Golf Trick Shots

Golf Trick Shots: 10 Best of All time & 5 to Try

Golfers love to push the boundaries of what’s possible in this crazy game.

Whether it’s Bryson packing on 20 pounds of muscle to hit it 330+ yards, or Tiger bringing fitness to a game where it previously didn’t exist. As golfers, we are always looking for more when it comes to hitting a golf ball with a crooked stick.

And now golfers now have social media like Instagram, YouTube and TikTok to test out all kinds of crazy trick shots. Sure, every player has tried to hit it like Happy Gilmore at one time or another, but now there are so many more options. These guys and girls are committed to entertaining fans online with amazing trick shots that most of us would never even attempt.

Here are some of our favorite trick shots to spark your imagination, and also five shots you can test out on your own.

10 Best Golf Trick Shots

Thanks to a handful of social media platforms, there are no shortage of shots to choose from. Here are 10 of our favorites to entertain you (in no particular order).

1. Tiger’s Accidental Trick Shot

When searching for the best golf trick shots, I had to start the list with the guy who likely started all this in the first place – Tiger Woods.

During a Nike commercial shoot 20+ years ago, Tiger was messing around in between takes. The director saw him bouncing the ball on a wedge, then hitting it without letting it touch the ground.

He was so impressed that they completely changed the entire commercial and made it all about that shot. The best part is, it was 100% an accident, which makes it so incredible.

Click here to watch the Tiger Woods Nike commercial.

If you’ve ever been to TopGolf, chances are you’ve seen someone attempt this shot too. Things can go sideways (literally) so don’t try this after a few adult beverages in your TopGolf bay.

2. The Red Solo Cup Challenge

While this trick shot isn’t as fancy as some on this list, it’s actually a good drill, too. In fact, one of my earliest golf teachers did this drill with a paper cup from the water cooler during a lesson.

By placing a cup over the golf ball, you’re forced to swing hard and through the shot. You won’t focus as much on “Where is the ball going” or the other million thoughts that race through our mind.

Instead, it makes you focus on impact and making an aggressive move through the ball, not at the ball. It should help you add more distance too! Click here to watch the video.

3. Tee in Mouth

This shot scares me to death. Watching people try these videos is terrifying and I do not recommend trying it!

The shot itself is pretty simple, hit a ball off the tee.

But there’s one big catch, the tee isn’t in the ground. Instead, a brave soul has the tee in their mouth as someone swings a driver over their face. Again, I do not recommend this shot as things can go wrong quickly and might need to visit a hospital.

You can watch John Daly actually pull it off correctly here. What’s even crazier is that it looks like JD and his buddies have already had some beers, which makes this shot even more impressive (and scary).

4. The 12- Pack

This shot from Jamie Sadlowski is wildly impressive and unlike anything I’ve ever seen. He takes a full dozen golf balls and hits all 12 at once with his three wood.

I’m not talking about hitting them back to back. No, instead, he literally hits all 12 at once.

He sets the dozen balls up and addresses the lower left golf ball of the pack. He boldly says it should go 260-280 yards in the air (every golfer’s dream). He casually takes his normal swing and explodes the dozen, leaving balls in every direction.

But the launch monitor doesn’t lie and he hits the main ball a casual 265 yards! Click here to watch the video on YouTube.

How to Hit Trick Shots in Golf

5. Wedge-Driver Bomb

This is one of the most impressive ones on this list because of the sheer amount of eye-hand coordination. As you can see in this YouTube video, Josh is holding a driver and a wedge in each hand.

He bounces the ball off the wedge, high into the air. Then, he keeps his eye on the ball, while dropping his wedge, gripping his driver, and mashing one down the fairway.

This is not easy and I don’t recommend doing it at a packed driving range!

6. The Toe Tap

If you’re a golfer and soccer enthusiast, chances are you will enjoy this shot. As you can see in this Instagram video, Tania picks the ball up with her feet, bounces it a few times on the clubface, then gets it to land on the bottom of her foot.

Then, she makes an epic slow motion jump move to launch the ball up while simultaneously turning around and swinging her driver. She makes this driver trick swing look easy (and the ball flight looks impressive too). That hand-eye coordination is beyond impressive!

7. Insane Flop Shot

When it comes to hitting incredible wedge shots, who’s better than Phil Mickelson? The answer is no one because what he can do with a wedge is nothing short of extraordinary.

As you can see in this video, Phil is able to open his lob wedge all the way up and flop it over another human being. First, this takes a ton of trust in Phil, but if I had to put my money on anyone to execute it and not blade it, it’s lefty.

What’s even more impressive is that he executes this shot from a tight lie. For most golfers, this would give them nightmares to even attempt this shot.

He opens his wedge nearly all the way, takes a full swing, launches it seven feet in the air, and it lands insanely soft. No wonder Phil is such a guru around the greens!

8. The Beer Bottle

Another Instagram video from Tisha made us reconsider disposing of a beer bottle once it’s done. As you can see in the video, she rests the golf ball on the bottle like it were a huge tee. Then, casually kicks the bottle, bounces the ball off the club, then launches it with her driver.

But you can only do this shot if you have the hilarious dance celebration like her at the end of the video. I don’t blame her, I would be doing the same thing if I pulled it off!

9. The Domino

This YouTube video is elaborate and something I feel like he did during lockdown when we were all going stir crazy. As you can see in the video, he chips it into a stone block, it bounces off several other blocks and between his legs. But it has the perfect amount of loft to pop up and off the last stone to dunk straight into the cup! It’s a very epic slam dunk!

