A Recipe for Collared Greens

Alex Fisher
The PGA Director of Instruction at The Glacier Club in Durango, Alex Fisher also teaches from November to April at the JW Marriott Wildfire Golf Club in Phoenix. alexfisherpga.com; 602-363-9800.

Short-game wizardry concerns more than just chipping and putting. It’s also about being prepared for situations that aren’t straightforward.

Take, for example, when your golf ball presses against the collar of the green; it sits on a clean lie but the tall bank of grass right behind it precludes making a clean putting stroke.

There are a number of solutions. One involves turning your putter on its toe and stabbing at the ball. I don’t recommend this because it becomes very difficult to control the direction of the ball. Another approach entails using a hybrid or fairway wood, which can be challenging because of the longer length of the club.

A third and preferable option is to use a wedge to blade the ball. Growing up in England, we would call this shot the “Belly Wedge” because you would purposely strike the middle of the ball with the bottom of the clubface.

This shot creates tremendous topspin to get the ball rolling towards the pin. It is imperative not to get underneath the ball at impact because you’ll likely hit your shot heavy and short. Instead, make a putting stroke with a sand wedge. Keep your approach to this shot simple and its difficulty will become a thing of the past.

Tips to hit from the collar of the rough and fringe

1. SET UP, CHOKE UP: Make sure that you setup with your feet close together and that the ball is in the center of your stance. It’s critical that you get your hands down towards the bottom of the grip so that it limits the amount of wrists you use.

How to hit from the collar of the green

2. HOVER, DON’T GROUND: Once you are set up to the ball make sure you hover the club behind the ball. Don’t ground it. Because of the bank of grass behind the ball, grounding the club makes it extremely difficult to get a smooth takeaway on your backswing.

Chipping from the collar of the fringe and rough

3. TILT AND GRAB: Placing most of your weight on your front foot allows the club to travel on a more descending blow and avoids getting the club head stuck in the long grass behind the ball. A simple trick is to grab your left knee (opposite if you play left-handed), tilt your upper body towards the target and almost raise your trailing heel off the ground.

Putting and chipping tips from the collar

4. PUTT IT: As with a putting stroke, start the backswing with the arms, shoulders and wrists all moving simultaneously. Keep everything in a one-piece motion and you’ll avoid letting the wrists take over. Remember, because you are hitting the ball with zero degrees of loft, the ball will travel a great distance without much of a backswing.

How to hit from the green collar

5. CENTER CUT: At the moment of impact the bottom of the club head should intentionally hit the equator (middle) of the ball. This technique will get the ball rolling with lots of topspin towards the hole. Really avoid trying to hit the bottom of the ball like you would on a normal shot, because it is unlikely that the club head will get through the wall of grass behind the golf ball.

Golf tips from Alex Fisher

6. FINISH STRONG: Hold your finish position, making sure your weight remains truly on your front foot, your left wrist is flat (if you’re a right handed golfer) and your club head finishes low to the ground. A simple way to maintain your rhythm is to ensure the length of your follow through is the same as your backswing. Doing so will likely mean that you have executed this shot to perfection with minimal effort.


This article appears in the August 2016 issue of Colorado AvidGolfer. Subscribe today!

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