Teach Me To Golf by Renee O’Higgins

Steep bunker face. Flag just on the other side.

This is one of those shots where getting the ball up quickly is the priority.

Start with your most lofted club — whether that’s a 60°, 58°, 56° or sand wedge.

Then adjust your setup:

• Take a nice, wide stance and dig into the sand
• Get down into your knees
• Open the clubface to add loft
• Keep the handle centered rather than pressing your hands forward
• Feel the shaft work up quickly in the backswing
• Hold the clubface open as you swing through

The goal is to create enough height to clear the face while limiting how much the ball rolls once it lands.

When the bunker is intimidating, give yourself the loft and setup you need to go up and over.

Finding too many shots off the heel or toe?

Give yourself a smaller window.

Set two golf balls just outside the width of your clubhead — about two fingers of space on either side.

Then make your swing without touching either ball.

The goal:

• Keep your arms connected to your body
• Return the club through the center of the gate
• Brush the ground just beyond the imaginary line between the two balls

Hit one of the outside balls?

That’s instant feedback that the club isn’t returning where you want it.

And don’t make the gate too wide. It should be narrow enough that you’re just a little nervous about hitting one.

Start with smaller swings, then work your way into your distance wedges and eventually your full swing.

Better center contact starts with learning to control where the club returns.

Struggling with hitting the ground behind the ball?

This simple baby powder line drill gives you instant feedback on where your club is actually contacting the turf.

The goal:
Make your divot start at the line — not behind it.

For this player, we were working on two pieces:

• Getting the trail shoulder working down
• Using pressure from the back foot to move through the shot

The shoulder helps the club find the ground.

The lower body helps move that low point forward.

Turn without enough push?
You may stay on the back foot too long and hit behind the ball.

Make it a challenge:

Draw your line.
Hit 10 shots.
Count how many divots start where you want them to.

3 out of 10? You’re at 30%.

Start there. Then improve.

And if the ground feels too difficult? Go back to a tee and build your way down.

Practice with feedback.
Track your progress.
Own your contact.

Before you choose a club from the rough, look at the lie.

Is the ball sitting up?

Or is it buried down in the grass?

That difference matters.

When the ball is sitting up, you may be able to play the same club you would from the fairway.

But when it’s buried, the grass can grab the clubhead through impact and shut the face down — effectively taking loft away.

So adjust before you swing:

• Consider using a more lofted club
• Set the clubface slightly open
• Anticipate the grass trying to close the face through impact

That 5 hybrid might be perfect from a good lie.

From a buried lie? A 7 hybrid or 7 iron may give you a much better chance of getting the ball up and out.

Don’t choose your club based on yardage alone.

Read the lie. Then pick the club.

Just off the collar and tempted to reach for the putter?

Sometimes there’s a better option.

Especially when the grain is into you and the shot is severely uphill, a traditional chip can bring the leading edge into play — and that’s when the club grabs, gets stuck, and the dreaded chili dip shows up.

Try this instead:

Grab a 9 iron or pitching wedge.

• Raise the handle more upright
• Let the heel come slightly off the ground
• Choke down and anchor the handle into your lead arm
• Play the ball near the middle
• Keep pressure on the lead side
• Use a putting grip and putting style stroke

By getting the club more upright, you reduce how much grass the leading edge can grab.

The ball stays low.
It rolls like a putt.
And there’s very little opportunity for the club to get stuck.

Read it like a putt.

Then let the iron handle the rough.

This is one of those awkward bunker shots that catches golfers off guard.

The ball has rolled just into the bunker…

…but your feet are still outside.

The biggest mistake?

Trying to squat down to reach the ball.

When your knees bend too much, your arms, hands, and legs all compete for the same space—and solid contact becomes much harder.

Instead:

• Bend more from your waist than your knees
• Let your arms hang naturally in front of your body
• Relax the knees
• Keep your weight slightly on the lead side, just like a normal bunker shot
• Expect the ball to come out slightly to the right and plan your aim accordingly

Once you’re set up, trust it.

Make your normal bunker swing.

Sometimes the hardest shots aren’t about changing your swing…

They’re about finding the right setup.

Not every lie in the rough should be played the same.

Here on No. 7 at Talisker, the first question is simple:

Which way is the grass growing — and how is the ball sitting?

If the ball is sitting up, you may have plenty of club options. You might even catch a flyer that travels farther than expected.

But when the ball sits down deeper?

That’s when the setup changes.

• Open the clubface to help counteract the grass trying to shut it down
• Play the ball slightly back in your stance
• Start with a little more pressure on the lead side
• Use a shorter, punch-style swing
• Apply force through the bottom

Think roughly shoulder height to shoulder height.

Not a full swing.

A committed strike through the rough.

Read the lie first.
Adjust the setup.
Then commit to the shot.

You don’t need a driving range to improve your golf swing.

In fact, all you need is a popsicle stick… or even a golf tee.

Here’s the drill:

Place the stick between your lead hand’s thumb and index finger before taking your normal grip.

Now pay attention during the takeaway.

❌ If the stick points behind you, the clubface has likely opened too much.

✅ If the stick stays pointing more in front of your chest, you’ve created a much more neutral clubface.

Why does that matter?

An overly open clubface is one of the biggest contributors to a slice.

This simple drill gives you immediate feedback and helps build a more repeatable takeaway—all from your backyard.

Simple tool.
Instant feedback.
Straighter golf shots.

Try it at home before your next trip to the course.

New to golf?

Your first lesson shouldn’t leave you overwhelmed.

For this golfer’s first lesson, we focused on a few simple fundamentals they can take straight to the course and practice on their own:

• Tee height for iron shots
• Ball position
• Measuring the right distance from the ball
• Building a comfortable grip
• Keeping the head steady
• Creating extension back and through

One of the biggest priorities?

Getting the hands farther away from the body instead of pulling them in close.

A simple drill:
Place a second tee in the ground and practice extending the club back to strike it before stepping in to hit your shot.

Simple setup.
Clear priorities.
One drill to take to the range.

That’s how we start building a golf swing.