Manuel de la Torre on Hitting High Trajectory Shots

As you know if you follow this blog, I like to post different ways of playing the same shots because everybody's a little different. What's easy for some is hard for others. Having a choice can make the difference between having a shot or chipping out when you hit a bad one.

Altering trajectory is hard for some folks. Of course, for a low shot you can just take a club with less loft and make a shorter swing. And if you need a high shot and it's a shorter shot, you can just take a club with higher loft and hit it full. In neither case do you have to make any setup changes.

But when you need to hit the ball higher than normal and you've got to cover some ground... well, clubs with higher loft don't get as much distance.

When you need a high trajectory shot that travels a long way, you can't cheat. You have to know a technique to do that.

I'm sure you understand the logic of moving the ball a bit forward in your stance, more toward your lead foot. Everybody tells you that. But you need to catch the ball on the upswing to launch the ball higher, and that's the trick, isn't it?

Here's a tip from Manuel de la Torre, who has taught many accomplished players like two-time LPGA major winner Sherri Steinhauer.

Move the ball a bit forward in your stance, just like everybody suggests... but don't place the clubhead behind the ball like you normally would. Address the ball with the clubface about two inches behind the spot where the ball actually is, and then make a normal swing. The bottom of your swing will be at the spot where you would normally take a divot if the ball were at your address location, which means the clubhead will be on its way up when you actually hit the ball.

Yes, you'll need to practice this because you don't want to actually take a divot before you hit the ball with this shot; you just want to graze the top of the ground. But it shouldn't take too much practice to learn how to do that.

And -- added bonus! -- this technique will also help you be a better player in wet conditions, since 'pickers' tend to get better results with any shot when the weather's bad.