Yesterday I played golf with my old friend Blair. We have known each for over 30 years and for the always enjoy hitting the links together. Meeting in the middle, we made our way around Keystone Golf and Country Club, Peterborough, ON, we laughed, joked, and caught up on the goings on in each other’s life.
For the most part, we played very well. The course had its challenges and on the 16th hole, Blair found himself in the woods after his approach shot sailed over the green. The ball was in the woods about 12 feet nestled among roots, dead sticks and leaves. After removing all the loose pediments, Blair was now faced with an almost impossible shot.
Standing with his back to the green!
His options were to play it where it laid or declare an unplayable and to go back to his original spot. He decided to play the ball where it lay. Unfortunately, there was a root about 2 inches behind his ball. There was no way he could make a swing at the ball and make contact….or so I thought!
Blair surveyed the ball position and decided the best play was to stand in front of the ball, chop directly down on the ball (like chopping wood), hit the ball and pop it out through his legs!
I know what you are thinking and I was thinking the same thing. Chances of making solid contact were very low. Chances of hitting himself with the ball, very high! This seemed like a very low percentage shot, but he was convinced this was the right shot to take.
Ball in the foreground of the picture.
Well as it turned out, Blair’s chopping motion was perfect. He made solid contact on the ball and it popped out as if he hit it normally. If I did not see it myself, I would have called, well you know what I would have said. But, I did see it and was amazed at the results!
Using your imagination in golf is very important. It takes an open mind and willingness to take changes to pull off shots like Blair’s. Players like Seve Ballesteros and Phil Mickelson have that special talent and I guess so does Blair.
Next time you are in a strange predicament, do not be afraid to try the “impossible shot”! Use your imagination and you might be surprised at the results.
Have you ever made a shot like this?
I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!
The Grateful Golfer 
Jim,
It’s definitely important to think outside the box and consider all your options, as Blair did! I was recently stuck under a tree close to the trunk near a green. It was on the wrong side of the for a left hander, and I couldn’t fully get to the ball in a normal address position because of low lying limbs. I thought about hitting various clubs the wrong way, and settled on my backhanding it with my putter. The intent was to “blade” the ball with the back of my putter slightly on the upswing to get it out of the junk, and hopefully bounding onto the green. It worked, as I got it into the middle of the green. If I hadn’t used my imagination, I may have taken an unplayable and been scrambling to save bogey.
Cheers!
Josh
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Josh
What an awesome shot! Those are the ones that keep you coming back! Thanks for sharing.
Cheers
Jim
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I played a shot recently that went through the green, at the back was a practice putting area, around 15ft higher than the green. The ball rolled up the slope onto the putting surface, turned around and rolled back down the slope, to the pin. I let my playing partners think I played it that way.
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Pete
Nice! I would do the same. Most of the time they do ask how, just how many. In your case, I would tell the story a bit more!
Cheers
Jim
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Awesome little story and so true. Of the many mental qualities golf tries to illicit from players large and small, good and not-so-good, imagination is right up there with confidence, visualization, and doggone determination. I heard similar sayings during this past PGA championship – and I’m reminded particularly of one caddie telling a player (Speith I think it was) to “stay stubborn.” Not to mention Jordan’s conviction that he could play that impossible shot out of the bunker in on the 17th hole of the final round. It was an impossible shot and he almost made it in the hole. Anything can be yours….. “If you just believe.” right? Nicely done. SVG
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SVG
Yes, anything can be yours if you just believe! Confidence is everything in golf and it shows the most on extremely difficult shots!
Cheers
Jim
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I have performed this shot many times. I was forced to due to a preceding bad shot. Lol. I’ve intentionally hit a ball off a tree towards the flag behind me. C
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Very nice! It takes quite a bit of confidence in your game to make that shot! Well done!
Cheers
Jim
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