It may be the scariest shot in golf. Here’s how to pull it off

BROOKSVILLE, Fla. – If you’re after golf lessons, you could do worse than be a fly on the wall at the Top 100 GOLF Teachers Summit, an annual gathering of the game’s most respected coaches held this week at Cabot Citrus Farmsabout an hour’s drive north of Tampa.

I, for one, absorbed all kinds of wisdom in the two days I was in the country, including but not limited to: why cleavage it’s harder today than it was a generation ago (new grasses, tighter lies, etc.); the importance of hand and grip strength in power generation (it matters!); and the problem many amateurs have unwittingly with their casting shafts (too long).

But there is one tip that has stuck with me the most: How to play a short sided bunker shot from a downhill lie. If you’re like me, this shot keeps you up at night; if it’s not the scariest shot in golf, it’s right up there. No matter where I position the ball, what club I use, or what kind of contact I make, I never seem to have the necessary loft to launch the ball high and with enough smoothness or spin to stop it quickly. The most common result: a soul-crushing blade on the face of the bunker.

Sign in Parker McLachlina former tournament winner who, in his post-playing days, has rebranded himself “the short game chef.” (Check out his stuff here.) For about 45 minutes Tuesday, McLachlin stood in the depths of a cavernous greenside bunker at Citrus Farms as more than 100 of his fellow teachers and various other attendees looked on as the Romans did during the fun of the . them in the Colosseum. McLachlin dished out all sorts of smart nuggets about how to master bunker shots, including the importance of proper club selection, but I was most swayed when another teacher asked McLachlin for his thoughts on how to played bunker shots….yes, downhill lies.

Down a slope, McLachlin explained, the ball naturally wants to come out low and fast, but you can counteract these forces of nature in your setup. Start by fully opening your face on your highest wedge and then place your hands down to create even more effective loft. You’ll also want to slide your track foot a little to give yourself room to swing the club around you.

Every part of your being will want to “help” the ball up, but, McLachlin said, it’s essential that you resist that urge. In fact, instead of tilting your right shoulder under your left as you would in a driver setup—a mistake I’ve been guilty of—you’ll want to do the opposite so that your shoulder plane be parallel to the lower slope.

“It’s counterintuitive because we want to hit it high, and every time we want to hit it high, we want to look like that,” McLachlin said as he lowered his shoulder. “But again, I’m going to get all the loft on the placement, the clubface, the grip position.”

The final boss ingredient for executing one of golf’s most difficult shots: confidence. As in, trusting that your technique and tools will do the job. Commit fully, then go.

McLachlin then put his words into action.

From what was a terrible line into a downslope at the back of the bunker, the coach settled in and, as he had done throughout his session, wowed his audience by making a solid putt look easy.

I can’t wait to try the technique for myself.