Short game special with Charley Hull: Stay wide & solid
At set-up Charley works on creating a wide stance with her left foot flared out; this allows her to put the majority of her weight on the left leg. You can see the right leg is kicked inwards. The shaft has a neutral lean with the clubface open.
HOW MUCH DO YOUR LEGS MOVE?
There is lots of wrist set as Charley opens the face by cupping her left wrist – look at the length of her backswing for a 15-yard shot!
Charley used to lean the shaft forward too much coming to the ball, reducing loft and bounce, two key ingredients for successful bunker play.
She works on returning the shaft to where it started with lots of right hand releasing ‘under’. This gets the bounce working the sand up and out of the bunker which carries the ball out with a lot of spin.
Charley likes to feel as if she is putting the butt of the grip in her left pocket in the finish to make sure she has release the club correctly.
Pro Tip: There is little or no leg action in bunkers. Note how Charley’s legs have hardly moved from set-up to finish – this promotes the correct wrist action and gives her consistency of her strike point in the sand. Most amateurs drive
their legs through the shot like they may hit a driver for example.
Tips from Dan Grieve. Dan is the senior professional at Woburn Golf Club and has been at the club for 10 years. He has worked with Charley on her short game for the past four years and is renowned as being a specialist in this area. In addition Dan works with Sir Clive Woodward on elite coaching programmes. www.dggolfpro.com
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