Having problems with your short game? looking for an escape route from those dreaded bunkers? Need advice on handling hilly terrain? In this special golf instruction section, three of the best ClubResorts instructors provide valuable tips on getting uncommon results when facing golf’s common pitfalls.

When facing short-game predicaments on the golf course, you will likely encounter situations that are less than ideal. Sometimes, these situations can be the result of an errant tee shot on a par-3 hole, a poor approach shot, or occasionally, nothing more than a bad bounce. But, by far, the three most common short-game trouble-shot situations you might face are distance putts, the tight-lie or hard-pan shot, and the deep-rough shot. Though distinctively different, each shot can make you lose precious strokes.

Luckily, these situations also offer you the opportunity to recover and minimize unnecessary additional strokes to the score. Whatever the situation, an effective recovery begins with the following steps of assessing your situation, determining your goal, and committing to your decision.

• Assess the extent of your situation, including a thorough observation of the lie of the ball and the surroundings. Your analysis will help you determine the specific issues that need to be addressed in the situation. For example, is the lie of the ball going to affect the club choice or shot choice? Or, are there undulations in the putting surface that will require special consideration?

• Determine your goal. For instance, can you expect your ability level to get the ball close to the hole? Is it better just to get the ball on the putting surface because of the circumstances? From where do you want to play your next shot? The key is choosing a goal that can be accomplished without costing yourself any extra strokes if you are not successful.

• Be 100 percent committed to your decision. This mind-set allows you to remain confident, calm, and relaxed over the ball, and thereby allows for the most effective results.

THE LONG PUTT
Because of such variables as green speed and slope, one of the most difficult situations encountered on the course is the distance putt. Ideally, a putting stroke has the head of the putter traveling straight back and straight through on the target line with the clubface remaining square to the line as much as possible. Most golfers make this motion through a combination of arm and shoulder movements. The head and body remain still. In the case of distance putting, you should pay special attention to three key points. First, to minimize excess body motion, you should position your feet farther apart than normal. Second, forward press your hands at address to ensure there will be a minimal amount of ball bouncing. Lastly, make an equal amount of stroke back and through.

Unfortunately, distance control and touch only can be developed by experience. To practice, pace off about 60 feet (or about 25 steps) from a cup. From this point, putt three balls toward the hole and evaluate your results. Next, follow the same routine from 50 feet. Follow this routine from a variety of distances, evaluating your results. Are you stroking the ball close enough to two-putt? If not, how many times did you three-putt? Practice time not only will help you develop a feel for the distance, but also will help enhance your ability to get the ball in the hole in two strokes.

HARD-PAN SHOT
When faced with a bare or tight lie, amateurs should use a slight setup modification for the traditional chip-and-run shot. This modified setup will ensure that the ball is struck before any ground, thus guaranteeing a predictable result.

To set up, position the ball back in your stance with your hands slightly in front of the ball. Use the same grip as the full swing, with your hands positioned lower on the grip. Align your lower body square or slightly left of the target, with the majority of your body weight on the left side (for right-handers). Swing the club back and through, brushing the ground beneath the ball and using very little hand or wrist action.

Varying the distance of the ball’s roll is accomplished through club selection. Varying the distance the ball flies through the air is controlled by the amount of swing. To practice, position 12 balls on hard pan or thin grass about 15 feet from the putting surface. Using the described setup, hit the first three balls with a pitching wedge. Pay attention to how much swing is required to land the ball on the putting surface and how far the ball is rolling. Continue to practice, varying the distance from the putting surface and following the same routine.

DEEP-ROUGH SHOT
When faced with deep rough, traditional contact between the club and ball can be difficult or near impossible. This shot flies lower and shorter than usual, so you should follow two rules of thumb. First, determine the effect of the length of grass. The deeper the grass, the more difficult it will be to make clean contact. Second, determine the distance the ball needs to carry to get on the green. To set up, position the ball in the middle of your stance with your hands even with the ball and midway on the grip. Align your lower body square or slightly left of the target line with your weight slightly favoring your front foot. Open the clubface slightly. Swing your arm and hand back and forth, brushing the ground beneath the ball. Varying distance is controlled by clubhead speed, which is difficult to judge prior to the attempt. Try the following practice routine: Place 12 practice balls in rough conditions with the first ball on top of the grass and the last ball buried deep. Using your sand wedge or lob wedge, start with the easiest lie and work your way to the most difficult lie. Assess how much swing is required to land the ball on the putting surface and how far the ball is rolling.

