Johnny Miller’s best tip for never losing a tee shot out of bounds | Instruction

Golf instruction is always evolving, but the best advice stands the test of time. In GOLF.com’s new series, Timeless Tips, we’re highlighting some of the greatest advice that teachers and players have dished out in the pages of GOLF Magazine. Today we look back to our September 1983 issue when Johnny Miller shared some brilliant tips for keeping your tee shots in play.

One of the biggest separators between low handicap and high handicaps is the ability to eliminate penalty shots. These wayward shots that result in penalty kicks lead to explosive holes–and a post-round recap full of “what ifs.”

When you can eliminate these big numbers, posting a low score becomes much easier. There is no need to be perfect to fill the holes of the breath. Instead, you can allow yourself to make a few (smaller) mistakes and still place a solid turn.

Doing this doesn’t have to be perfect off the tee. Rather, you just need to eliminate the big miss that goes out of bounds. For more on this, we turn the pages of GOLF magazine back to our September 1983 issue when Johnny Miller he gave his tips for keeping the ball in play.

“>

Johnny Miller’s driving tips

You face a difficult situation in which you have to hit a shot that GOLF Magazine’s survey confirms as “the most feared” by the amateur golfer. There is a severe problem – water or out of bounds – to the left and/or right of your landing zone. What should you do?

As a general rule, the best tack is to go with your strongest shot, whether it’s a low slice or a duck hook. Don’t worry about the aesthetics of it, just aim to get away from the problem and get the ball down the fairway.

Second, when aiming for a shot like this, don’t try to pick an exact spot for the ball to end up – trying to be too precise can cause a swing problem. Instead, try something that fellow Tour teacher Mike Reid told me: Look at everything you have. Note the size of the area in which the ball can safely end; now focus on that whole area. You will be much more relaxed.

hirdly, in the case of OB, you should think to keep the ball as low as possible. In the air enchant the danger, on the ground security. A high, floating shot can be a big problem when it hits. So use a low tee. Remember, low balls usually don’t go far down the line.

Obviously, there are times when you are not in the habit of remembering your strongest shot. If the problem is on the left, and your best shot is a slice, you may have to start the ball towards the markers to get back into the fairway. That is why, eventually, one must learn to move the ball both ways.

There are two schools of thought regarding strategy in a situation with OB or water on one side or the other. The first school says to start the ball at the problem and work away. The second says to start and work the ball back towards the problem. I subscribe to this second method, like Jack Nicklaus.

When you go to the tee with water on the right and hit the ball in the hazard, dragging it back into the fairway, there are four possibilities, two of them leaving you with a penalty shot.

1. You can pull off the shot exactly as planned.
2. You might hit the ball too much.
3. You can hit the ball straight.
4. You can slice the ball in the drink.

But if you follow my method, I think the percentages are in your favor.

My method

Address the ball to the right side of the tee, start the shot well left of the water, fading it back. So the four possibilities are as follows:

1. The blow comes planned.
2. Take the ball straight.
3. You hit the ball.
4. Cut the ball too much and find water.

Only the last of these results in a penalty shootout.

When you try to fade the ball in a situation like this, tee it up lower than usual; this encourages the tendency to swing from outside to inside. When faced with the need to hit this shot from left to right, I even went to the point of putting the ball on the ground with the driver, just to guarantee the low slice. Now take your stance a little further away from the ball than usual. Although it encourages some kind of pull, it is insurance against starting the ball too right.

Shorten your backswing slightly and take your hands out of the action almost completely. To do this, take it a little tighter than usual, especially with your left hand. This firmness will result in the handle hitting the club head at the ball, which results in an open clubface at impact.

To help the pull (problem on the left), tee the ball a little higher than usual, encouraging a full and free swing. Keep the club a little lighter than usual, so you can release your hands easily, closing the club face slightly at impact.

Again, your distance from the ball can make a difference. In this case, stay a little closer to the ball. From this position, it is almost impossible to shoot the ball. In fact, more often than not you push the ball.