10. Pop the Cork

There are a lot of ways to open a champagne bottle, but this is by far the most impressive. While I’ve seen people open it with a large kitchen knife, it’s not as impressive as a wedge.

As you can see in this Instagram video, Kenzie nonchalantly opens the bottle of champagne with her lob wedge. She takes a full swing and pops the cork without even touching the bottle.

Or, you can reverse this shot and instead, hit a zinger with a golf ball to pop the cork. This requires even more precision so that you don’t shatter the bottle.

Personally, I’m not sure if I trust myself that much with either! If you do want to attempt this, make sure you don’t use an expensive bottle in case things go south!

The Best Golf Trick Shots

5 Golf Trick Shots to Try Out

Now that you know what’s possible when it comes to trick shots, here are some ones you can try on your own. As always, make sure that you do these in a safe environment and don’t risk anyone’s safety just for a viral video.

1. Juggle A Golf Ball

The first shot to attempt is pretty straightforward, but a lot of golfers struggle. While it’s called “juggling” this isn’t with your hands, instead, it’s with your club.

As golf YouTuber Hailey Ostrom shows in this video, it’s all about not chasing the golf ball up in the air. Too many golfers try to bring the club up to make contact, instead of just waiting for the ball to come down to the clubface.

Directions

  • Grab a wedge (it doesn’t matter which one) and golf ball.
  • Stick the butt of the golf club against your elbow for extra support. The club should act like an extension of your arm.
  • Then, open the face so it’s completely flat, sort of like you would with a flop shot.
  • Finally, let the ball come down to the face and keep bouncing until it drops. See how many you can get!

2. Backward Pitch Shot

The second shot that is safe and not extremely difficult to pull off is the backward pitch shot. Phil Mickelson made a video 20+ years ago while in college at ASU, showing golfers how he hits this incredible shot. He now has a step-by-step video to help you get started too.

Directions

  • Start by finding a huge up slope near a green or practice green. This is the most important step, as it won’t work unless you have a serious amount of incline.
  • Take your most lofted wedge and place a ball on the up slope.
  • Instead of facing the target, face away from it and get a sturdy, wide stance at address.
  • Then, adjust your shoulders in line with the slope and take a few fast practice swings. This shot won’t work without speed!
  • Finally, address the ball, take a full swing, and commit to keeping the club open and cupping your wrists back toward the target.

Hopefully, it’ll come off high and over your head with a soft landing on the green. What’s even more impressive is that Phil actually used this shot in a tournament in 1995!

3. The Two Ball Bunker Trick Shot

If the backward pitch shot is a little too intimidating or doesn’t have enough slope, this sand trick shot is much easier. It’s also a fun trick to play on your friends if they don’t see you doing it. All you need are two balls, a greenside bunker with a high lip, and your wedge.

Directions

  • Take your sand or lob wedge and two balls into the bunker.
  • Place the balls back to back so they’re touching in the sand.
  • Take a full swing like you normally do in the bunker, but add a little more speed.

The result should be the front ball bashing into the lip of the bunker, while the second ball pops right up. But it won’t come out like normal, instead, it will come out with a tremendous amount of spin as if it were an illegal wedge.

It might even zip back into the bunker, confusing your friends even more. If you execute this correctly, your golfing buddies won’t have a clue what happened. Click here to watch Phil Mickelson hit the shot in action.

4. The Water Hazard Skipper

One of the trick shots you might have accidentally hit in your golf career is the skipper over a pond. But chances are, you didn’t hit it intentionally and instead thinned an iron that resulted in a ball skipping through the water like a rock.

Well, this is one that you can actually learn how to play relatively well. In fact, John Rahm even made a hole in one at the Masters on the 16th hole in a practice round.

The ball skips effortlessly through the water, up on the green, around the ridge, and right into the hole. Even if he didn’t win that year, it has to be a great memory to have and is recorded nonetheless.

Here is how you can pull the shot off as well.

Directions

  • Grab a long iron and make sure that the water is directly in front of your golf ball. Also, I would advise range balls or cheap balls that you’re okay with losing.
  • The goal here is to not hit too far down on the club, as that will make the ball sink!
  • Instead, have your weight evenly distributed 50-50 on your feet and take a three-quarter backswing.
  • Then, make sure to stay aggressive through contact.
  • Finally, make sure to have an abbreviated finish like you would with a punch shot.

Hopefully, it skips a few times and comes out on the other side by the green!

5. Putt From The Sand

So many golfers fear the sand as we don’t normally practice enough and a lot can go wrong. But have you ever thought about putting it instead of using a lofted wedge? That’s right, sometimes the flat stick can help you out of the bunker.


While technically it’s not as much of a trick shot as others, it’s one that is actually practical. If you have a bunker without a big lip, then you can make it happen.

Here is how to perfectly execute this shot.

Directions

  • Grab your putter and make sure the lip isn’t big (or else this won’t work).
  • The goal is to putt your ball through the sand and roll out, just as if you were off the green.
  • Hover your putter above the sand, take a slightly larger stroke (as the sand is heavy), and watch it roll through, up, and out like a putt!

Final Thoughts

Hopefully, you are as entertained as I was searching through the depths of the internet to find these videos. These golfers are wildly entertaining and find a way to make this game even more memorable than ever.

Plus, you now have five trick shots that you can learn how to hit as well. But remember, whenever you are attempting to hit one of these shots, do it with caution. Don’t ruin your day (or someone else’s) by accidentally hitting someone on the range or course.

Once you do learn how to pull these five shots off and others, make sure to record them and upload to social media. You never know, you might be one shot away from being a viral golf sensation!