Short-game Masterclass with James Oh

Last week I welcomed former PGA Tour player and elite short game instructor James Oh to Sleepy Hollow to deliver a short-game masterclass for our members. Another successful clinic in the books with members learning more about the decision-making process behind each chip, efficient club selection, bunker play, and how to play from various lies/on-course situations.

?The feedback from the members following the event was fantastic, with some noticing immediate improvements in their short game and, thereby, scores! I wanted to share some of the content we covered in this clinic with my connections and some takeaways that could help with their golf game.??

?Club Selection?

?The clinic kicked off with an interesting chipping challenge with the simple objective of each ball finishing short of the target on a fifteen to twenty-yard chip. James highlighted that out of 37 clinics delivered across the United States, not one group had been able to have five golf balls finish short of the target, a great motivator for our members who unfortunately couldn't break the trend.

The purpose of this drill was to help the group understand the tendencies of most amateur golfers and how when players hit their lob wedge, the variation between their longest and shortest ball was more significant than when they hit their 8iron, 9iron, or gap wedge. It was about changing the mentality of the player's approach towards chips around the green.?

Rather than hitting a chip shot as seen on TV by PGA Tour players, James wanted the group to tailor their shot selection to their ability level. When the group began to hit the same shot with a different club (8 or 9 iron), a pattern emerged. They could execute their objective more consistently. When a mishit occurs, which for many amateur golfers is a reality, the outcome is less detrimental. On the contrary, when players mishit their lob wedges, the result was much worse, often leaving themselves 20-25 feet from the target.

For players that don't have much confidence around the greens, this exercise was great for helping build their confidence as they could start to see that they could consistently hit the ball into a specific area. Sleepy Hollow can be challenging, especially when chipping into the grain. James spoke about the importance of knowing where you don't want the ball to go, which for Sleepy is often long of the green. Selecting a club that minimizes the risk of a bad miss will help players improve their scores

?Bunker Play

For many members attending the clinic, bunkers were their #1 fear. We worked on developing a swing where the ball gets out of the sand every time. Focus shifted from being short or long of the pin towards having the ball get out of the bunker consistently.?

?James spoke about the importance of not obsessing over replicating a tour player's bunker technique and his belief that there should be no such thing as a bunker swing. Instead, to guarantee the ball gets out every time, he prefers players to use their normal swing to hit behind the ball. Too much focus on "Bunker Ideas" can hurt amateur golfers more than help them, so it's crucial to keep bunker play as simple and easily replicable as possible.?

Stance width

One of the first technical elements of bunker play we looked at was stance width. The group immediately noticed that James' stance width differed dramatically from theirs. A common bunker fault among amateur golfers is having too wide of a stance, making it harder to rotate their bodies. A narrower stance helps increase a player's range of motion allowing the backswing to be longer and their ability to rotate on the downswing much easier. If you struggle with mobility, for example, through the hips, I recommend narrowing your stance in the bunkers to allow you to rotate back and through the shot more effectively. This should lead to more consistent contact with the clubface and reduce those mishits that sometimes don't even get you out of the sand! James spoke about his mobility issues and how he has adapted a narrower stance out of the bunkers to allow him to rotate more efficiently.?

Scoop motion

?Another common fault with amateur golfers is trying to scoop the ball; this is often subconsciously to get the ball airborne quickly and over the bunker's lip. A telltale sign of this happening is when a player falls back slightly after making contact. Working consistently out of the bunker using a normal swing helps eliminate this poor technique. Players start understanding how to get the ball out of the bunker naturally without having to force/scoop the ball up.?

Digging into the sand

?Another interesting subject we discussed was digging into the sand; when we watch the Tour players on TV enter the bunker, they sink themselves into the sand before they make a swing. For many amateur golfers who don't have the mobility & flexibility of a PGA Tour pro digging in, similar to a wide stance can limit their rotational abilities. Digging in can make your lower body too quiet & encourage a shorter swing, making it much harder to achieve optimal ball striking.?

Although we can watch players like Tiger Woods dig themselves deep into the sand and splash the ball out every time, not every amateur golfer has the rotational abilities to do this. Finding a consistent way to get the ball out of the bunker over time will allow a player to develop better technique organically. After consistent practice, players can gauge their distances and control their shots more.?

Thanks to James for stopping by to deliver a morning and afternoon clinic to the members here at Sleepy Hollow. I hope this article can help my connections understand short-game and some of the misconceptions regarding short-game techniques.

?If you have questions regarding short-game or broader instruction, please don't hesitate to send me a message!