Golf Tip
Golf Tip: Four Tips to Improve Your Approach Game
Learning how to properly improve your approach game is one of the quickest ways to lower your score. Lowering your score requires a lot of different aspects of your golf game, but it all starts with how you approach the green. Being able to effectively improve your approach shot will allow you to be in easier places around the green that gives you a better opportunity to lower your score. Use these tips below if you want to create the foundation for a better shot. If you enjoy reading tips like these, check out our Nike Junior Golf Camps!
Tip #1 – Find the Fairway From Your Tee Shot:
The first thing to take into account when improving your approach game is understanding how far you hit your driver and how consistent you land in the fairway off the tee. Once you understand your regular range of the distance your driving goes, start selecting specific spots on the fairway to aim your tee shot. Another very important aspect to finding the fairway more consistently is selecting the right club to hit off the tee box. If you are not comfortable with hitting a driver off the tee box, there are many other hybrid driver options that you can consistently hit and find yourself in a good spot in the fairway. The next most important thing to learn is not to aim for distance, but instead aim for accuracy as that will put you in a much better position than if you just try to hit the ball as far as you can. Note: It will be much easier to hit a 150 yard shot from the fairway than hitting a 120 yard shot from the rough.
Tip #2 – Hitting the Green From 200 Yards:
The next step in improving your approach shots is to practice hitting the green from 200 yards more consistently. You want to be realistic when approaching the green, do not go for the miracle shot because that has a higher chance of landing in a water hazard, or being in a worse position than you anticipated. When approaching the green from farther out, you want to be more conservative. Aim for the largest part of the green to allow yourself more room for error. Aiming for the larger part of the green may put you in a position that requires a long putt, however this will put you in a better place to start lowering your scores at a quicker rate.
Tip #3 – Hitting the Green From 150 Yards:
Once you are within 150 yards from the green, this is called a mid-range approach shot, you will want to start aiming for a more specific part of the green. Typically, it is better to “club up” in this situation so that you are hitting a more controlled shot with a smoother swing through the ball. For example, if you are 165 yards away from the green, typically this would be a 7-iron shot, you should club up to a 6-iron and hit a three quarter shot so that it is more controlled and smooth. You want to start aiming for the center of the green so that it does not require the perfect shot to put you in a good position. This will allow for more room for error and will still put you in a good position to hit a putt.
Tip #4 - Hitting the Green From 120 Yards:
This is a very important aspect of your approach game because this is where you can start getting closer to the pin and put yourself in an easier position to lower your score. The biggest thing here is to avoid bunkers within 120 yards, it will be easier to shoot lower if you allow yourself to have two-putts rather than having to hit out of a bunker and potentially have two more putts after your bunker shot. You will want to play it safer here so you will tend to continue to club up, for example if you are hitting a pitching wedge, a clean stroke will allow for a 30 yard. You will also find yourself not needing to hit a full swing shot because the distance does not require you to swing a full shot. Putting yourself on the green from 120 yards will be the difference maker in your approach game and lowering your score.
About Nike Junior Golf Camps
Nike Junior Golf Camps is a division of US Sports Camps, Inc (USSC). Headquartered in San Rafael, California, USSC is America’s largest sports camp network and the licensed operator of Nike Sports Camps. The company has offered summer camps in the U.S. since 1975 with the same mission that defines it today: to shape a lifelong enjoyment of athletics through high-quality sports education and skill enhancement. Nike Junior Golf Camps offers junior overnight and day camps, as well as advanced player camps at over 130 locations nationwide. Since 1994, more than 200,000 junior golfers have participated in the camps.