For all you beginner golfers out there who don’t know what an approach shot is, an approach shot is your shot onto the green. A good way to know if your golf game is improving is if you have to keep fixing your golf marks on the green.
Below are some golf approach shot tips:
Instead of aiming right at the flag, you should aim at the middle of the green. More and more greens nowadays are bigger, so you have more room to aim at. By aiming at the flag all the time you’ll more than likely miss your target and end up in the rough, a bunker or even the water hazard.
The main part of your approach shot is your alignment. Instead of focusing on your distance, you should worry about your alignment. Most golfers, including me when I first started don’t focus on their alignment at the driving range, and I think you should. The more I practiced my alignment, the better accuracy I had on the golf course. On the driving range, as I said earlier, don’t worry about your distance, just worry about your alignment. The more you practice your alignment, the better off you’ll be.
Just think about this for a second. When you have an approach shot, and your distance is off, but your alignment is good, more than likely it’s in a safe place, maybe short of the green on the fairway or the fringe. What happens if your distance is good, but your alignment is off? Whether you’re 5 or 10 yards left or right, you’re going to be in trouble.
The other key to hitting a great approach shot is to know the course you are playing on. Not only the length of the golf course but also the conditions. A wet golf course isn’t going to play the same way a dry one will. The wind can be a large factor in your approach as the ball is hit high, and with less velocity than a drive.
Understanding the slope of the golf green and fringe is also important if you want to be able to execute a proper approach. Knowing the particulars about the golf course is the only way to make smart choices. You can swing perfectly and still end up with a golf ball in the bunker if you don’t take these things into account. These factors are more important with your approach than any other shot because golf greens are so small. Failing to account for these natural occurrences will cost you valuable strokes on your game regardless of how well you play.
For the different shots, you have the tee shot, the approach shot or feel shot, and the putts. From these three, the tee shot is the one used as the opening shot. Now, if you want the ball from outside the green into the green, you need to use the approach shot or feel the shot. And once the ball is already in the green, you have to switch from approach shot to putts.