Charlie Hull’s Weird Short-Game Practice Habit Is Worth Stealing

In a recent video with Jason Day, Charlie Hull let us in on a little insider information about her game.

There was plenty in there about her swing, her back injury, her practice-round mindset and how much of a feel player she is. But buried in the middle of the video was something I think is worth stealing.

Hull practices weird shots.

Not just the basic bunker shot or the stock chip.

She practices the shots most golfers would look at and say, “There’s no way I’m trying that.”

What Charlie Hull practices

Hull talked about how much she loves bunkers and how she likes changing things up in the sand.

One of the examples she gave was a closed-face bunker shot with draw spin. She said her coach has her practice little draw-y bunker shots around a tree from about 20 yards away.

That’s not exactly the standard “open the face, splash it out” bunker lesson. But that’s the point.

Hull said she likes practicing the most ridiculous shots because, even if she may use them just once a year, she knows she has them when she needs them.

That’s the tip I think you can take from this. It does not mean you should pull off a miracle flop shot over a bunker on the 18th hole if you have never practiced it. That’s probably the exact opposite of the lesson.

The real takeaway is that if you want more options on the course, you have to build them somewhere else first.

I learned this by accident

When I was a kid, I learned to play golf in my parents’ backyard.

I would find holes, trees, bushes and anything else that could make a shot harder. I’d stand with one foot in a hole and try to hit it over a tree. I’d put a bush in the way and try to curve something around it. I’d see how high I could hit it, how low I could hit it and how many different ways I could get the ball to a target.

At the time, I don’t think I was “practicing.” I was just a kid trying to stay busy.

But as I got older, I realized those weird little games gave me confidence. When I played college golf, I felt like I could manufacture shots from bad spots. I could see options other players may not have seen.

Did that come from the days of standing in a hole trying to hit over a tree?

Who knows? But I think it helped.

The point is not that every golfer needs a closed-face draw-spin bunker shot. However, short-game practice gets a lot more useful and a lot more fun when you stop making every shot perfect.

Try the weird shot.

Just don’t use it on the course until you’ve earned the confidence first.