You try to go around a tree, but nail it dead center
Finding yourself behind a big ol’ tree is no fun. But slamming your next shot into the trunk is enough to make you want to walk in.
In recent years we’ve learned from TrackMan and other launch monitors that the angle of the clubface at impact determines a shot’s starting direction much more than the swing path does. So when players swear they swung left or right of a tree but hit it anyway, it means the clubface was pointing at the tree at impact.
Here are four simple steps to getting around obstacles: 1. For solid contact, choke down, stand closer to the ball, and swing about 70 percent. 2. The old adage "Aim the clubface where you want the ball to finish and swing where you want it to start" has been proved wrong. Aim the face where you want the ball to start. And give yourself some room for error. 3. Open your stance for a slice or close it for a draw, then swing along your stance line. 4. To keep it low, use a long iron. Play it back, and stand narrow.
Follow this plan. You’ll save strokes–and lots of aggravation.
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