Scottie Scheffler: Two of my shots you need—and two you don't

It’s tempting to try a lot of the shots you see on tour, but some of them should come with those warning labels you see on dangerous products. Trying them in the wrong situation—or without enough practice—can be disastrous. Here are two shots I use that you should immediately add to your own game, and two others better to admire from afar.

Ones you need

Hit a Draw with Your Driver

Hitting too many shots that over-curve to the right? The cause is almost always an open face in relation to your swing path. You need a path that comes from inside the target line, and you can create room for it by getting your back turned to the target at the top of the swing.

Master the Vanilla Pitch

Watching a high-spin short-game shot zip to a stop is exciting, but the reality is that your score will improve most by getting better at the single boring pitch you need 90 percent of the time. My two keys? Don’t deliver the club with more or less loft than it had at address, and keep turning your chest through the shot.

Ones you don’t

The Tour Flop

What did we just say about dramatic short-game shots? The flop demands lots and lots of speed, and that comes from aggressively throwing your trail hand so the clubhead passes the handle through impact. The harder you swing, the higher the ball goes. Of course, if you catch the ball a little thin, it goes over the house behind the green.

The High, Hard Long-Iron Draw

If you still have long irons in your bag (why?), trying to produce a high draw with one takes a lot of skill. To do it, you need lots of speed, and a slightly in-to-out path—without shutting the face too much. The feel? Your trail shoulder is moving down through impact and then around to the left. It's a cool shot, for sure, but you're probably better off with a hybrid.