Know the score before you go clubbing
Selecting the right shot around the green is vital if you are to get up and down on any golf course.
It might seem like you have lots of options when you get to your ball, but sometimes the decision should be made for you and knowing what club to use is vital.
This is particularly true of the 18th hole at Kirkhill, where Douglas and Duncan headed this week to work on Douglas’s short game.
The green slopes from front to back, meaning a chip shot from the back of the green will be very different from the front.
Duncan said: “When you go through the green, you’re chipping back up the slope so you need a straighter faced club.
“The grass is also against you. You can see the club can get caught and slowed down, so you need to make sure you get through the grass and connect properly with the ball.
“From here, I’d use a nine-iron, which will cut through the grass, and run the
Kirkhill Golf Club’s professional Duncan Williamson works with Douglas this week on helping to improve our reporter’s short game
ball up.”
From the front of the green, Duncan’s solution was very different.
Instead, from a tight, fairway lie, he had Douglas use his 58 degree wedge. He said: “Play this shot with the hands back slightly and keep the clubhead close to the ground. “Land it short and let it run out. “We didn’t get much closer from either side, but right now the greens are very fast as they’ve just been rolled and it’s a difficult shot anyway.
“The best place to miss this green would be on the right hand side, slightly long where you’d be chipping into the hill.”