Start Spring Practice Working on Short Shots

Winter has been unusually mild on the Central Plains; however, it’s still cold enough that comfortable golf is still at least two months away.  That doesn’t mean you have to waste your time on the couch—use some serious thinking time to plan your practice strategy for the 2012 season.

The first thing to go at the end of a golfing season and the last thing to return is the short game.  You will gain an edge on your playing partners if you focus your early practice on the short game—putting, pitch shots, and chip shots.

Focusing on your short game early in the season has three advantages:

• This is the quickest way to improve your scores; short shots separate the winners and losers.

• When cold weather intervenes, you can still spend a few minutes on the practice green before you become chilled.  In other words, you won’t lose everything you’ve gained with early practice.

• If it gets real chilly, you can continue working on short shots and putting indoors.

There are two vital shots that every golfer can learn to execute successfully:  the chip shot and pitch shot.

Pitches and chips are more important to average players because they hit fewer greens in regulation; consequently, they have to depend on their short game more than highly skilled players.  This is particularly true for women and older men who don’t hit the ball as far as low-handicap players.

Success begets success.  Short shots are a part of the game that all players can improve on.  And you’ll find that improving your skill with short shots will help the rest of your game because you’ll become more confident.  Average players don’t need great strength or extraordinary coordination to become proficient around the greens; they just need to practice extensively while using the proper fundamentals.  And then they need to learn to concentrate on these crucial shots during actual play.  That’s not always easy.

If you develop a solid chipping and pitching game, it will help your putting dramatically.  Your putting won’t necessarily change, but you’ll have easier putts because your approach shots will be closer to the hole.  Where you will really see a difference won’t be in the long putts you make, but by eliminating most of your three-putts.  That’s how you begin to shoot lower scores.

Using the proper fundamentals on these two shots is vital; it’s counterproductive to practice bad habits.  The following instructions assume you’re right-handed and hitting off a level lie.  You’ll have to make adjustments for uphill or downhill lies.

• Chip Shot—Play this shot from the back of your stance, close to even with your right foot.  Keep your weight primarily on your left foot and keep your hands ahead of the ball.  Take the clubhead back and up and strike the ball with a slightly descending arc.  Most important of all, keep your head absolutely steady.

• Pitch Shot—Play the ball off the middle of your stance with your hands slightly ahead of the ball.  Your weight should be mostly on your left side.  Take the clubhead back rather steeply and strike the shot with a descending stroke, keeping your head still.

You must concentrate on keeping your weight balanced with no head movement.  Everyone has a tendency to look up quickly to see where the ball is going.  It’s also helpful to watch skilled players hit these shots; imitation is beneficial so long as you imitate what is fundamentally sound.

You can practice short shots for longer periods of time without getting tired because they don’t take the same energy as full shots.  Every player who wants to hit these shots correctly should practice extensively—using the proper technique—until you have the skill to play both shots effectively.

As far as which clubs to use on these two crucial shots, there’s room for personal preference.  Using just a pitching wedge or sand wedge for both pitch shots and chip shots has merit.  Most important, you become thoroughly familiar with how these clubs will react on either shot.  Some players like to hit chip shots with a 6-iron or 7-iron clear up to the pitching wedge.  It’s a matter of what you have confidence in.

The problems begin when you transfer from the practice green to the golf course during competition.  Players know they can hit the shots correctly because they’ve done it while practicing, but they become anxious and uncomfortable on the golf course.  Like putting, good short shots require confidence.  Don’t give up.  The main thing is to keep your head steady throughout the shot.  That’s easier said than done, but it can become a part of your game.  And that’s when you’ll be on the way to being a good short-game player.

Concentration on the course is crucial.  Picture the line and distance and the mechanics you want to use and stroke the shot with no head movement.  You can train yourself to do it consistently. Religious practice of these two shots will do more for your game than you ever thought possible.