Ian Poulter shares his philosophy on the short game in golf including short chip shots, club selection, high flop shots and how to control the distance of shots coming out of the bunker. Poulter also explains the importance of the bounce on your wedges and how to use the bounce to accomplish various types of shots around the green.
Welcome to Golf Channel Academy. I’m your host, Brian Baitman, and today we’re at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club in Orlando, Florida. Standing next to me, the man on the stage, Ian Poulter. 16 wins in his career worldwide. Five RDER Cup teams for team Europe. This is your short game special. You’re on the stage. Pretty basic shot here. Let’s get it started right here. Right on the apron of the green. Uh for the best players in the world. Not a lot to worry about here. But what can you show us about your fundamentals that’ll help the amateurs at home? I think first and foremost is it’s about choosing the right club for the shot. Obviously this one that we’ve chosen the front pin of the three um it’s a very very holable chip. So, as I walk up to the shot, as I stand here, I’m already assessing the ground where the ball’s going to land, how the ball’s going to react with the club that I choose to then give myself the best opportunity to hold it. Now, in this instance, I’m choosing a 52°. So, that’s not much loft out of the wedge system that I have. So, I’m going with the least lofty club in my bag to give myself an opportunity to land it. It’s going to run out to the hole. So ball position will be kind of it’s kind of middle of my stance. Even though I’m a little skewed and a little aiming just a little left, but I get into a position where my hands are slightly forward. I’m gripping down the club slightly. I’m visualizing my landing spot the whole time. So every time I stand over it, I will refer to the landing spot. Visualize the ball running towards the hole. I take the club back just a tiny short distance with a tiny bit of wrist hinge. Just a tiny bit. And as I come through, I’m holding that face angle, trying to keep that club face from rotating or opening up. And I’m using the bounce on the club. Ian, when you talk about visualizing a landing spot, how big an area are you looking at? The size of a trash can lid or size of a a can? I mean, how how small or how big? The better you get at chipping, the smaller that target is going to be. So, I’ll play that shot again. I’m looking to land this a couple of feet short of the fringe and get it to run out towards the hole. So, even with a 52, it’s going to just check. It’s going to check and it’s going to release out. So, I’ve picked my landing spot. I choose the 52. I’ve got 12 degrees of bounce on this club. Uh, that’s quite a lot. But when you’ve got this type of shot where there’s actually not much grain, um, it’s quite easy to play. So, square face, a little bit open here on this particular shot. Square to square. Okay. My my feet are aiming a little left of target. I’ve kind of got them a little skew this way. So, I’m actually opened up to my target. My hands, as you can see, are actually slightly in front of the ball. And I’m literally just short hinge and dropping that back on the ball. Even from that position, I’m not decelerating. Decelerating causes problems. That’s that that that that’s where uh you get negative always through impact. Create a nice little bit of acceleration, a downward descending blow onto the back of the ball. You get a crisp contact. It lands. It will check and release out to the hole. We’re just getting started here on your short game special. I can’t wait to see you. We’re going to move all the way around the green. We’re going to hit in the buckers. We’re going to hit some flop shots. Vary some distances with the same clubs around the green. So, there’s a lot more to learn from Ian Poulter from Lake Nona. We’ll be back in a minute. Welcome back to Golf Channel Academy, the Ian Palter short game special. You realize you were ranked first on the PGA Tour last year in scrambling. So, you’re the perfect person to demonstrate different clubs, same lie, flying them different distances. Yes. For the same flag stick. So, walk us through that. You have a 60°ree there. I have the 60. Uh, my 60 has four degrees of bounce. And the three TEGS really give an indication of visualization. Where do I want my ball to land with the three wedge system that that I play? So, if you’re a type of person that wants to see that ball land two hops, check, and kind of have a tiny little release, then perhaps 60° is your club. So, what I’m trying to do through impact with this shot is as I’m coming into impact, I’m trying to get the bounce of the club to come into the ground rather than the leading edge. So, even though this has only got four degrees of bounce, I actually want to use that. So, I’m not really taking a divot. I’m actually just bruising the grass. So, you can see I haven’t taken a divot. I’ve used the bounce of the club. I haven’t got too steep. I haven’t tried to flip my hands to gain loft. You’ve got all the loft you want. It’s 60°. You don’t need any more than that. And you talk