Golf Short Game

We’ve been working on our golf short game in past discussions and for a very good reason.

To become a consistently good or even improved player (key word consistent), you have to posses a good short game. It doesn’t matter who your are, there are going to be times (even days) when you aren’t hitting the greens… hello short game!

Believe me… it is within one’s short game, where by improving it, you can quickly and easily shave numerous strokes off your golf game.

For this time around I want to work with you on developing some touch with your various clubs. In the past I’ve mentioned how important it is for your golf short game to get the ball on the green and get it rolling toward the hole as soon as possible. The purpose of this next drill is to get you an understanding of the flight and roll characteristics of each of your clubs.

From just off the green and varying distances, pick out a landing spot on the green. You could even stick a tee into the practice green to mark your spot.

Next, with varying clubs, work to chip or pitch your golf ball to hit your landing spot. The idea here is to not only begin to learn the various ball flights of each club, but to also understand the roll characteristics of the ball after it hits the green. Again, we aren’t trying to necessarily get the ball to the pin…

we want to hit the landing spot and learn what the ball does (or doesn’t do from there).

In doing this golf short game drill you’ll soon begin to get a feel for what each club will do. This will develop your ‘touch’ around the green and it will get those of you who have become locked in to using the same club around the green no matter what the circumstance off of that bad habit as well.

You will also develop a very good sense of what your favorite club to use is under what type of circumstance the shot demands… and under pressure you’ll confidently know that this club is indeed the club for the job at hand.

A side note hear is that once you have practiced this golf short game drill for a while and your understanding and comfort level is good, begin to challenge yourself further by deteriorating your lies a bit.

Remember, on the course you won’t always get a nice cushy lie to work with so once you begin to groove your short chips and pitches, then you’ll want to add some degree of difficulty with less than perfect lies to your practice routine.

Golf Drills-The Tracking Drill

Last time out I broached the subject of chipping and how you can really save yourself some strokes and dough if you take the time to work on your chipping game.

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.

Golf Tips: It’s In Your Touch

We’ve been working on our short game for the last few issues and for a very good reason.

To become a consistently good or even improved player (key word consistent), you have to posses a good short game. It doesn’t matter who your are, there are going to be times (even days) when you aren’t hitting the greens… hello short game!

Believe me… it is within one’s short game, where by improving it, you can quickly and easily shave numerous strokes off your golf game.

For this time around I want to work with you on developing some touch with your various clubs. In the past I’ve mentioned how important it is for your short game to get the ball on the green and get it rolling toward the hole as soon as possible. The purpose of this next drill is to get you an understanding of the flight and roll characteristics of each of your clubs.

From just off the green and varying distances, pick out a landing spot on the green. You could even stick a tee into the practice green to mark your spot.

Next, with varying clubs, work to chip or pitch your golf ball to hit your landing spot. The idea here is to not only begin to learn the various ball flights of each club, but to also understand the roll characteristics of the ball after it hits the green. Again, we aren’t trying to necessarily get the ball to the pin…

we want to hit the landing spot and learn what the ball does (or doesn’t do from there).

In doing this practice drill you’ll soon begin to get a feel for what each club will do. This will develop your ‘touch’ around the green and it will get those of you who have become locked in to using the same club around the green no matter what the circumstance off of that bad habit as well.

You will also develop a very good sense of what your favorite club to use is under what type of circumstance the shot demands…

and under pressure you’ll confidently know that this club is indeed the club for the job at hand.

A side note hear is that once you have practiced this drill for a while and your understanding and comfort level is good, begin to challenge yourself further by deteriorating your lies a bit.

Remember, on the course you won’t always get a nice cushy lie to work with so once you begin to groove your short chips and pitches, then you’ll want to add some degree of difficulty with less than perfect lies to your practice routine.