I really enjoy practicing the short game. It is rare to have many people feel the same way. It is more common to see people practicing their long game, which is fine, but it will not improve your scoring over a long period.
When I write my “golf tips”, I am writing generalized information to make things easy to read and understand. The reason I try not to be too specific with technique is because things can be interpreted incorrectly very easily which can cause the player to work on the wrong technique. I enjoy giving lessons and help the golfer get a clear understanding as to what they need to do to play a good shot and what happens when a poor shot is played.
Understanding why you played the poorly struck shot and why you hit the great shots is a great advantage to have over the rest of the field who simply guess or listen to their mates.
I am going to give you a few short game thoughts to have to help you understand what is required to make you succeed. Improving the short game is very easy because it doesn’t require much strength just simple calm movements.
Many people struggle with putting. Not being confident is a major factor, but that aside, aiming correctly and having the ball in the correct position in your stance can make a massive difference to how well you putt. If you have the ball too far back in your stance, it de-lofts your putter, pushing it into the ground, which then makes the ball pop up and bounce in an inconsistent line. If the ball is too far forward in your stance, it will actually make the ball create backspin and then bounce inconsistently, which will make the ball end up short of the hole.
When playing a chip shot, you can use the same club to hit a high or low shot. Simply changing the ball position can alter the height and spin of the shot. You can play a low running chip shot with a Sand Wedge by putting the ball back in your stance. You can hit the standard flighted chip shot by moving the ball forward in your stance. The secret to playing a chip shot in particular, is to keep the shaft of your club and your leading arm straight at impact and post impact. If you should choose to try and use your hands to lift the ball or manipulate the ball, you will find that the leading edge of the club will hit directly into the middle of the ball causing the ball to spear across the green.
Many people also teach or talk about keeping your hands firm at address and on the backswing. I firmly disagree with this action. You need to hinge your hands on your backswing. This is a skill I enjoy teaching golfers. It makes me happy to see golfers get surprised with how well they can actually chip the ball when shown the correct technique.
Another action I am against is “cutting” across the ball to create spin. Being able to set up square and be able to “clip” the ball first will help you create the spin and the softness you require.