Eric Alpenfels is the director of the Golf Advantage School at Pinehurst in the Village of Pinehurst, North Carolina. A Class A PGA professional, Alpenfels has been selected by Golf Digest as one of "America’s 50 Greatest Teachers," and appears on Golf Magazine’s list of "Top 100 Teachers in America." To reach the Golf Advantage School at Pinehurst, call 866.291.4427.

Gene Sarazen is credited with designing the sand wedge in the 1930s. It was designed to make hitting out of the sand easier by utilizing more loft and bounce. Today, golfers continue to be creative in their attempts to escape bunkers — sometimes with customized clubs, sometimes with sheer strength, sometimes with unique techniques. Let’s discuss a few rescue tips and information designed to improve your sand game. We’ll start with Sarazen’s ideas of loft and bounce. Loft is the angle of the clubface related to horizontal. Bounce defines how much lower the back edge of the club is than the leading edge. Both of these factors influence your ability to execute successful bunker shots. Both loft and bounce can be manipulated by opening or closing the face of your club. For right-handed golfers, opening the face of the club means to turn the face to the right, which increases the amount of loft as well as the amount of bounce. Therefore, closing the face means turning the face to the left, which decreases loft and bounce.

EVALUATING THE SHOT
When approaching a bunker shot, you need to understand what your club must do. For example, consider whether your club needs to bounce through the sand, cut through the sand, or dig through the sand. The answer is determined by the texture of the sand, by the amount of sand under your ball, and by the way your ball is sitting in the sand. Obviously, since testing the surface of the sand is prohibited by the rules of golf, you must evaluate the texture by sight or by digging in your feet at address. Hitting a couple of shots in warm-up before your round also would be very helpful.

If your ball is sitting pretty nicely in the sand and there is ample sand under your ball, then you want your club to bounce. Remember, when you set up to have your club bounce, by opening the face, you also are increasing the loft of your club at impact. The result is that your normal sand wedge has turned into a lob wedge in terms of loft. This means you can swing harder without overhitting.

If your ball in the bunker is not sitting up nicely and the sand appears to be harder, then you need your club to cut a bit deeper. This is achieved by maintaining a square clubface or possibly closing the face a bit to activate the leading edge of the club. This depends on how deeply you need your club to cut. If you find the dreaded buried lie (what we call the "fried egg scenario"), use the club to dig very deep. Closing the clubface does this. Now remember, when you close the clubface, you are de-lofting the club, which is likely to result in a lower trajectory and more roll on the shot, especially if it hits the green.

If you find your ball in a bunker with an uphill or downhill lie, there are some additional adjustments needed to what you have already learned about bounce versus dig. The key point to remember when you are standing on a slope is to have your shoulders compatible to what your feet are doing. This means that if your left foot, in taking your stance, is on the high side of the hill (your left foot is higher than your right foot), your left shoulder is higher than your right shoulder. This adjustment in your stance allows you to swing with the contour of the slope and not against it. The opposite occurs when you are swinging on the downhill slope. The adjustments in your stance will influence the shape of your swing. (Of course, the clubface position is still determined by the texture of the sand and the lie of the ball.)

LONG BUNKER SHOTS
The long bunker shot often has been defined as one of the toughest shots in golf. As mentioned earlier, closing the face of your club will produce lower trajectory and roll. Choosing a less-lofted club also can produce a lower trajectory shot and roll. In fact, if your long bunker shot is situated to accommodate a shot that will roll, choosing a less-lofted club will make this an easier shot. Practice a few bunker shots, using your pitching wedge and then the 8- and 9-irons to see what happens. You are likely to see a lower shot that rolls when it hits the green.

Of course, there are long bunker shots that don’t allow you to hit a low shot that rolls. These are called forced carries, which means you will need to carry the ball a long way in the air. This typically is achieved by taking a larger swing with your sand wedge. A larger swing usually means more shoulder turn, which makes your club take a shallower cut of sand. This is a risky proposition because if you hit the ball first, we all know the result — a sculled shot over the green.

The key to these bunker shots is understanding that the bunker shot typically is defined as an "explosion" shot. That’s an aggressive word. Most of my students who struggle in the bunker are apprehensive or timid. This type of approach leads to swing flaws, such as weight-shift issues or follow-through issues. The biggest fear that some individuals have is that they are going to hit the shot too far by swinging aggressively.