about Ian visualization of where you want the ball to land when the lot when you’re using different lofts. Let’s switch to say a 56. Yep. Is there a window here that the ball tries to you’re trying to fly the ball through when you switch lofts? Yeah. To get us to hit it certain distances. Different lofts give different trajectories. You know the window and the trajectory that you want to land it where you want to land it by the teg with a 56. Couple of bounces and let it release out to the hole. I land it about level with my teg. That was perfect. and you know, you’ve really put yourself in that window. Now, how am I going to get this ball from this position to land on the green to be able to roll out to the hole? So, the whole time when I’m leading up to my shots, I want to visualize, I want to see that ball landing, how am I going to get this ball to land on my target to roll out to the hole? So, again, keep it very simple. narrow the stance. Come just down the grip slightly. You don’t have to manipulate the face. You don’t have to add loft. You use the bounce on the club and you play your chip shot. Here’s your 52. And you play in a lot of proams, Ian, all over the world throughout your career. You’ve played with a lot of amateurs. I think it’s pretty safe to say that for amateurs, they need to get the ball on the ground as quickly as possible. It’s just a safer shot for a high handicap or a weekend golfer. This is a 52. Same flag stick. You’re going to land this a little bit shorter and let it run. Show us how you do that. Yeah, we have the benefit here where there’s enough green to work with. And that’s something, you know, uh, we would always advise amateurs when they’re practicing their short game. Get that ball on the ground as soon as possible. Take out the scenarios, take out the possibilities of having to fly all the way. Just keep it really simple. Make the game easier for yourself by choosing the right club for the right shot. I’ve landed that one pretty much level to my tea peg and it’s a very it’s a very, you know, consistent, easy shot to repeat from this distance. Keep it simple. Get the ball on the ground and you’ll have success and allow true to take precedence because don’t no reason to manipulate. Yep. Still learning here. We’re still going. We’ve got a lot to get to in this short game special. We’re going to get in the bunker. We’re gonna hit some flop shots and we’re gonna back Ian Poulter up even further away from the flag stick and he’s going to show you how he gets it done. Nice. Welcome back to Golf Channel Academy, the Ian Poulter short game special. And Ian, now we’re on a tight lie over a bunker, 25, 30 yard shot. This is a shot that really uh the viewer at home probably is has a lot of fear with this particular shot. What can you show them at home that takes the fear away? A couple of faults that uh the amateurs will have. They fear the trap. So therefore, they actually lean and they tilt a little bit too far back on the way down trying to add the loft to the club to get that ball up in the air. What that’s going to do is they’re going to bring the the leading edge of the club up towards the middle of the ball. That’s when you get the knife shot straight over the green. And the other one is where you get way too steep. You get your body moving in front of the ball. Therefore, leading edge digs into the ground and therefore you end up chunking it into the trap. So, here’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to have my 60° opened up a bit more than normal. So, uh, I might even have this at perhaps 70° of loft by the time that face is opened out. So, what I’ve done, I’ve gone from four degrees of bounce to maybe eight or nine. So, I’ve added bounce to give me some actual room under the ball to pick it nice and clean. I try and maintain a little bit of a wider stance than a normal chip shot. I try and be nice and balanced evenly 50/50 because when I come into the impact position, I actually want the bounce of the club to be hitting right at impact just under just under the back of the ball. So, little bit of wrist hinge. Are you showing any extra release though through to use the bounce? I I’m always accelerating through the impact position. So, as long as you maintain good balance, you create a nice wrist hinge, a little bit of a shoulder turn, and you unhinge that on the way down. As long as you maintain the loft on the way through impact, you will use the bounce of the club. I refer to bounce all the time, but providing you use that bounce, you won’t thin it through the back of the green. you won’t get too far ahead of it and you won’t hit the chunky shot in in the trap. So, I try and stay very centered, open face, nip through impact. It should check up pretty quick. And you know, even even on the ground, you you’ll see I’m not taking a divot. I’m trying to use that bounce to bruise the grass. Slightly open face. So, therefore, the ball’s going to have a little bit of cut spin on it. So, when it lands on the green, it’s going to land soft. It’s going to have a little bit of grab. Uh, and you can make these shots look a little easier than what than than