Lee Trevino shares the secrets to conquering 5 impossible shots

Golf instruction is always evolving, but the best tips stand the test of time. In GOLF.com’s new series, Lifetime Tips, we’re highlighting some of the greatest advice that teachers and players have shared in the pages of GOLF Magazine. Today we have Lee Trevino’s five secrets to conquering some of the hardest shots in golf from our April 1970 issue. For unlimited access to GOLF Magazine’s complete digital archive, join Inside GOLF tODAY; you’ll enjoy $140 worth of value for just $39.99 per year.

Golf is a tough game – and that’s especially true when you find yourself facing a tricky shot. This game is already hard enough, but when you throw in difficult variables it can seem impossible.

Watching the pros play every weekend can fool you. They make looking extraordinary easy on a regular basis. However, this is not a coincidence. The execution they display – even in difficult conditions – is the product of thousands of hours of practice.

Weekend warriors never will as much practice time as possible like the pros, but that doesn’t mean you can’t hit some of the shots they do. All you need to do is use the right technique.

Below is a story from the April 1970 issue of GOLF magazine written by Lee Trevino. In it, he shares his secrets for hitting some of the most impossible shots in golf. Heed his advice and you’ll soon be making the most difficult photos look like a breeze.

Trevino’s Secrets to 5 Impossible Shots

Since I’ve been out on the golf tour, I’ve decided that no doubt many of us professional golfers are spoiled. We are used to playing on perfectly manicured courses, with smooth fairways, soft, velvety greens and clean, well-beaten traps. Let a pro get a bad lie and he’ll scream like crazy. And, I’ll have to admit, I’m the same way a lot of the time. But let me tell you, I know most golfers don’t play in such ideal conditions. And I also know that most players don’t have much sympathy for us when they hear us talking about bad conditions. They’ve tried to play from fairways full of bare spots, traps with not much sand (what sand there is usually tracks all over the place) and bumpy greens. Man, that’s playing at a disadvantage.

Now I don’t have the solution to all the problems that the average golfer faces, but I can say that I have faced them all myself at one time or another. Below are five common situations golfers encounter on courses that are less than perfect and how I handle them.

1. Hit by a bare lie

I used to be pretty good at this shot, although I don’t see many lies like this on tour now. Unfortunately, the average golfer faces them all too often. He hits a shot down the fairway, and unfortunately, his ball comes to rest in a bare patch of grass.

What does he do? The real problem with this type of shot, especially with a long wood or iron, is getting the ball in the air. For this reason, I play a small shot from a bare lie, open my stance by pulling my left foot back a little, so I’m aiming a little to the left of my actual target, and also open the clubface a little. Then I take a straighter swing and hit hard, more directly on the ball, playing it to move from left to right.

The key, as I see it, is to not sweep the ball like you might on a regular lie. Hit the ball immediately, hitting it first and then the ground. In fact, you can get very clear action on the ball if you contact it properly.

2. Putting greens with lumps

The golfer who plays a course that has hundreds of players walk it every day will face the problem of putting on bumpy, spiked greens. It’s inevitable, especially at the end of a long weekend. There is no total solution to playing bumpy greens, but I can throw together a piece of strategy that I think will help: be a brave player!

With smooth greens you can hit that slow roller that makes the break and dies as soon as it hits the hole. But on rough greens, where the ball is likely to bounce all the way, I suggest a firmer touch. Hit the ball harder and don’t allow as much rest. Irregular greens are nearly impossible to read, so it’s hard to pinpoint the break (or jump) you’re going to get. Even if you have the ball breaking towards the hole, if it’s moving too slowly, the ball will easily be knocked off the line by one collision or another.

On this type of green, I prefer to take my chances on hitting the ball into the hole, not “giving up the cup” unless the break is severe enough to dictate it. A ball that is given a hard rap has a better chance of overcoming those obstacles that a spiked green presents. I don’t think the thin and slow roller is the answer.

3. Playing mature routes

I hate to advise people of two different hams, but if you really break it down, there are two distinctly different ways to play golf. For those who play plush fairways and soft greens, one type of game is in order – one of high drives and high, soft iron shots. But for those who play fairways and greens, this is a game all its own – one where you have to knock it down and watch it run.

I played in Dallas a short, big guy who could hit everybody. He would hit the ball about 180 meters in the air, then it would spin about 120 meters further. So what I’m really saying is, if you want maximum distance on tough courses, learn to hit the ball low.

I play every shot this way, from driver to irons. It doesn’t hurt me much, except on some courses where you have to hit it high to hold the hills. The best way to achieve low trajectory and subsequent spin is to place the ball a little lower than usual and aim it more toward the middle of your feet. Remember to keep your hands in a normal connection with the ball. That is, if the ball moves two inches to your right, so do your hands. This ensures that the straight line normally formed by the left wing and axle will still be straight.

If you take your normal swing and catch the ball at the bottom of the arc, as you should in this stance, the ball will shoot down and give you the most distance possible. You also get a great wind cheat when you need it.

4. Shot bunker with shallow sand

The consistency of sand traps on public and even private courses creates a real problem. Generally traps need more sand. What has filled them in the past has fallen or been blown away, forever. What is actually left is only a shallow layer of sand and below that, just plain dirt. What the golfer needs to understand in this situation is that he is not really playing a bunker shot. At least not since the pros play bunker shots. It is about the same as a small chip and the equipment used should reflect this. So I generally choose a pitching wedge.

Normally, with a blast shot, it is important to hit the correct distance behind the ball in order to get under it and lift it out of the heavy sand. But when there is only a shallow layer of sand, the solid base underneath keeps the blade from digging too deep. Since this hard plate doesn’t allow the blade to dig in, the ball will roll out of the bunker, usually with a good carrying spin.

5. Shot from a divot

Nothing is more frustrating than hitting a good drive into the heart of the fairway and then finding that the ball has come to a complete stop on someone else’s drive. Talk about a bad vacation! It’s the kind of thing that can be so discouraging, a good round quickly turns into a bad one.

When faced with one of these situations, I use a few basic technique changes. But let me be the first to say that I am not always completely successful. It’s a random shot because you can’t depend on how the ball will react from a divot. First of all, with this lie you should not open the front of the club; The club flange can bounce the blade on the ball, causing you to bite the shot. When you’re on a split, cover the clubface a bit, turn it into a closed position. Play the ball back to the right foot in position, and hit it down and forward, with your hands well forward. This will cause the ball to have a very low trajectory, but this is best when exiting a divot. Above all, never try to drive the ball out using a scraping motion with your hands. Let the club do the work.

One last thought: when I hit the ball with this shot, I don’t mean a very sharp downswing, because that causes the ball to roll off the clubface and lift significantly. Get those hands forward with the clubface covered, but try to get the last 12 inches before contact fairly level. This way the ball will move lower and with more control.