The Top Five Hardest Shots in Golf

[kevin.chan]

Down Hill lie with long iron ( I end up with layup all the time) Downhill Putt Fried Egg Bunker shot P/s On lag and down hill putt and , I find leff to right is no so confidence compare to right to left putt

[gjsuicide]

I voted pitch shot over bunker/water. The flop shot over a bunker with bunker/trouble on the other side of the pin, not to mention probably from a tight lie, really gets my nerves going.  Sure the short putt under pressure isnt easy, but a 4 foot putt is still an easier shot regardless of the circumstances.  With that flop shot my only real option is pretty much perfection, or trouble.  Another vote I might have considered is a tee shot on a long hole with a narrow space between OB and OB or hazard.  With that shot Im either hitting a great tee shot, counting penalty strokes, or clubbing down and settling for a bogey or worse before I even hit my first shot!  Maybe I should play the shorter tees....

[johnclayton1982]

I'm not sure the a 3-4 foot putt under pressure is really an option in the "hardest golf shot" category, because you can make any shot harder by adding that.  Is a 3-4 foot putt for your best round tougher than a 50-80 yard bunker shot with two to go for your best round?  No.  You can make any shot "harder" by adding those qualifiers.

That said, my vote is actually for hitting a wedge or short iron with heavy wind.  I played in heavy wind the other day and I simply could not get close to the pin to threaten par - it was really hard.  Hitting those high-lofted clubs low without thinning them or ending up short is really, really hard.  I think its harder than an intermediate sand shot.  Those high-lofted clubs with wind is hard, at least for me, because my X-20s get the ball really high and it goes all over the place in heavy wind.

[Chilli Dipper]

My opinion reflects what many have already stated. Shots from downhill lies are extremely difficult. That includes: [LIST] [*] hitting off a downhill lie in the fairway with a low-lofted club (long iron, hybrid, fairway wood) [*] bunker shot from a downhill lie [*] chipping or pitching from a downhill lie, especially if short-sided or over a hazard [*] short putts with the green running away [/LIST]

[evan01]

My friend ! That is not a hard shot . don't dig in hit a normal wedge and skim the sand. Think that you are in the middle of  a fairway. Do this shot from 200, 150, 100. I am  15 handicap and have no fear.

[Pottsy]

Why would you EVER need to play a low cut with a short iron??

[Lefty-Golfer]

Originally Posted by Pottsy

Why would you EVER need to play a low cut with a short iron??

I assume by he was saying some type of punch / cut with a short iron. I agree with him that for me they are a very difficulty shot.

[lumpuckeroo]

1) a draw

2) 40-50 yd bunker shot

3) 300 yd drive

4) fried egg in a bunker

5) that backward shot with a wedge that Phil hits

[wmiller]

Hardest shot I've ever had to hit was two weeks ago. Needed a slight draw around the first tree, and under it's branches, then through a (6'-8'?) hole in the canopy of a tree behind it, rolling it up to the green and staying out of the bunker left.

Distance wise, the shot called for a 8 iron, but the trajectory needed called for a 5. Had to hit a soft 5, around one tree and through another.

Actually pulled it off, sort of. Threaded the trees perfectly, but the ball took a funny hop about 3/4 of the way there and ended up in the bunker. Didn't make the up-and-down, but was very pleased with myself for pulling that shot off. Probably a one in one hundred shot, doubt I could ever pull it off again.

[saevel25]

My top

Half wedge distance bunker shot

Fried Egg Bunker shot

Ball at akward heights, knee high or really below your feet

severe downslope lie

[JoelCochran]

From the poll options I chose the buried lie in deep rough: I just don't have the strength to get down to the ball or power through the grass with much success.

From a purely physical standpoint, the fact that a shot is over a bunker or water has no effect on how difficult it is, so I try not to let it affect me mentally.  When a playing partner says something about water on a hole and I'll say "what water?"

My hardest five at the moment:

1) Downhill lies to an uphill green.  We have quite a few of these on our course, sometimes I feel punished for hitting a good drive.

2) Short downhill putts with lots of break.

3) Bunker shots out of shallow/wet sand.

4) The Power Fade (really, any fade: I frequently double-cross myself)

5) 3 wood off the fairway. (5 wood is no problem)

[B of H]

Why would you EVER need to play a low cut with a short iron??

When you have a tight pin on the extreme right of a green with a right to left wind and you cant risk starting it right of the green. Tree trouble Pin cut over a ridge and you dont want to spin it back in the direction of the ridge Etc...

[Spyder]

Mine is most definitely hitting the long irons from the rough - where the ball is half way up a slope while you are holding the club shin-level. For the life of me I always pull these far left and miss the green. For the longest time I would have the fear of topping it embedded in my mind so I would PW it back in play lol. My own personal nightmare right here...

[kevin.chan]

Chipping around the green( down hill ) and no place to land the ball.

[jamesonbourne]

Wow!  Thanks for the response, guys.  Feel free to keep this going if you'd like.

In retrospect, I might also suggest the following...

215+ yard tee shot on a par 3.

Not bragging, but being 22 years old I can still hit a 3, 4, or 5 iron depending on the conditions, but I know for a lot of people that's a killer.

Punch fade or the "low cut" as most people call it.

This is probably just a personal thing, but I can't hit a controlled fade to save my life.  My dad brought me up to hit a draw from day one and now I don't put in the time to practice hitting a fade.  I would say one out of every five times I have to hit a punch shot it requires a fade to get close to the target and I just don't have that shot.

[MrElculver2424]

Buried lie in bunker. I can get it out of really thick rough, but if it's buried in the bunker, sometimes I have a tough time getting it out and onto the green.

[ohiolefty]

I voted for buried lie in the rough. I hate having so little control over the ball, and I LOATHE having to make decisions about shots based on 'negatives', meaning all the bad things that could happen.

[ohiolefty]

I wish long, downhill iron shot would have been on there. That's the hardest shot for me to hit.