then you’ve gotta get up and down when you’re around the green.

This becomes even more amplified for the mid to higher handicap golfer simply because by definition the higher handicapper won’t be as accurate with their approach shots, hence they will miss more greens… when you miss more greens; you need to have a short game that can get you up and down from off the green.

A good short game is a great remedy for earlier misguided shots…

not to mention a good short game will put more pressure on your opponents.

A good practice drill for you is to take a handful of golf balls and from just off the practice green play a round of par 2 golf. Chip your five or so balls at the hole…

once done putt your chips in starting with chip that came the closest. If you’re down in 2 then you par… if not… you bogey.

A couple of benefits will happen here. First your chipping and putting will begin to improve. Secondly, you’ll be simulating what really goes on when you’re playing your rounds of golf.

Now if you want to even more accurately what reflects an actual round of golf, get together with one of your playing partners and work this drill with a bit of friendly competition added to the mix.

No matter what the stakes (or steaks) are, this will assuredly heighten your focus or even make you pucker up a bit… but this is what we want…

to get you to a comfort level with some real time pressure and game like environment. The more you put yourself in this type of situation the more comfortable you and your game will become. Don’t under estimate the value of this.

Now get out there and start getting better!

This becomes even more amplified for the mid to higher handicap golfer simply because by definition the higher handicapper won’t be as accurate with their approach shots, hence they will miss more greens… when you miss more greens; you need to have a short game that can get you up and down from off the green.

A good short game is a great remedy for earlier misguided shots… not to mention a good short game will put more pressure on your opponents.

A good golf chipping practice drill for you is to take a handful of golf balls and from just off the practice green play a round of par 2 golf. Chip your five or so balls at the hole… once done putt your chips in starting with chip that came the closest. If you’re down in 2 then you par… if not… you bogey.

A couple of benefits with this golf chipping drill will happen here. First your chipping and putting will begin to improve. Secondly, you’ll be simulating what really goes on when you’re playing your rounds of golf.

Now if you want to even more accurately what reflects an actual round of golf, get together with one of your playing partners and work this golf chipping drill with a bit of friendly competition added to the mix.

No matter what the stakes (or steaks) are, this will assuredly heighten your focus or even make you pucker up a bit… but this is what we want…

And that is to get you to a comfort level with some real time pressure and game like environment. The more you put yourself in this type of situation the more comfortable you and your game will become. Don’t under estimate the value of this golf chipping tip.

The golf chipping shot mandates a slow rhythmic tempo with crisp content. Probably the biggest mistake I see with people executing the chipping stroke is that they decelerate the swing just before impact and scuff the club on the ground behind the golf ball.

With your chipping stroke, try to stand a bit closer to the ball. This will make it easier to keep your swing path more direct.

Press your weight slightly forward over your front leg this will help you keep your body still and it will help promote keeping your hands ahead of the clubhead through the stroke (very, very, important I might add).

Think of the chipping stroke as a brush stroke and not a ‘hitting’ stroke because you are just trying to ‘brush’ the golf ball off the grass.

With your weight slightly forward, you’ll want your left arm (right handers) to dominate the stroke. In fact, a quick drill you can use while you’re practicing your chipping is to put your right hand directly over your left hand when you grip your club… this force your left hand to take a dominant role and you’ll get the sensation of the left arm ‘pulling’ the club through the stroke. This type of practice grip will make it very difficult for the clubhead to incorrectly pass ahead of the hands.

With the lower body there is virtually no movement throughout the chipping stroke. The only movement at all is just at impact; and this is barely noticeable. It is only used as a slight bit of tempo and allows you to finish the motion through the ball and keep you club going down the target line.

Remember, keep your arms leading the shot.

Your golf chipping strategy should always be one of getting the golf ball on the green and rolling toward the pin as soon as possible.

With this in mind play the ball back in your stance and work on making contact with the golf ball with a slight descending blow. Not too much… you don’t want to ‘jab’ at the ball… remember you want to just sweep the ball off of the turf.

Don’t become ‘pin’ oriented with your target. Yes, it’s true you want to gather the right distance, but distance control will come. Always chip to the landing spot you want to hit and allow for the ball to roll to the hole. Your distance control will come as you learn to make consistent contact with your chips.

When you are first learning don’t try to master several techniques and specialty shots when chipping… keep your practices straightforward and boring….

Ho… hum… another routine up and down from just off the green… that’s what will keep you wallet in your pocket.

I hope this has spurred you on a bit to take a close look at your short game scoring opportunities.

For the next series of articles, I want work with you on your short game to help you understand the basics of it and to give you some golf drills that you can work on that will help to improve your short game and shave strokes from your golf game.

Let’s start with a simple tracking drill for your chip shots. The basic chip shot requires a low finish with the clubhead as it extends straight down the target path.

To establish your target line simply lay a couple of your clubs down in a parallel fashion pointing at your intended target… just like a couple of train tracks. This ensures that you not only align properly for your chipping stroke, but it also enables you to focus completely on the execution of the shot and make good crisp contact.

Good crisp contact by administering a slight descending blow into the golf ball; but remember the swing is a brushing motion through the golf ball, not a jabbing or hitting motion.

NOTE: contacting the ball with a slight descending blow is not to say that we are looking to put backspin on the shot… not at all. We want the descending blow just enough so the ball will pop slightly up on the clubface on contact and clear the turf long enough to get to the putting surface and begin rolling.

With the chipping stroke it is all about clubhead control. For the vast majority of the chip stroke the clubhead should remain square to the golf ball. It will only open slightly at the top of the backswing and only close very slightly (and naturally) on the follow through.

As you practice your chipping make certain that you NEVER are decelerating the club through the swing… in fact, start slowly then and just a touch of acceleration if you must. Your follow through should actually be longer than that of your backswing… this will ensure that you aren’t decelerating the clubhead.

Start with shorter distance chip shots that require a very short putting like stroke… again work on making good crisp contact. Then, gradually increase your distance which will in turn require a slightly longer swing. Stay with each distance until you can consistently get that crisp ‘click’ sound the ball makes coming off of a well executed shot. Don’t go to a greater distance until you master the former.

Keep in mind that you are not going to learn to be a good chipper of the golf ball all in one marathon practice session… just make this simple golf drill a part of each of your sessions.

Remember it is not how long you practice at each session… the benefit comes with how often and consistently you do practice.