Every golfer has had those days when the wind is whipping and Mother Nature’s just trying to make an already tough sport nearly impossible. That’s when it’s time to make some adjustments to ensure you give yourself the best chance to score low.
When the wind’s in high gear, the most important thing to control is your ball-flight, making sure you keep it low and don’t find yourself way short of your landing area.
This is why having a knockdown shot in your arsenal is clutch. So the Rainmakers crew asked Ryan Young, head golf pro at Chambers Bay, how to hit one.
The Keys to a Perfect Knockdown Shot
Don’t get me wrong, hitting a knockdown shot in golf takes ability. In fact, it’s an elevated skill that can be tricky to master. But Young says that, with these golf tips, you can practice this low-flight shot to use when needed on the course.
“It all starts with your setup, so put the ball back in your stance and focus on your attack angle — you can’t be steep, so you’ve got to be wide,” Young tells me in the video.
“Think about having less hinge and, instead, reaching out like you would with a driver, keeping the club shallow to the ground and then abbreviating the follow through so your hands never release. If they do, you add spin, which you don’t want on this type of shot.”
After making some minor tweaks to the setup, Young gave me an easy visual to mimic while I swing the club.
“It should almost look like a hockey slap shot,” he said. “At address, lean onto your lead leg to cover the ball and deloft the clubface, and then your swing should be wide-to-wide.”
Sure, most amateur golfers don’t think about practicing things like knockdown shots on the driving range. But by spending just a little bit of time working on specialty types of shots, you’ll have confidence anytime the weather might get a little bit wonky during a round.
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