My advice: Apply what you have learned about bounce and loft and be aggressive.

Travelers come to Austin, Texas, for a variety of reasons — beautiful weather, live music, the lakes, and of course, golf in the Texas Hill Country. At the top of the list of places to play golf is Barton Creek Resort & Spa with its four championship courses (designed by Tom Fazio, Ben Crenshaw, and Arnold Palmer), a world-class spa, luxurious accommodations, and fine dining.

The Fazio Canyons course, the most recent course addition, is considered by many to be a Texas golf masterpiece. A true test of golf, the Fazio Canyons poses an immediate challenge off the tee and provides plenty of hilly fairways and greens, and changes in elevation.

Barton Creek’s newest amenity, the Golf Academy, provides guests with a first-class teaching program and facility where they can learn how to handle the hills at the Fazio Canyons. Fully equipped with a covered hitting station, capabilities for Swing Solutions computer video, and an extensive short-game school, the Golf Academy can help keep you in the fairway and save par from around the greens.

Here are some tips on how to handle the hills:

HILLY FAIRWAYS
Why does it seem so much easier to hit good fairway shots on the driving range? One reason is the difference between practice and play, but another is that the range is usually flat and the golf course has all sorts of hilly lies. These situations affect your balance as well as the ball’s flight, contact, trajectory, distance, and direction. Try the following basic fundamentals to help you improve your play.

When playing on uphill or downhill fairways, choose a club that fits the situation. If you are playing downhill, use more loft to help hit the ball higher and with more carry. An uphill lie might require more club, or less loft, to hit the ball farther. Uphill lies tend to pull or hook. Downhill lies tend to push or fade.

On downhill lies, the ball flight will be lower and it might be more difficult to hit the ball solidly. In the setup, place more weight on the lower foot so that your spine is perpendicular to the slope of the hill. This will help your swing follow, or match, the slope. Position the ball toward your higher foot to make better contact with the ball. Position the ball toward your lower foot to help hit the ball higher.

HILLY GREENS
All greens have some slope to allow for water drainage. Many greens have shelves or terraces to challenge players’ short games. When hitting approach shots to the green, try to place the ball on the terrace where the pin is located. Playing down or up severe slopes makes two-putting more challenging. When chipping or pitching to hilly greens, aim for the high side of the slope so the ball rolls toward the hole. As soon as the ball rolls below the hole or to the low side, it can never curve back uphill. Playing to the high side allows the ball a chance to curve toward the hole. Many players have chipped onto the green only to see the ball roll off the green because the shot direction was on the low side.

Around the greens, approach the slopes using the same philosophy as the fairways. Match your body lines along the slope of the hill to allow your swing to follow. Place more weight on your lower foot and play the ball more toward your higher foot. Your knees, hips, and shoulders will be parallel to the slope. Remember, the slopes will change the trajectory and distance. Use more loft for downhill and less loft going uphill. Consider the club selection to help run or stop the ball.

What about a sidehill lie and its effect on direction? The ball will follow the same direction as the slope of the hill. Imagine pouring a bucket of water on the ground. Wherever the water flows, the ball will go in the same direction.

HILLY ELEVATIONS
Downhill elevation changes make the ball carry farther. It can be a lot of fun to gain 50 yards off the tee. Consider using less club so you do not hit the ball too far. On uphill tee shots, with elevated fairways, you might actually hit the ball farther with a more lofted club because the extra loft will prevent the ball from hitting the ground too soon.

On elevated tee boxes, check the wind direction. It might have more effect than it appears. Look at the tops of trees or throw some grass in the air to confirm its direction. The wind might require more or less club — and a change in alignment.

When choosing your target on elevated tee boxes, consider using visual targets much higher than usual. Just as the tee is elevated, so are you. This will affect your line of sight. For a consistent setup, focus on looking on the same line of sight as if the fairway were level with the tee box. This might require choosing a target up in the clouds.

Playing various types of golf courses under changing course conditions makes golf an interesting game. Hilly lies and elevations, treelined fairways, and waterfalls give golfers in the Texas Hill Country a little test of everything.

Tom Bennett is golf instructor at the Chuck Cook Golf Academy at Barton Creek Resort & Spa. A PGA professional, Tom has spent years studying under Chuck Cook and David Leadbetter. He conducts Full Swing and Short Game Schools throughout the year in Austin, Texas, and can be reached at 512.301.1054.