How Often Do You Practice Recovery?

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One thing that struck me as I watched the 2007 Masters was how professionals of that caliber can spray the ball all over the place off the tee and still manage to score. It seems obvious, but how many of us work on recovery in our practice sessions? More often than not, we’re hitting full shots or some kind of short game shot.

One of the ways I spruce up my practice time and give myself a little recovery practice is to work on a 100 yard 5-iron. I normally hit my 5-iron close to 200 yards. To cut the distance in half it takes some finesse and a little setup adjustment. Typically, I’ll play most full shots off my front foot (more on that in a future post), so for this shot I’ll put the ball back near the center of my stance or even a little behind center. I’ll take a short back swing, and keep my hands low during the follow through. Keeping a nice even tempo is important, and making sure not to decelerate is key. The result is a nice low shot that flies and runs out to around 100 yards. As always make sure you’re hitting to a specific target (at least a directional target, if not to a specific distance). At some point, we all end up in the trees and we need a shot like this to stay under branches and get back into play or even to get up around (or on) the green.

Sometimes a tree stands between you and the green. Another nice practice twist is to imagine tree trunks in your way and try and play a draw or fade on that low shot. Using the same setup, close or open the club face slightly at address depending on whether you want to draw or fade the ball. Pick something in the distance and imagine that’s the tree in your way (use a little imagination and pretend it’s right in front of you). Start the ball to the left or right of that “tree” and try and fade or draw the ball around it. See how close you can come to your target.

During your practice sessions, experiment with ball position and swing length to see how the shot is affected. Keep your lie in mind too. This shot is much more difficult from deep rough. Remember, we’re not looking for a miracle recovery from the jungle here. In that case, just getting out to the fairway may be the best play. Being able to keep the ball low and turn it left or right when the lie is decent will really open up the possibilities for recovery.

Practice this, and before long you’ll have a good recovery shot in your arsenal and will be in a much better position to score after an occasional bad drive.