivated to change if you see yourself making a ‘better’ swing (self-modeling) or seeing your swing compared to a similar other (a coping model). Stay away from instructors who want to compare your swing with that of a tour player.
3. Learning theory basics
It is not a sexy selling point, but learning is a process, and that process is incremental – particularly for recreational adult players. Social science helps us understand this element of golf instruction. A good instructor will take learning slowly. He or she will give you just about enough information that challenges you, but is still manageable. The artful instructor will take time to decide what that one or two learning points are before jumping in to make full-scale swing changes. If the instructor moves too fast, you will probably leave the lesson with an arm’s length of swing thoughts and not really know which to focus on.
As an instructor, I develop a priority list of changes I want to make in a player’s technique. We then patiently and gradually work through that list. Beware of instructors who give you more than you can chew.
So if you are in the market for golf instruction, I encourage you to look beyond the X’s and O’s to find the right match!
Most pros take months, even years, to win their first tournament. Lottie Woad needed exactly four days.
The 21-year-old from Surrey shot 21-under 267 at Dundonald Links to win the ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open by three shots — in her very first event as a professional. She’s only the third player in LPGA history to accomplish this feat, joining Rose Zhang (2023) and Beverly Hanson (1951).
But here’s what caught my attention as a coach: Woad didn’t win through miraculous putting or bombing 300-yard drives. She won through relentless precision and unshakeable composure. After watching her performance unfold, I’m convinced every golfer — from weekend warriors to scratch players — can steal pages from her playbook.
Precision Beats Power (And It’s Not Even Close)
Forget the driving contests. Woad proved that finding greens matters more than finding distance.
What Woad did:
• Hit it straight, hit it solid, give yourself chances
• Aimed for the fat parts of greens instead of chasing pins
• Let her putting do the talking after hitting safe targets
• As she said, “Everyone was chasing me today, and managed to maintain the lead and played really nicely down the stretch and hit a lot of good shots”
Why most golfers mess this up:
• They see a pin tucked behind a bunker and grab one more club to “go right at it”
• Distance becomes more important than accuracy
• They try to be heroic instead of smart
ACTION ITEM: For your next 10 rounds, aim for the center of every green regardless of pin position. Track your greens in regulation and watch your scores drop before your swing changes.
The Putter That Stayed Cool Under Fire
Woad started the final round two shots clear and immediately applied pressure with birdies at the 2nd and 3rd holes. When South Korea’s Hyo Joo Kim mounted a charge and reached 20-under with a birdie at the 14th, Woad didn’t panic.
How she responded to pressure:
• Fired back with consecutive birdies at the 13th and 14th
• Watched Kim stumble with back-to-back bogeys
• Capped it with her fifth birdie of the day at the par-5 18th
• Stayed patient when others pressed, pressed when others cracked
What amateurs do wrong:
• Get conservative when they should be aggressive
• Try to force magic when steady play would win
• Panic when someone else makes a move
ACTION ITEM: Practice your 3-6 foot putts for 15 minutes after every range session. Woad’s putting wasn’t spectacular—it was reliable. Make the putts you should make.
Course Management 101: Play Your Game, Not the Course’s Game
Woad admitted she couldn’t see many scoreboards during the final round, but it didn’t matter. She stuck to her game plan regardless of what others were doing.
Her mental approach:
• Focused on her process, not the competition
• Drew on past pressure situations (Augusta National Women’s Amateur win)
• As she said, “That was the biggest tournament I played in at the time and was kind of my big win. So definitely felt the pressure of it more there, and I felt like all those experiences helped me with this”
Her physical execution:
• 270-yard drives (nothing flashy)
• Methodical iron play
• Steady putting
• Everything effective, nothing spectacular
ACTION ITEM: Create a yardage book for your home course. Know your distances to every pin, every hazard, every landing area. Stick to your plan no matter what your playing partners are doing.
Mental Toughness Isn’t Born, It’s Built
The most impressive part of Woad’s win? She genuinely didn’t expect it: “I definitely wasn’t expecting to win my first event as a pro, but I knew I was playing well, and I was hoping to contend.”
Her winning mindset:
• Didn’t put winning pressure on herself
• Focused on playing well and contending
• Made winning a byproduct of a good process
• Built confidence through recent experiences:
- Won the Women’s Irish Open as an amateur
- Missed a playoff by one shot at the Evian Championship
- Each experience prepared her for the next
What this means for you:
• Stop trying to shoot career rounds every time you tee up
• Focus on executing your pre-shot routine
• Commit to every shot
• Stay present in the moment
ACTION ITEM: Before each round, set process goals instead of score goals. Example: “I will take three practice swings before every shot” or “I will pick a specific target for every shot.” Let your score be the result, not the focus.
