You know that professional golfers on any major tour have great short games. They are blessed with the time to practice, superior mechanics and “feel” that is second to none; however, they do know something that most players do not and that is the five secret shots that I will show you below.

It’s shots like these that help them get out of trouble and help them to save par most of the time. The secret to the short game is to always have the best go-to shot possible based on the conditions. So experiment with your normal short game shots and institute these five specialty shots below and you’ll see your scores come down for sure.

NOTE: For video footage of the shots below, please see my YouTube channel.

The Toe-Down Pitch Shot

In this age of super-fast greens, it seems like every time you miss the green by 5 to 10 feet you are faced with an almost impossible shot. It is here when the toe-down pitch shot will come out super soft and stop like you have never seen before.

• Set the club down on its toe (the heel is off the ground slightly).
• The club shaft is perpendicular to the ground.
• Use your putting grip with the ball in the middle of your stance.
• Make your normal putting motion, with no wrists, allowing the club to go down and through the ball during impact.
• You can open the blade, close the blade and use it in all lies for different results.

The Stab in the Bunker

Whenever golfers get cute from the fairway and you try to nestle the ball close to the pin when it is tucked behind a bunker, they tend to plug it in the bunker. This shot is not very hard when you have green to work with, but anytime the pin is cut close to the bunker face you need another shot than one that comes out low and hot.

• Set up as you would for your normal bunker shot.
• Position the club face and body open with you hands slightly ahead of the ball, your weight slightly forward slightly and your spine leaning slightly forward of center.
• Set the club upward with the wrists in the “V” type of swinging motion and “stab” down behind the ball with NO finish whatsoever.
• This action will cause a huge hole to be dug where the ball sat originally, and with no follow-through there won’t be much heat on the ball when it comes out of the bunker.
• By varying your follow-through, you will find that you can actually begin to control the ball’s release once it hits the green with some practice.

The Long, Running Bunker Shot

What do you do when you have a perfect lie in the bunker, but a huge uphill slope to negotiate on the green? Do you carry it back to the pin or do you elect to try a long running bunker shot? When you choose the long running bunker shot, you better make sure you get the ball back to the pin and here is how to do it.

• Set up as you normally would for a bunker shot.
• Position your club face and body open with your hands slightly ahead of the ball, your weight forward slightly and your spine leaning slightly forward of center.
• The simple adjustment to be made here is to take the club back “low and away,” making your swing’s shape look more like a “U” than a “V.”
• Finally, you will release fully through the shot allowing your clubface to close through the ball ,giving it more hook-spin.
• This hooking action through the ball will cause it to hit the green and run like a rabbit.
• Note: You can also take a lower-lofted club and hit this type of shot for the super long runners like you see in the British Open.

The Severe Downhill Pitch Shot

What do you do when you have a severe downhill pitch shot to a green that runs away from you? How do you keep it on the green? My goal here is to put the ball on the green anywhere within 20 feet and get to the next hole without making a big number for sure. Sometimes you have to take your licks and this is one of these times for sure!

• Align your body facing the pin.
• Place the ball in line with the outside of your ankles.
• Lean down the slope slightly with your shoulders.
• Set the club up slightly with your wrists and finish low.
• This will allow the ball to come off the club more solidly and running slightly.

The Toe-In Skipper

Sometimes you are faced with a shot that is over an area that is mowed down and slightly uphill, but you cannot use a lofted shot. If you hit the ball short, it will roll back to your feet, and if you go long then the ball will skip right by the hole. This is the shot you will see on No. 14 at Augusta when the professionals leave it short of the green and want to make sure the ball does not run away from them past the hole.

• Take your sand wedge or lob wedge for this shot and place the ball back in your stance slightly.
• Hood in the club head so that the blade is delofted at address.
• Make an exaggerated in-to-out swing, feeling like you are trying to “hook” the ball into the green. Land the ball short like the basic bump and run shot.
• This action will cause the ball to come off the face low, skip once or twice and then begin to check up on the green, slowing it down once it hits the green.
• This action will cause the ball to have just enough pace to move up the hill or through the mowed area but not too much as to run away from you past the pin.