How to shoot low numbers-2

Bunker Play

Just take the sand out of the box...

Just like the lob shot, the key to playing a regular bunker shot lies in opening up the clubface and trusting your swing through the impact area. What I do is set the club-face up first, laying the blade wide open so that the leading edge is aimed a little to the right of the target. Then, to offset this, I set my body lines running to left of the target, leaving the arms plenty of room to swing freely.

A good tip here is to feel like you are reaching for the ball just a fraction - that gives you all the room you need and also gets your hands fairly low. Once you are set up and ready to go, remember that a still head is the secret to you delivering a consistent 'low point' through the sand.

One of the biggest problems I see amateurs struggle with is the issue of hitting a couple of inches behind the ball. They are told to focus on hitting a point behind the ball and that's exactly what they do: they hit down into the sand two inches behind the ball. What they forget is that you have to take a shallow divot of sand all the way beneath the ball.

One way to get over this when you practise is to draw a box around the ball and work on removing a shallow cut of sand from it either side of the ball itself.

Fluffy rough - Like a bunker shot

Nick Faldo once showed my what he called a 'scything' shot from fairly thick rough. It's a shot I really like and one I use often from this sort of fluffy lie - even if I have a lot of green to play with I will take my sand iron and try to fly the ball most of the way. The key is to stay aggressive through the shot.

You don't want to be decelerating through it, otherwise the grass gets caught and you get the classic goofy one that doesn't quite get out. What you have to remember is that you're not setting up to hit the ball here.

It's exactly like a bunker shot, except that you are substituting fluffy grass for sand. From the way I place the open clubface a good inch or inch-and-a-half behind the ball, it's the same drill as in the sand: open stance, hands fairly low, and a long smooth swing along the line of my toes that pops the ball out. All you have to do is focus on making a good contact with the grass. In fact, if you get into the habit of making a practice swing to the side of the ball you can actually hear good impact as the open face scythes through the grass.

Putting - Why the belly putter gives you a 'tick tock' stroke

The belly-putter doesn't suit everyone, but I like it because it teaches you to release the putter properly. With the butt-end secure in your belly, you create a pure pendulum stroke with the arms and shoulders. And whether I use a short stick or the belly-putter, that's what I am looking to achieve.

Where a lot of people go wrong with the belly version is they believe you must move your body in tandem with the putter. Wrong. The key to this is that your body must stay very still, leaving the arms to swing freely.

When I work on my putting I focus on keeping the butt-end fixed and my head perfectly still throughout. When I achieve those twin objectives I am pretty confident that I will create a repeating pendulum stroke.

Think of a grandfather clock. At the set up you want the putter shaft to be standing pretty much straight up. You also want to create a nice base here with your legs. The palms of the hands should be neutrally opposed as

they meet on the grip, and the result is a very orthodox position over the ball, which I play just forward of centre. The grandfather clock analogy helps me to create pendulum motion with the putter as it swings back and through. If you try the belly putter, put your hands on where they feel comfortable.

Monty has his quite high, Vijay (when he uses it) is a little lower. The key is that you then get this pendulum motion going, the butt-end secure all the way through the stroke. To do this, think about keeping your stomach and your body real still - all that is moving is the shaft. The result is that the putter-face remains square to the path along which the putter is swinging (correctly, it appears to be opening and closing, just like a swinging door).

A lot of people think the face must end up looking at the target, but it doesn't. It finishes square to the path, looking left. As it should in a naturally correct action.