what they are. All right, let’s take one way upstairs. Maybe even to this first flag stick here that’s only six or seven paces over the bunker. How do you do it? This one’s the fun one, right? But this one also brings in danger. The percentages of hitting this shot real tight are smaller. So, I’m going to have to add more loft. By adding more loft, I’m actually going to play this one right out of the toe of the club. So, by doing that, I’m actually using this has actually got a certain grind on it where I can lay the face of the club so open that I actually use the toe of the club. And when I hit this shot, I should get a grass mark here right in the toe. So, there will be no bounce. I’ve opened the face out almost until it’s flat. And I actually want to use a load of speed, cut across the ball, literally trying to chop left, as you say, a lot of rotation through impact. And hopefully it sends it way upstairs. There it is. Go. It’s on the green. It’s on the green. Well, look, it’s that’s a shot that whether you’re a high handicapper or a low handicapper or one of the best players in the world, low percentage, but you have to practice it. You got to give it a chance. Uh, and listen to what he said because the mechanics of this shot, I think, is what makes it a little bit easier, although it’s one of the most difficult. Up next, we’re going to get in this bunker. It’s warm out here. We’re probably going to need some sunscreen, but Ian is going to get in the bunker and show you how to maximize your bunker plate and save strokes. [Music] Welcome back to Golf Channel Academy with Ian Poulter. And PZ, you’re on the beach. I’ve always been astonished at your consistent bunker play. What is it about the bunker that allows you to have so much confidence, specifically your setup? The simple basics of bunker play would be aim left with your feet. So, open up your stance. You’re aiming left. the club face is going to be open again. So, you’re adding loft, you’re adding bounce to the club, you’re trying to scoop out a little section of sand close to the ball, and that’s it. You’re not digging. You’re not trying to help. Again, same premise as as playing pit shots, chip shots. You’re not trying to manipulate the face in any way. You’re just literally trying to make a nice swing from out to in. So therefore, I’m coming across the line of the ball, which is going to impart spin on the ball, which is then going to actually help the ball pop up out of the sand. So I take the club outside the line. I have wrist hinge in this position. I use acceleration. And acceleration is key uh to get energy into the sand to get that ball to come out. A lot of amateurs I see playing in proams, they hit the sand and they leave the club there. That’s not transferring the energy enough to get that ball out. So the simple basis for me is open face. I might grip down it very slightly. I’m aiming left. My face is open. My face is open pretty much enough where if I draw a line across the face of the club all the way to the hole, it would be pretty pretty much on a straight line. Now I want to scoop that little box of sand out. You cut across the ball very slightly and imparts a little bit of cut spin. You take out a scoop of sand and you hit a decent bungle shot. How much do you pay attention to the sand under your feet to get a sense for what type of shot you’re you’re going to be able to play or can play? Well, that’s why you actually bed your feet into the sand. Um, that little indicator right there when you’re moving your feet in is to give you an indication of how much sand have I got underneath the ball. And that’s where the bounce of the club comes into play. In this instance, the bunker is very consistent. There’s plenty of sand and you can you can nip the ball. You can just scoop. And that sound right there on impact is the one you’re after. The thumb, the th the thud, the thump. And that is when you’re actually using the bounce of the club. You’ve got the entry and exit. Okay. Through impact and therefore you’re actually going to make a nice crisp strike. Now Ian, if you’re trying to hit this particular bunker shot, say another five yards. Yeah. are short five yards from the couple that you’ve played to this point. Yes. How do you change distance? If I want to get the the the the ball to come out and land softer, a I’m trying to take a tiny bit less sand. Um I might be actually cutting across the ball even more. You can see there my my my pocket of sand is a lot smaller than the previous the previous shot I hit. So where I’m getting tighter to the ball, I’m just nipping a little bit of sand out. Uh still cutting across it to still add the cut spin to still get it to stop. So all of those is is a bit of a mix of what you should practice when you’re coming into bunkers. Have fun. Enjoy it. Compete against one one another. Uh and en enjoy being in the sand. Who doesn’t? Thanks, man. Enjoyed it. My pleasure. I appreciate you uh being here, showing us shots in the bunker, shots around the
2 Comments
No sound?
How is he "using the bounce of the club" (at 2:02) when he has the club squared and leaning the shaft forward??? Not possible