Gary Nicol's short game secrets: The art of shot selection
In our quest to learn how to improve shot selection, The Golf Shack Academy on tour found our way to Archerfield Links, East Lothian, Scotland. Whilst there, we caught up with Gary Nicol, European Tour coach at TPEGS coaching, also based at Archerfield.
The art of shot selection
We asked Gary to demonstrate the best approach to different yardages, as this can often present several considerations; what club to use, how hard to hit the ball and what stance to adopt.
Gary showed us his method for tackling the following distances:
75 yards
56 degree wedge
We’re a little bit downwind today. I’m going to try and land this a little bit short of the flag, thinking about trying to release it up the bank onto the back level of the green.
50 yards
52 degree wedge
For me, I want to feel fairly evenly balanced; 50/50 on both feet. I don’t want my hands too far forward and I don’t want the ball too far back.
25 yards
52 degree wedge
I wan’t to get a very clear idea of what the ball needs to do. If you can visualise what the ball needs to do, you can start to see the shot a lot more clearly
10 yards
Putter
The big mistake most amateurs make is they reach for the most lofted club in their bag. It’s a straightforward shot and for me, the only option is the putter.
Look out for more videos featuring Gary Nicol and Archerfield golf links coming soon.
About Gary
Renowned European Tour coach, TrackMan Master and Certified Mind Factor coach Gary Nicol is available for private coaching at Archerfield Links. Gary has successfully coached golfers of all abilities over a 25 year period and spent 16 years traveling around the world. He has worked with over 30 Tour Pros including numerous tournament winners and Ryder Cup players. Gary offers a range of private coaching programmes including – individual one hour lessons, playing lessons, video lessons and analysis. All this is delivered to your email address and smartphone for you to watch and learn from, wherever and whenever you want.
About Archerfield
The Performance Centre located in East Lothian, Scotland is regarded as one of the finest golf Coaching and Fitting Facilities in Europe. It boasts state of the art technology from; TrackMan, V1 Video, GEARS, SAM PuttLab and SAM BalanceLab.
They provide an enhanced level of coaching for all levels of ability and world class Junior Coaching programmes.
If you are looking for new golf equipment then look no further, they are now custom fitting PING, Titleist and Callaway golf clubs with a wide range of components and club options available. Their custom fit experts will work with you to find the best solution for your game.
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