The Real Lesson
Woad collected $300,000 for her first professional victory, but the real prize was proving that fundamentals still work at golf’s highest level. She didn’t reinvent the game — she simply executed the basics better than everyone else that week.
The fundamentals that won:
• Hit more fairways
• Find more greens
• Make the putts you should make
• Stay patient under pressure
That’s something every golfer can do, regardless of handicap. Lottie Woad just showed us it’s still the winning formula.
FINAL ACTION ITEM: Pick one of the four action items above and commit to it for the next month. Master one fundamental before moving to the next. That’s how champions are built.
PGA Professional Brendon Elliott is an award-winning coach and golf writer. You can check out his writing work and learn more about him by visiting BEAGOLFER.golf and OneMoreRollGolf.com. Also, check out “The Starter” on RG.org each Monday.
Editor’s note: Brendon shares his nearly 30 years of experience in the game with GolfWRX readers through his ongoing tip series. He looks forward to providing valuable insights and advice to help golfers improve their game. Stay tuned for more Tips!
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Robert
Nov 19, 2015 at 2:26 am
Option 4 draw the ball around the tree to right of action 3 – reward for semi risky shot is ball on green
Tim
Nov 20, 2015 at 12:56 pm
Lol. A low cut through #3 is much less risky than a draw right of the tree that’s right of #3. There is more room to pull it off, and if you don’t and hit the tree or end up too far right, the ball is in a more playable spot. If you try the draw route, you have to be perfect. If you pull it, you hit the first tree. If you push it or don’t get enough curve on it (most likely scenario out of the rough) you hit the second one. Either way, your next shot is in an even worse spot than this one. Hello, snowman.
Paperboy
Nov 18, 2015 at 1:11 pm
what about a choked up driver – short back swing and “force it” forward…usually enough loft to escape grass and low enough to avoid branches. Has worked for me
Myron miller
Nov 18, 2015 at 9:12 am
Overall basically good ideas, but one factor is overlooked. How much area from the edge of the rough to the other side of the fairway rough (and what is in that rough over there). Hitting a full half swing 4 iron could easily run thru the fairway and into trouble on the other side. And the whole idea here is to whatever else, get the ball into the fairway without going into the rough on the other side.
As KK mentioned one other major option here is the little pitch punch (7-pw) that one uses about 10-30 yards from the green. A little bump and run shot but just a little harder to carry the ball a little further will work also as well as a 4 iron. The issues on which is the distance to the fairway and the distance across the fairway to the rough/trouble on the other side.
I’ve used both very successfully over the years. I grew up in the Seattle area and learned about hitting the ball out of the trees very well since i was in them constantly. I developed a little punch 3-iron shot that now i use a 4-iron for (no longer carry 3-iron) that i could hit anywhere from 30 yards to about 150.
Nowadays lots of times I’ll use anything from 6 iron to pw to punch out if i need low shot and only have a short distance to get out. 4 iron is used for longer shots. I’ve learned to be careful with the 4 iron as i’ve run thru the fairway too many times and put myself in bad position on the other side. Super hard fairways that roll well are real problems for low 4 irons.
Chris Ardolina
Dec 14, 2015 at 3:21 pm
Myron- good point about the space between the edge of the trees and the opposite side of the fairway, where the bunker lies. Just because you take a half length swing doesn’t mean you have to go full force or maximum effort. This is a controlled trouble shot.
To your point about the pitch shot with a a 7-pw, the idea is good for a better player, but from my experience higher handicaps aren’t able to keep the ball low enough with a club that has that much loft. Therefore, they wind up hitting the branches and remain in trouble.
Thanks for reading and sharing. Stay tune for more to come.
-chris
FC
Nov 16, 2015 at 12:00 pm
Good basic instructions for the high handicapper. I often see them hitting full swings which propels the ball straight into the trees when faced with such situations and they have no idea how to hit a low punch shot to get out of the trouble. I deliberately hit the ball thin if the branches are exceptionally low hanging and chase the ball up the fairway.
Chris Ardolina
Dec 14, 2015 at 3:22 pm
Thanks for reading and sharing with us!
KK
Nov 15, 2015 at 1:39 pm
Good article but I have to disagree with the club choice. #2 looks like maybe 30-40 yds to the right edge of the fairway. I can easily hit a low chip with a slightly delofted 7 or 8 iron and get under those branches. Trying to do the same with a 5 or 4 iron would have me shaking in my cleats because of the decreased control with the longer shafts and longer runout.
Chris Ardolina
Dec 14, 2015 at 3:26 pm
Kk- for a more skilled player to de-lofting the club is much easier, but for a high handicap it is difficult. Most high handicappers add loft at Impact, so it is improtant for them to use something with less loft to keep the ball lower.
Thanks for reading!